Especially when you’re physically active and participate in sports like tennis or golf, you may develop a painful condition known as tendonitis. This term simply means inflammation and swelling of a tendon.
Tendons are the thick but flexible tissues that connect a muscle to a bone or to another type of tissue. (Compare that to ligaments, which connect a bone to another bone in a joint.) Tendonitis can cause you a great deal of chronic pain.
Often, tendonitis occurs as we get older, but it can also arise suddenly due to an injury of a tendon. Any tendon in your body can develop tendonitis, but it most often affects your elbows, wrists, and knees. It can also occur in the Achilles tendon, which is located in the back of the lower leg near the heel.
How Is Tendonitis Diagnosed?
When you see your doctor for a diagnosis and treatment of your pain, you’ll talk about your usual habits, explain what you think might have been the cause (if you have any ideas), and describe the pain or disability you are experiencing. For example, your practitioner will want to know whether it is a constant pain or intermittent, mild or severe, etc.
The physician will also assess your range of motion and will check the area for any swelling or tenderness. This is often enough for the doctor to diagnose tendonitis, but the physician may want to rule out any other potential causes of your pain by performing an X-ray or other imaging scan.
How It Is Treated
The main goal of tendonitis treatment is to reduce the inflammation and pain. If your injury is mild, your practitioner may recommend at-home remedies like ice to relieve the inflammation. The doctor will also likely prescribe a pain relief medication.
Physical therapy is a main treatment for tendonitis, no matter the variety of tendonitis you have. During therapy, your physical therapist will guide you through a series of exercises and stretches that will slowly and carefully move the area, which helps you regain flexion and strength in the area. These exercises also encourage blood flow to promote healing of the injury while helping to prevent future re-injury.
The techniques used in physical therapy are done to help you avoid any type of invasive therapy or surgical procedure. However, surgery is usually necessary in serious cases when your tendon has separated from the bone, or if the tendon has torn completely and is not healing properly.
Physical Therapists Treating Tendonitis in Austin, Texas
Our physical therapists at Endeavor Physical Therapy & Wellness are here to help you get back to working, playing, and performing your normal activities through noninvasive measures. Your physical therapy program will be customized to your needs, and we will help you to progress at a pace that’s comfortable for you.
Schedule an appointment with one of our outstanding PTs today by calling our friendly staff at (512) 284-7192 or by filling out our online scheduler. We look forward to helping you get past the pain and limitations posed by tendonitis so you can get back to the active lifestyle you enjoy!
