Tendinitis
What Exactly is a Tendon?
Tendons are the tissues which connect muscle to bone. All muscles are connected to bone by a tendon and are integral part of the musculo-skeletal system. Tendons are used by the body much like ropes are. Ropes bare the load of an object in order to move the object through space. If you imagine a man pulling a rope in order to pull a bucket of water out of a well, you can imagine that the “man” as the muscle, the bucket of water as the limb, and the rope as the tendon. The man would never be able to pull the bucket of water out of the well without the rope. Likewise, the body cannot move without its tendons.
Tendons are the tissues which connect muscle to bone. All muscles are connected to bone by a tendon and are integral part of the musculo-skeletal system. Tendons are used by the body much like ropes are. Ropes bare the load of an object in order to move the object through space. If you imagine a man pulling a rope in order to pull a bucket of water out of a well, you can imagine that the “man” as the muscle, the bucket of water as the limb, and the rope as the tendon. The man would never be able to pull the bucket of water out of the well without the rope. Likewise, the body cannot move without its tendons.
What is Tendinitis?
Tendinitis is a fancy word for inflammation of the tendon. Because the tendon is required to take much of the load of the limb it often becomes inflamed. This inflammation can be caused by a wearing away of the tendon or just irritation to the tendon. When dissected from the human body, a healthy tendon should look like a white “shoe lace”. An unhealthy tendon will look like a yellow “frayed” shoe lace. This fraying works well with the rope analogy we used before. As you can imagine repetitive stress along with poor body mechanics, unhealthy lifestyle, and age can wear away at this tendon and cause to be “fray”.
Tendinitis is a fancy word for inflammation of the tendon. Because the tendon is required to take much of the load of the limb it often becomes inflamed. This inflammation can be caused by a wearing away of the tendon or just irritation to the tendon. When dissected from the human body, a healthy tendon should look like a white “shoe lace”. An unhealthy tendon will look like a yellow “frayed” shoe lace. This fraying works well with the rope analogy we used before. As you can imagine repetitive stress along with poor body mechanics, unhealthy lifestyle, and age can wear away at this tendon and cause to be “fray”.
What can be done about it?
As a Physical Therapist, I encounter tendinitis everyday! Tendinitis can be easily treated. However, if tendinitis is left untreated and is repeatedly reinjured, it can become Tendinosis. Tendinosis is not just a fraying of the tendon but a progressive death of the tendon. Think of it this way, imagine the rope the man was using to pull up his bucket is grating against a rock, at the edge of the well. The rope begins to fray and begins to weaken. What do you think will happen to the rope if nothing is done about the progressive weakening of the rope? You guessed it! Rupture isn’t the only risk with tendinosis. Calcification of the tendon is also a possibility. Both of these outcome require much more than just physical therapy.
As a Physical Therapist, I encounter tendinitis everyday! Tendinitis can be easily treated. However, if tendinitis is left untreated and is repeatedly reinjured, it can become Tendinosis. Tendinosis is not just a fraying of the tendon but a progressive death of the tendon. Think of it this way, imagine the rope the man was using to pull up his bucket is grating against a rock, at the edge of the well. The rope begins to fray and begins to weaken. What do you think will happen to the rope if nothing is done about the progressive weakening of the rope? You guessed it! Rupture isn’t the only risk with tendinosis. Calcification of the tendon is also a possibility. Both of these outcome require much more than just physical therapy.
I don’t mean to scare you out there. Tendinitis is not a serious condition, but if left untreated and ignored it can become a big problem. Especially for those of you that are active in sport or life, tendinitis can keep you on the sidelines. Who knows when you are going to need to pull a bucket of water out of a well anyway!
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