Treating Tendon Pain and Tendinopathy
By: Emilia Kubera-Shelton DPT
Bowie Location
According to Jill Cook PhD from LaTrobe University in Melbourne, there are 10 things to contemplate when treating tendon pain:
- Complete rest is not necessary – taking a break from activity and sport to reduce initial pain is a good idea but it is important to continue moving to prevent muscle atrophy and other tissue changes
- Type of exercise matters – your physical therapist can help you with choosing the correct types of exercise to address the problem
- Passive treatment such as ice, and TENS can help with pain for the short term but will not treat the problem - don’t rely on this type of treatment alone
- Avoid injections into tendon – there is little scientific evidence to support the effectiveness of injections, consider injection only as a last resort
- Tendon pain increase with exercise and activity usually means overload is happening and reduction of tendon load may be necessary
- Tendon stretching can be detrimental to healing – studies suggest that stretching causes compression to tendons and compressive loads are contraindicated to a tendon that is not functioning properly
- Friction massage will not help with healing
- Imaging such as MRI or ultrasound are not helpful in determining outcomes and abnormal images may not be helpful in initial diagnosis
- Pain protects you from tendon rupture, studies show that most people that had tendon rupture had no pain – you don’t need to worry about rupture
- Rehabilitation of tendons will take time, be patient. Most people get better within 3 months and can return to sports and exercise with no restrictions.
The bottom line: the best approach to treating tendinopathy is to find a physical therapist that can guide you through the process. Be patient and get better!
