For people suffering from tendonitis, it can help with pain relief and speed up the recovery process. Since tendonitis can take weeks to heal, using a massage therapy program to both relax and strengthen the inflamed tendon can give the sufferer a better chance of a full and speedy recovery.
Just rub gently back and forth over the inflamed tendon at the point of greatest tenderness. Your strokes should be perpendicular to the fibres of the tendon — like strumming a guitar string. Use gentle to moderate pressure with the pads of your fingers or a thumb.
Avoid doing things that increase the pain or swelling. Don't try to work or play through the pain. Healing requires rest, but not complete bed rest. You can do other activities and exercises that don't stress the injured tendon.
Rest: try to avoid moving the tendon for 2 to 3 days. Ice: put an ice pack (or try a bag of frozen peas) wrapped in a tea towel on the tendon for up to 20 minutes every 2 to 3 hours. Support: wrap an elastic bandage around the area, use a tube bandage, or use a soft brace. You can buy these from pharmacies.
Do – Ease back on training. While continuing to move and keep the tendons under some resistance is critical to a faster recovery . Pushing through pain will only aggravate the issue and lead to chronic pain.
Certain medical conditions, such as diabetes, can increase the risk of tendinitis. Medications that may increase risk include: Antibiotics known as fluoroquinolines. Corticosteroids such as cortisone.
Too much stress on joints can tear and inflame tendons, says the American College of Rheumatology. The tissue will fix itself quickly if the damage is slight or happens only sometimes. But pain can become constant if the damage happens often.
Most cases of tendinopathy recover completely without the need for any medical input. However, uncommonly, severe untreated tendinopathy can lead to rupture of the tendon.
A mild case of tendonitis takes about 2-3 weeks to heal on average while chronic tendonitis takes about 6 weeks to heal completely.
Heat may be more helpful for chronic tendon pain, often called tendinopathy or tendinosis. Heat can increase blood flow, which may help promote healing of the tendon. Heat also relaxes muscles, which can relieve pain.
Stretching increases the elasticity and range of motion of muscles and tendons, which can help prevent injuries. If you're starting to exercise again following a peroneal tendon injury, you must do any stretching gently and increase the amount of stretching gradually.
Rest is absolutely crucial in treating tendonitis and is the most difficult component to get an athlete to adhere to. However, athletes who continue to push through pain risk moving their injury from the acute inflammation phase to a chronic tendonitis which is much harder to treat.
Place your forearm on a table, with your hand and affected wrist extended beyond the table, palm down. Bend your wrist to move your hand upward and allow your hand to close into a fist, then lower your hand and allow your fingers to relax. Hold each position for about 6 seconds. Repeat 8 to 12 times.
Triple Energiser 5 (Outer Pass) is a local acupuncture point used to treat pain in the wrist. Specifically, it is effective at addressing pain caused by rheumatism and tendinitis. The point is on the outer side of the arm, in between the two forearm bones (radius and the ulna) above the wrist.
Tendinopathy occurs in three separate stages, reactive, dysrepair and degenerative. There are similar symptoms throughout all three stages such as : Morning pain in the tendon that improves with movement.
Rest, Nutrition, and Exercise
For mild cases, extended rest is all that's necessary to ensure that the tendon heals. The repair process takes several weeks, so you may have to take time off sports or physical activities that may further injure the tendon.
The pain is mild at first and then gradually worsens as the inflammation continues. In most cases, the pain occurs when you're active and feels better when you rest. But as tendonitis goes untreated and worsens, you may also experience pain when resting.
The more severe the tendinopathy, the less likely stretching would help. In fact, stretching results in further compression of the tendon at the irritation point, which actually worsens the pain. For more information on exercises that help improve an insertional tendinopathy see our blog on Achilles Tendinopathy.
Tendinitis can occur as a result of injury or overuse. Playing sports is a common cause. Tendinitis also can occur with aging as the tendon loses elasticity. Body-wide (systemic) diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis or diabetes, can also lead to tendinitis.
Causes can include overuse as well as age, injury, or disease related changes in the tendon. Risk factors for tendon disorders can include excessive force, repetitive movements, frequent overhead reaching, vibration, and awkward postures.
Depending on how irritated or sore your tendons are, even short walks may cause them to become painful. It's important to understand that experiencing lots of pain does not mean you have a really badly injured tendon. Even mildly injured tendons can be very painful.
Physio treatment works to relieve tendonitis symptoms, improve your muscle strength, maintain your overall fitness, promote injury prevention and help you return to your daily activities.