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A tendon is a tough yet flexible band of fibrous tissue. The tendon is the structure in your body that connects your muscles to the bones. The skeletal muscles in your body are responsible for moving your bones, thus enabling you to walk, jump, lift, and move in many ways. When a muscle contracts it pulls on a bone to cause movements. The structure that transmits the force of the muscle contraction to the bone is called a tendon.
Tendons come in many shapes and sizes. Some are very small, like the ones that cause movements of your fingers, and some are much larger, such as your Achilles tendon in your heel. When functioning normally, these tendons glide easily and smoothly as the muscle contracts.
Sometimes the tendons become inflamed for a variety of reasons, and the action of pulling the muscle becomes irritating. If the normal smooth gliding motion of your tendon is impaired, the tendon will become inflamed and movement will become painful. This is called tendonitis, and literally means inflammation of the tendon.
There are hundreds of tendons scattered throughout our body, but it tends to be a small handful of specific tendons that cause problems. These tendons usually have an area of poor blood supply that leads to tissue damage and poor healing response. This area of a tendon that is prone to injury is called a “watershed zone,” an area when the blood supply to the tendon is weakest. In these watershed zones, they body has a hard time delivering oxygen and nutrients necessary for tendon healing–that’s why we see common tendon problems in the same parts of the body.
Tendonitis is most often an overuse injury. Often people begin a new activity or exercise that causes the tendon to become irritated. Tendon problems are most common in the 40-60 year old age range. Tendons are not as elastic and forgiving as in younger individuals, yet bodies are still exerting with the same force.
Occasionally, there is an anatomical cause for tendonitis. If the tendon does not have a smooth path to glide along, it will be more likely to become irritated and inflamed. In these unusual situations, surgical treatment may be necessary to realign the tendon.
Tendonitis is almost always diagnosed on physical examination. Findings consistent with tendonitis include:
Initial treatment of tendinitis includes:
If the condition does not improve in a week, see Dr. Woodworth. You may need more advanced treatments, including:
Corticosteroid Injections: Corticosteroids (often called simply “steroids”) are often used because they work quickly to decrease the inflammation and pain.
Physical Therapy: This can be very beneficial, especially for a “frozen shoulder.” Physical therapy includes range-of-motion exercises and splinting (thumb, forearm, bands).
Surgery: This is only rarely needed for severe problems not responding to other treatments.
Woodworth Orthopedics and Sports Medicine will help you decide how to best treat your hip arthritis. Call Dr. Woodworth today at (702) 545-6194 for an appointment.
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