How New Research on Tendonitis Leads to Better Healing

Tendonitis is a condition that affects roughly 5% of the general population. Traditionally, most tendon related pain has been referred to as tendonitis, meaning “inflammation of the tendon.” But new research shows that this may not be the most accurate understanding of it. 

I’m Dr. Jeremy Decker, a physical therapist at Full Potential Physical Therapy in Holland, Michigan. As someone who treats the general population and also specializes in treating athletes, I’m very familiar with the diagnosis of tendonitis. And today, I want to explain a new discovery that can actually help us better understand and resolve your tendon related pain or discomfort.

What Is a Tendon, and What Does it Do?

To understand tendonitis, it’s first helpful to get to know the anatomy. What exactly is a tendon? A tendon is a strong rope-like structure that connects muscle to bone. It transmits the force generated by the muscle to the bone that it’s connected to. 

This force will help generate movement or stabilize against movement. Tendons also help prevent muscle injury by absorbing impact when you walk, run, or jump. 

Example of How Your Tendons Work

You have over a thousand tendons in your body spanning from your head all the way down to your toes. You’re probably familiar with the Achilles tendon which reaches from the calf muscle to the heel bone. 

If you’re sitting while reading this, I want you to push the front of your foot down into the ground so that your heel rises up. In this situation, your calf muscle generated force, and the Achilles tendon transmitted that force from your calf to your heel bone. This caused your heel to lift up off the ground. 

This action is one of many that the tendons in your body perform in a day. The Achilles tendon in particular, is used every time we step. It is the largest tendon in your body and helps us walk, run, and jump. 

New Research Shows Tendon Pain Is Not Always Caused by Inflammation

Every time you move, you’re almost guaranteed to be using a tendon to perform that movement. And because of how essential tendons are, they can often get overworked, especially in athletes. 

Tendons are designed to work hard in their very strong structures. However, when they’re worked significantly harder than they’re used to, pain can develop. This pain is traditionally referred to as tendonitis. The suffix -itis means “inflammation,” so tendonitis means “inflammation of a tendon.” 

However, more recent studies have shown that inflammation is not always the cause of tendon pain, especially when the pain has persisted for more than a month or two. These studies took samples of tendons, and the tissue samples were examined. Surprisingly, there were no indicators of inflammation in the tissue. Instead, changes in the tissue itself were seen. 

Rather than having type one collagen fibers, which are the strong organized elastic fibers, the affected tendons had type two collagen fibers, which are more disorganized and less strong. 

This New Research Enables Physical Therapists to Better Treat Tendon Pain

Perhaps a better word for tendonitis might be tendinopathy, which means, “a condition of the tendon.” With this in mind, we can more accurately understand common tendon problems and help develop the right exercise program to resolve the problem. 

Instead of resting, icing, and doing very light exercises for a painful tendon, as we traditionally thought, now we know we need to load the tendon gradually and systematically to promote healing. 

Physical therapy offers a very precise approach to healing tendon-related pain. Physical therapists are experts in the musculoskeletal system and are able to evaluate the cause of tendon pain and create an individualized plan to resolve it.

Reach Out to Full Potential PT for Personalized Support

At Full Potential Physical Therapy, we can help you resolve your tendon pain. Physical therapy is a great way to get to the root of the issue and not just address the symptoms. We offer a free consultation, which is a great option for those who are unsure about the cause of their pain, or if physical therapy is the right choice to address it. 

If you’re ready to address your tendon pain, we want to help. To start, simply give our office a call at (616) 537-2837. We’ll be happy to get you on the schedule and start helping you get back to what you love.