On Tendonitis

Tendonitis is a catch-all term that gets thrown around often in the fitness and rehab fields. By definition it means inflammation of a tendon. Inflammation being defined as redness, heat, swelling, pain. So we have a tendon that is inflamed causing symptoms which typically result in a loss of capacity in one way or another for the afflicted.

The primary issue resulting from this diagnosis is there is no explanation as to why it began in the first place. Tendonitis is often over diagnosed, but it can be a real thing, and we need to determine the cause maybe more than anything else. Tissue inflammation is said to be due to overuse, repeatedly loading a structure to the point of damaging it. Often the treatment is rest, ice, compression and elevation, the famous RICE acronym. However once a client has returned to their desired activity level, symptoms return, even if activities themselves are altered. Surely RICE cannot cover it all.

Your body moves with select strategies, and those strategies are reinforced over time as success mounts. If success begins to wane without an alternative option, tissues may begin to be exposed to repeated, non-uniform loading. This is where things can get ugly quickly. Finding new movement options becomes imperative, and a coach that can guide a client through new skills becomes invaluable.

We all have biases, particularly in the case of creating motion. We will most likely supercharge those biases to maximize our capabilities, however we may be better off developing redundancies in the system that ensure focal loading remains at a minimum. Uniformly absorbing and producing forces to potentially avoid the repetitive loading and RICE treatments.

Austin Ulrich, Physical Therapist