Fix Tendonitis

Hand And Arm Exercises Will Help To Prevent A Recurrence Of Tendonitis

If you strengthen your muscles, your tendons won’t have to do as much work, and this is useful in preventing a recurrence of tendonitis.

Yoga, because it involves stretching, and helps with stress, is also very useful in managing tendonitis. People with chronic hand and arm tendonitis find that stress is a factor in tendonitis recurrence, so relaxation exercises, and yoga, can be of immense benefit for tendonitis sufferers. Unfortunately, there’s no cure for tendonitis as such.

However, you can learn to manage tendonitis, especially if you do daily exercises. Exercising and stress management can keep your tendonitis at bay for years.

How is tendonitis diagnosed?

June 7th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

Tendonitis is the inflammation of a tendon; tendons join muscles to the bone, so tendonitis can occur anywhere in your body - wherever there’s muscle. So tendonitis is referred to by the body part involved: hand tendonitis, Achilles tendonitis or patellar tendonitis (jumper’s knee.)

You can suspect that you have tendonitis when there’s swelling in the area involved, along with pain. The area may be red, as well as swollen, and hot to the touch - the heat is from inflammation.

The swelling suggests that there’s micro damage or a partial tear in the tendon, along with fluid. The pain of tendonitis can be a simple ache or stiffness, or more sever pain with a burning sensation, and it’s worse during activity, or after it.

Tendonitis is also associated with rheumatoid arthritis.

If your doctor is uncertain about whether you have tendonitis, he’ll send you for a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan to confirm the diagnosis.

What causes tendonitis?

Commonly tendonitis is caused by overuse. It can start when you begin to exercise or increase the level of your exercises, and it will then result in symptoms of tendonitis. It can also be caused by advancing age. As you get older, the tendons tend to lose their elasticity as well as ability to glide as smoothly as they are accustomed to doing. Older people will thus be more at risk of developing tendonitis, and the cause of such a condition does require more study and research in order to completely understand the true causes.

So if you’ve just boosted your exercise program, and there’s swelling and pain in an area of your body, that’s a hint that you’re over-doing it, and you need to cut back on the amount of exercise. Always increase your exercise slowly.

Treating Tendonitis Pain

May 24th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

When you’ve got tendonitis, it means that your tendons are inflamed. This is painful.

Overuse or strain may cause tendons to strain, tear and become inflamed, resulting in the aching sensation and chronic discomfort felt around muscles, which is generally referred to as tendonitis pain. More than 4 million Americans visit doctors each year in search of pain relief for tendonitis. The key to receiving the best treatment is to first diagnose the problem and rule out any other underlying causes of the pain and then to decide on either a pharmaceutical, or a natural treatment plan.

How to Diagnose Tendonitis

Tendonitis pain is very similar to the stiffness, aching sensation and decrease in mobility associated with other more serious conditions, such as arthritis. Although the most likely cause of tendonitis is sports related injury or overuse, it is important to see a doctor if one suffers from chronic muscle or joint stiffness, as well as any chronic aches or pains. It is common for general practitioners to refer patients with tendonitis pain to a clinic where further diagnostic tests can be performed. The most commonly used tests include X-rays, MRIs and CAT scans.

Natural Treatment Solutions for Tendonitis Pain

Once a diagnosis of tendonitis has been made, patients can seek out a number of natural treatment options. Although anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen, can provide temporary pain relief, many doctors will recommend a natural, rather than a pharmaceutical treatment option in controlling tendonitis pain. Chiropractic treatments, as well as therapeutic and sports massage are common forms of alternative pain management for tendonitis.

Other Treatment Options

If natural treatments have failed to provide adequate relief from tendonitis pain, doctors may give the patient cortisone injections. It is not recommended, however, to resort to cortisone injections on a regular basis. If the pain associated with tendonitis does not improve, doctors may resort to minor surgery in order to provide more permanent relief.

A much newer form of treatment, developed during the 1990s, is so-called Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT). This is a non-invasive form of treatment, which uses a special device to send low-level shock waves to the affected area of the body. ESWT treatment usually takes 20 minutes and does not cause any serious pain or discomfort, although some patients do report nausea immediately after treatments. When considering ESWT in treating tendonitis pain, it is important to remember that this form of treatment should not be combined with most prescription medications.

Exercises for wrist tendonitis

May 24th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

Here are some excellent exercises for wrist tendonitis:

As soon as the pain subsides, begin a program to strengthen the wrist and increase its range of motion. The four exercises described below are recommended by Lyle Micheli, M.D., author of The Sports Medicine Bible. Start slowly and work up to 15-30 repetitions for each exercise, three times a day.

Put your forearm on a table, palms facing in, wrist hanging off the edge. Keep your fingers straight as you turn your hand/palm down as far as possible, then back to the starting position.

Put your forearm on a table, palm against the surface. Rotate your forearm and wrist so that the back of your hand touches the table.

Rotate your wrist in a circle, then change directions and rotate again.

Managing Forearm Tendonitis

May 24th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

Forearm tendonitis, the swelling of the tendons anywhere from the wrist to the elbow, is not only painful, but can also inhibit patients from performing routine, everyday activities.

Although general strain and age can increase the risk of developing forearm tendonitis, healthy athletes and young people are not immune from this condition, even though most people affected over 40 years of age. Forearm tendonitis is quite common among weight-lifters, due to the repetitive, constant stress and pressure placed on the forearm.

The regular use of heavy weights can cause muscles and tendons in the forearm to tear, resulting in significant pain. Those engaged in strenuous manual labor, involving regular lifting and repetitive movement of the arm are also at a higher risk of developing forearm tendonitis.

What are the Symptoms of Forearm Tendonitis?

An aching pain is the most common symptom of forearm tendonitis, although this is usually accompanied by redness and a burning sensation in the arm. Significant soreness is also often accompanied by stiffness and a decrease in the mobility of the arm. Some sufferers report pain both during and immediately after physical activity, as well as pain in the morning and during the night, when the arm is usually resting. In some cases, the forearm will also feel unusually warm when touched, and some people have described hearing grinding sounds when rotating or moving their wrist and forearm.

R.I.C.E. - first treatment

The acronym R.I.C.E. refers to the most common form of treatment used by people who suffer from forearm tendonitis. R.I.C.E. is a non-invasive, natural form of treatment and includes a period of rest, during which time one avoids lifting heavy items or straining the muscles in any way. As with other forms of tendonitis, the application of ice can be very useful in alleviating the swelling and pain. It is, however, recommended to apply ice for a period not exceeding 20 minutes and to have the ice cubes wrapped in a towel in order to minimize the risk of frostbite. Some people prefer to use a bag of frozen pees instead of ice. The application of light pressure to the entire forearm has also proven helpful, as well as keeping the arm in a slightly elevated position.

In most cases, home remedies have proved very successful in treating forearm tendonitis. Nevertheless, if the symptoms persist for more than two weeks, it is wise to consult a doctor who may recommend cortisone injections or anti-inflammatory drugs. Only in very rare cases will a health care worker recommend surgery.

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