Tendonitis, or the inflamed attachments of your muscles, makes it difficult for you to exercise and even to perform everyday activities like lifting a bag, walking up stairs and washing dishes. Ignored injuries will become chronic injuries, impacting your longterm quality of life. If you have pain around your joints which increases when you must lift, pull or push against a heavy object, you may have tendonitis.
Initial Treatment
Should you suspect tendinitis, common around your shoulder, hip, knee, ankle and wrist joints, apply an ice pack to the affected area for 10 minutes, elevating if possible -- do this three times a day for two days. Stop doing any exercise or daily activity which generates pain. For pain that is unbearable or does not subside after two days, consider taking aspirin and seek further medical care with a physical therapist.
The Next Step
Acute or short-term flare-ups of tendinitis necessitates reducing pain and inflammation. It generally takes a week to control this phase of the healing process using an ice pack three times a day, every day. Electrical stimulation may be used once per day for three days of the week. Electrical stimulation enhances protein synthesis, increasing the strength of tendons. It also helps your muscles relax and reduces swelling by pumping excess fluids around the injury through the lymph system, further reducing pain. By controlling pain and swelling, you will be more inclined to do therapeutic exercises.
Stretch Then Strengthen
Stretching exercises must be implemented before strengthening exercises, helping to align the scar or healing cells with the healthy, uninjured tendon cells. Stretching exercises usually begin after the first week of injury once pain and inflammation have subsided and lasts about two weeks. Heat packs are commonly applied over the injured tendon for 10 minutes to increase its flexibility, making stretching exercises more effective. Stretches may be performed one time lasting up to 15 minutes or, they may be done for five repetitions with each repetition lasting about six seconds.
Manual Resistance, Exercise Bands and Light Weights
Strengthening exercises are initiated around three to six weeks following the initial tendon injury. Such exercises require light resistance from bodyweight, your therapist, a light-tensioned exercise band or 2 to 3-lb. dumbbells. Wrist weights and ankle weights are also commonly used. These exercises are done for three sets of 15 repetitions. Heat packs are applied over the tendon prior to doing strengthening exercises.
Resistance Training
As your tendon continues to heal, resistance exercises are gradually increased so they are slightly more difficult than using exercise bands and light dumbbells. You may begin to do bodyweight exercises such as squats or lunges for hip tendinitis. If you have biceps tendinitis, you may do dumbbell curls with a 10 or 12-lb. dumbbell. Dumbbell wrist flexions and extensions are incorporated for wrist tendinitis. Leg extensions are helpful in treating knee tendon injuries. For a healing Achilles tendon, you might do calf raises with both feet while you hold onto the wall or a rail. The key to strengthening your tendon is to slowly increase the weight you are using to avoid another flare up. Ice packs are applied at the end of your rehab session to reduce any new swelling that results from your therapy.
References
- "Examination of Musculoskeletal Injuries"; Sandra Shultz, Ph.D., Peggy Houglum, Ph.D., and David Perrin, Ph.D.; 2005
- "Therapeutic Exercise for Musculoskeletal Injuries"; Peggy Houglum, Ph.D.; 2005
