What is Tendonitis?
Tendonitis, also called as tendinitis is an inflammation or irritation of tendons, a thick cord that holds bones to muscles. When muscles contract, tendons react, causing bones to move. Too much stress on joints can tear and inflame tendons.
Causes
Tendonitis is most often caused by repetitive, minor impact on the affected area, or from a sudden severe injury. There are many activities that can cause tendinitis, including:
- Gardening
- Raking
- Carpentry
- Shovelling
- Painting
- Scrubbing
- Tennis
- Golf
- Skiing
- Throwing and pitching
Incorrect posture at work or home, poor stretching or conditioning before exercise, and playing sports also increase a person's risk of getting Tendonitis.
Tendonitis can occur in almost any area of the body where a tendon connects a bone to a muscle. The most common areas are base of the thumb, elbow, shoulder, hip, knee, and Achilles tendon
Symptoms
The most common symptoms of Tendonitis include pain in the tendon and its surrounding area. Pain may gradually build up or be sudden and severe, especially if calcium deposits are present. Loss of motion in the shoulder, called “adhesive capsulitis” or frozen shoulder is also a symptom of Tendonitis.
It is always better to prevent diseases than going through a life of pain and suffering. So here are some tips to avoid Tendinitis.
- Learn the proper method and use the proper equipment for any exercise or activity.
- Work out regularly, not just once a week.
- Take up activities slow at first. Gradually build up your activity level.
- Warm up thoroughly
- Use limited force and limited repetitions.
- Stop if unusual pain occurs. Try again later and if pain recurs, stop that activity for the day.
Treatment
Initial treatment of tendinitis includes avoiding activities that aggravate the problem, resting the injured area, and icing the area. If the problems persist, it is better to go with any of the following.
Medications
In order to get relief from the pain, corticosteroid injections might be prescribed by the physician. Taking over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs or using topical anti-inflammatory gels can also reduce the pain to a certain extent.
Physical Therapy
Rather than relying on medications, it is better to take Tendonitis Physical Therapy treatments from our NYC offices. Our professional physical Therapists at New York City will provide you individualized tendonitis physical therapy treatments which best suits your health condition which may include range-of-motion exercises and splinting (thumb, forearm, bands).