Physical Therapy for Tendonitis
At its simplest, tendonitis describes the inflammation of a specific tendon. Tendons hold your muscles to your bones. You have many tendons located throughout your body, but some of them are more likely to become inflamed than others, depending on their locations. Despite the uncomfortable symptoms of tendonitis, you have several options for treating the affected tendon and preventing tendonitis from returning.
Tendonitis Symptoms
- The most common symptom of tendinitis is pain in the area where the tendon is attached to the bone.
- This pain is generally dull and aching.
- Rest may make the pain dissipate, but movement will bring back the pain.
- Other symptoms may include some inflammation at the site as well as tenderness to the touch.
Tennis Elbow and Golfer’s Elbow
While there are many types of tendinitis, the two most common ones are Tennis Elbow and Golfer’s Elbow. Tennis Elbow affects the tendons running over the elbow along its outer edge. Golfer’s Elbow affects the tendons that run along the inner edge between the forearm and the elbow. Other common types of tendinitis include the following:
- Achilles tendinitis
- Swimmer’s shoulder
- De Quervain’s tenosynovitis
- Pitcher’s shoulder
Preventing Tendonitis
The best way to prevent tendonitis is to stop repetitive activities that strain a particular joint. When exercising, you may want to try cross-training. You should also be sure to stretch after all of your exercises to keep tissues flexible. When on the job, practice proper ergonomics whether you sit at a desk, walk, stand or lift.
Physical Therapy for Tendonitis Treatment
Although some forms of tendinitis may respond well to home-care techniques, others require treatment. Rather than turning to narcotic pain relievers that can be addictive, you can choose physical therapy, which has proven to be a workable solution for all types of tendinitis.
Physical therapy often begins with ultrasound therapy to reduce inflammation around the site, thus decreasing pain. It will move on to manipulation of the joint to increase range of motion without pain. Many times, you will be given exercises to do at home to further your recovery.
After several weeks of physical therapy, you should notice that your joint feels much better and has proper movement again. However, you should be careful not to strain it in the future. By using the exercises given to you in therapy, you can often keep your joints flexible in the comfort of your home.
Call to schedule your free consultation today! At New Heights Physical Therapy, we strive to create the ideal healing environment for our patients. Our team is dedicated to helping patients recover by providing exceptional care.