Tendinitis Treatment in Westminster Denver Colorado
Overview
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Tendinitis is inflammation of the thick fibrous cords that
attach muscle to bone. These cords are called tendons. The condition causes
pain and tenderness just outside a joint.
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Tendinitis can occur in any tendon. But it’s most common around
shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees and heels.
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Most tendinitis can be treated with rest, physical therapy and
medicine to reduce pain.
● Long-lasting tendon inflammation can cause a
tendon to tear. A torn tendon might need surgery.
Symptoms
Symptoms of tendinitis tend to occur where a tendon attaches to
a bone. Symptoms often include:
● Pain, often described as a dull ache,
especially when moving the hurt limb or joint
● Tenderness
● Mild swelling
When to see a doctor
Most cases of tendinitis respond to self care.
See your health care provider if your symptoms don’t lessen after a few days
and if they get in the way of daily activities.
Causes
●
Tendinitis can be caused by a sudden injury. But repeating the
same movement over time is a much more likely cause.
●
Most people develop tendinitis because their jobs or hobbies
involve motions that they repeat, over and over. This puts stress on tendons.
● Moving correctly is especially important when
having to repeat movements for sports or a job. Moving incorrectly can overload
the tendon and lead to tendinitis.
Risk factors
Risk factors for developing tendinitis include age, having jobs
that involve doing the same motion over and over, doing physical activities
with poor form, and taking certain medicines.
●
Age-
As people get older, their tendons become less
flexible — which makes them easier to injure.
●
Work-
Tendinitis is more common in people, such as
gardeners and manual laborers, whose jobs involve:
–
Repeated motions
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Awkward positions
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A lot of overhead reaching
–
Vibration
–
Forced movements
●
Activities-
When doing physical activities, the following can
increase the risk of tendinitis:
–
Sudden increase in amount or difficulty of training
–
Poor equipment, such as old shoes
–
Hard surfaces, such as concrete or gym floors
–
Too little recovery time after an injury or too little time to
get used to the activity again after time off
–
Poor posture or body movements
●
Medical
condition and medications- Certain medical
conditions, such as diabetes, can increase the risk of tendinitis. Medications
that may increase risk include:
–
Antibiotics known as fluoroquinolines
–
Corticosteroids such as cortisone
–
Aromatase inhibitors, used to lower breast cancer risk
Complications
Without treatment, tendinitis can increase the
risk of a tendon breaking down or tearing. A completely torn tendon might need
surgery.
Prevention
To reduce the chance of developing tendinitis, follow these
suggestions:
● Ease up. Avoid activities that place too much stress on your tendons,
especially for long periods. If you have pain during an exercise, stop and
rest.
● Mix it up. If one exercise or activity causes you pain, try something
else. Cross-training can help you mix high-impact exercise, such as running,
with lower impact exercise, such as biking or swimming.
● Improve the way you move. If how you do an activity or exercise is
flawed, you could be setting yourself up for problems with your tendons.
Consider taking lessons or getting professional instructions when starting a
new sport or using exercise equipment.
● Stretch. After exercise, move your joints through full range of motion.
The best time to stretch is after exercise, when your muscles are warmed up.
● Move right in the workplace. Make sure your chair, keyboard and desktop
are positioned correctly for your height, arm length and the tasks you do. This
will help protect your joints and tendons from stress.
● Prepare your muscles to play. Strengthening muscles used in your activity
or sport can help them bear the load better.
Diagnosis
Usually, a physical exam alone can diagnose
tendinitis. X-rays or other imaging tests might be used to rule out other
conditions that could be causing the symptoms.
Treatment
The goals of tendinitis treatment are to
relieve pain and reduce irritation. Self-care, including rest, ice and pain
relievers, might be all that’s needed. But full recovery might take several
months.
Medications
Medicines used to treat tendinitis include:
● Pain relievers. Aspirin, naproxen sodium (Aleve), ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB,
others) or acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) may relieve tendinitis pain. Some of
these drugs can cause stomach upset, or kidney or liver problems. Creams
containing pain relievers can be applied to the skin. These products can help
relieve pain and avoid the side effects of taking these drugs by mouth.
● Steroids. A steroid shot around a tendon might help ease the pain of
tendinitis. These shots aren’t for tendinitis lasting more than three months.
Repeated steroid shots can weaken a tendon and increase the risk of the tendon
tearing.
● Platelet-rich plasma. This treatment involves taking a sample of your own blood and
spinning the blood to separate out the platelets and other healing factors. The
solution is then injected into the area of chronic tendon irritation. Though
research is still going on to find the best way to use platelet-rich plasma, it
has shown promise in the treatment of many chronic tendon conditions.
Physical therapy
● Physical therapy exercises can help strengthen
the muscle and tendon. Eccentric strengthening, which emphasizes contraction of
a muscle while it’s lengthening, is an effective treatment for many chronic
tendon conditions.
Surgical and other procedures
In situations where physical therapy hasn’t resolved symptoms,
your health care provider might suggest:
● Dry needling. This procedure, usually performed with ultrasound to guide it,
involves making small holes in the tendon with a fine needle to stimulate
factors involved in tendon healing.
● Surgery. Depending on the severity of your tendon injury, surgical
repair may be needed, especially if the tendon has torn away from the bone.
Lifestyle and home remedies
To treat tendinitis at home, use rest, ice, compression and
elevation. This treatment can help speed recovery and help prevent more
problems.
● Rest. Avoid doing things that increase the pain or swelling. Don’t
try to work or play through the pain. Healing requires rest, but not complete
bed rest. You can do other activities and exercises that don’t stress the
injured tendon. Swimming and water exercise may be good options.
● Ice.
To decrease pain, muscle spasm and swelling, apply ice to the injured area for
up to 20 minutes several times a day. Ice packs, ice massage or slush baths
with ice and water all can help. For an ice massage, freeze a paper cup full of
water so that you can hold the cup while applying the ice directly to the skin.
● Compression. Because swelling can cause loss of motion in an injured joint,
wrap the area tightly until the swelling stops. Use wraps or elastic bandages.
● Elevation. If tendinitis affects your knee, raise the hurt leg above the
level of your heart to reduce swelling.
Although rest is a key to treating tendinitis,
not moving joints can cause them to become stiff. After a few days of resting
the injured area, gently move it through its full range of motion to keep your
joints flexible.
Our expert providers are experienced and skilled
at treating tendinitis and are your source for expert treatment of tendinitis
in Westminster and Denver Colorado. Not only are we the premier treatment for
spine injuries and chiropractic in Westminster and Denver Colorado, but we also
specialize in many other advanced treatment techniques such as shockwave, cold
laser, graston technique, KT Taping, activator, instrument aided spinal
alignments, drop table, toggle, in house rehab services, and on site digital
xrays. We are your Premier destination for tendinitis treatment in Westminster
Colorado and Denver Colorado Chiropractor.