What do you do when your active, healthy lifestyle becomes a pain in the…shoulder, wrist, hip, knee or ankle (or any other area where tendonitis often crops up)? You should listen to the message your body is sending, and give your tendons the TLC they deserve.
What Is Tendonitis?
Tendonitis refers to the inflammation of tendons, and is commonly diagnosed in older people, whose tendons aren’t as flexible as they once were. People who exercise regularly or have physically demanding jobs are also susceptible to tendonitis, as well as people with diabetes and those with rheumatoid arthritis.
Tendonitis affects joints and muscles that do a lot of work, like our shoulders, elbows, hips, knees, wrists and ankles. It’s usually caused by overdoing repetitive motions like swinging a golf club, tennis racket or hammer, or by swimming laps or doing some other physical activity over and over again. It’s often labeled by activities that cause the joint in question to become inflamed, like “tennis elbow,” or by the body part it affects, like Achilles tendonitis.
Tendonitis feels like a sharp ache, especially when the tendon is moved. Some people also feel a crackling or grating sensation or a notice a lump, swelling, heat or redness in the affected area.
How to Treat Tendonitis
If you think you have tendonitis, there are three things to do:
- Give it a rest
- See a physician
- Engage in more gentle exercise
Give It a Rest
“Tendon pain should be respected. It’s the body’s way of telling you that you are overtaxing a muscle or joint,” said physical therapist Janet Bezner, an associate professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at Texas State University. “When you feel pain in a tendon after repetitive movement, you should stop the activity and rest.”
Consult a Doctor for Tendonitis Relief
If, despite the rest, the pain continues, it’s time to see your physician. They may recommend that you rest the irritated tendon for several days or longer, apply heat (a heating pad or warm compress) to increase circulation and/or ice (a cold compress, gel-pack or ice pack wrapped in a towel) to reduce inflammation several times per day, or take over-the-counter medications like ibuprofen or aspirin to relieve pain and reduce inflammation. For severe or persistent cases, they might prescribe corticosteroid injections to the inflamed area.
Gentle Exercise for Tendonitis
It can take weeks or even months for a severely inflamed tendon to heal, and you may have to restrict physical activity until the pain subsides. However, that doesn’t mean you’re off the hook with exercise. Being sedentary for more than a few days can do more harm than good: it can lead to reduced circulation and loss of strength and flexibility in the surrounding joints and muscles.
That’s where physical therapy comes in, explains Bezner. “Physical therapy is extremely effective for treating tendonitis. Since tendons are often injured as a result of repetitive use, the most effective treatment is one where a physical therapist helps the patient to address their pain and other symptoms, safely returning them to activity in a way that doesn’t make the tendonitis worse.”
Physical therapy might include manual therapies like massage, stretching and joint mobilization, plus range-of-motion exercises to increase flexibility and help you lift, reach or swing a tennis racket again without pain. Your therapist should also teach you how to strengthen the muscles that surround your painful tendon so it doesn’t have to strain too hard during movement.
Editor’s Note: If you suffer from tendon pain, and would like to see a physical therapist in your area, the American Physical Therapy Association’s search tool, MoveForwardPT.com, allows you to narrow your search by zip code, city and state.
