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Tendonitis from your Blackberry

May 30th, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

Is your hand sore? If you use a cell or a Blackberry, texting on your phone may be giving you tendonitis.

Joint clinic - Telegraph reports:

“With our reliance on mobile phones and hand-held computers, a condition called De Quervain’s tendonitis is becoming widespread. The repetitive, intensive use of the thumb while entering text on these devices is alien to its primary function. The result is irritation and inflammation of the tendons in the wrist. The sheath around the tendons enlarges, making every movement of the thumb or wrist painful.”

See your doctor to get pain relief, or try some yoga exercises - gentle ones.

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.

Patellar Tendonitis: “Jumpers Knee”

May 16th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

Sore knees? You may be suffering from patellar tendonitis. When a person overuses the knee it can result in patellar tendonitis or “jumper’s knee”.

The patellar tendon is a structure attaching the quadriceps group of muscles to the tibia or shin bone and is also referred to as patellar ligament, and some anatomists believe it should be referred to as a ligament, which is what connects bone to bone as opposed to tendons that connect muscles to bone. Patellar tendonitis can be a result of a rapid increase in the frequency of training, suddenly increasing training intensity, transitioning from one training method to another, repeatedly training on a rigid surface, mechanics during training were improper, knee joint abnormalities or even a poor base strength of the quadriceps muscles.

Patellar tendonitis is most often observed in basketball players. In addition, during school years, many kids make a transition from football to basketball and the two disciplines places completely different stresses on the knee joints, which can cause the onset of patellar tendonitis. There are other contributing factors as well, such as changes in training surfaces, increasing the amount of running or jumping or both as well as the pounding that is normally associated with football.

When athletes suffer from patellar tendonitis the signs as well as symptoms are easy to detect and include pain in the tendon area, knee feeling “tight”, pain being felt early in a workout as well as on completion of the workout, subtle swelling of the tendon as well as a certain “squeaking” of the tendon felt by athletes. One may treat this condition with a general fitness as well as flexibility program, though prevention is certainly better than cure.

Multi-sport athletes that make the transition from one sport to another should take care to utilize proper conditioning techniques so that the transition is trouble free and it may call for their performing aerobic fitness training, lower body strength training as well as training for lower body flexibility. Patients of patellar tendonitis are strongly encouraged to keep them active while practicing as well as when undergoing rehabilitation in order to prevent them from detraining, failing to keep up on defensive as well as offensive aspects of the game and most important of all, to keep the mental drive strong.

When patellar tendonitis occurs, it becomes necessary to first recognize the predisposing factors, because in case the condition goes unchecked, the tendon may form scar tissue that may result in the athlete spending the rest of his or her career in fighting off the condition, especially when he or she increases the volume or intensity of his or her training sessions.

Achilles Tendonitis: Coping With It And Finding Relief

May 11th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

Achilles tendonitis can happen to anyone, young or old. If you’ve been hobbling around in extreme pain and your doctor tells you that you have this injury, you’re wondering just what this means. Will you be incapacitated for weeks or months? How do you prevent this injury from recurring?

Achilles Tendonitis - What It Is

The Achilles tendon is largest tendon in your body: it joins your calf muscles to the bone. It needs to be large, because when you’re walking and running, it needs to be able to take the weight of your entire body.

Achilles tendonitis is damage to your Achilles tendon, causing irritation and inflammation to the tendon. The damage which causes Achilles tendonitis may occur from overuse in sports activities or training, and it may also be caused by arthritis, when arthritic spurs form where the tendon attaches to the heel bone.

Rest Is The Best Cure - Recovery Can Take A Couple Of Weeks

Achilles tendonitis causes pain when you’re walking, especially in the heel. Your heel and calf may be red and swollen. The initial treatment is simply rest, with pain medication like aspirin, because if you continue with the activities which caused the tendonitis, you may rupture the tendon. If the inflammation is very severe, you may need a cast to immobilize your heel until the inflammation subsides.

Once the inflammation is gone, you can begin physical therapy, which includes stretching exercises, as well as exercises to build up your calf muscles so that less pressure is placed on the tendon. Gentle yoga exercises are excellent both to stretch the tendon, and to build up muscle.

It’s vital that you start physical therapy, because once you’ve had Achilles tendonitis, the injury is likely to recur, in an even worse form, like a tear in the tendon. Your therapist will give you some exercises to do at home - they don’t take much time, just a few minutes a day.

Although Achilles tendonitis is disabling, it’s not a major injury, as long as you take the injury as a warning, and start therapy to strengthen the tendon so that the injury doesn’t recur.

Bursitis Tendonitis – dealing with it

May 8th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

If your joints are red and swollen, you may suspect bursitis tendonitis.

Tendons are the elastic type ligaments that connect muscle to bone. When these tendons break down with use a condition called tendonitis can occur. Tendonitis is an inflammatory condition which can cause pain and limit movement. Sacs of fluid which provide cushioning to the joints are called bursae. If this fluid filled sac become inflamed it is called bursitis. When there is inflammation of both the tendon and the bursae it is a condition referred to as bursitis tendonitis. Pain from this condition can become quite severe. There are several contributing factors that can cause bursitis tendonitis. Often this occurs normally with the aging process. As tendons age they loose their elasticity and continued use of the tendon can cause tearing or rupture. This condition can also be cause by trauma from either an accident or athletic overuse. Repetitive movement such as typing, painting, or jogging can take its toll over time.

Many people mistake the pain associated with bursitis tendonitis as being arthritis and indeed, this may be an early warning sign of arthritis. It is important to determine the cause of the inflammation and pain. In severe cases infection can occur which could require antibiotics and extracting the fluid from the infected site.

Treating Bursitis Tendonitis

It is important for you to discuss this condition with your doctor. He will need to try to determine if there is an underlying cause for the pain and inflammation. Early detection and treatment have the highest success rate. If the condition is a result of trauma or injury it can often be treated with immobilizing the area with a brace and taking a regimen of anti-inflammatory drugs. If the condition is caused by repetitive movement then your doctor can recommend ways to reduce the stress to the affected area. Often a change in the way you sit at your workplace can be modified to cause less stress to your neck, shoulders, back, and wrists. Taking frequent breaks can reduce stress to the affected area. Your doctor may want you to go to physical therapy to learn proper stretching and exercise techniques.

Tips in Preventing Bursitis Tendonitis

Always warm up with stretches before exercising. Being overweight can add stress to your knees so it is important to keep your weight at a normal level. Use good posture when sitting and standing. If you work at a desk and type, make sure you are sitting at a comfortable height which allows you a comfortable position without putting stress on your wrists. Taking the time to prevent joint stress as much as possible will help you maintain healthy, pain-free freedom of movement.

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Credits: The Stretching Handbook | Matteo Turchetto | Andreas Viklund