A Tendon is a long cord like structure that attaches a muscle to a bone. These are in many parts of the body. The most obvious tendon in the body is our Achilles tendon, at the base of our calf muscle. Tendinopathy, which used to be called tendinitis, is a condition where a tendon becomes painful. This is usually due to over activity and subsequently changes take place inside the tendon structure.
Tendinopathy can affect many parts of the body as seen in the list of conditions below:
- Shoulder (rotation cuff)
- Elbow (tennis elbow)
- Knee (jumper’s knee)
- Heel (achillies tendinopathy)
- Foot (plantar fasciitis)
Exercises that are specific to the tendon are the best and most evidence based form of treatment for these problems, but it may often be hard to implement on your own.
At Performance Physiotherapy we take a keen interest in treating tendon problems. We recently attended the world tendinopathy research symposium at Oxford University in 2014. We will design a specific strength programme for you which starts at a manageable level and is progressed, adding weight appropriately to help rebuild thetendon. We also use other complimentary treatments such as massage, mobilisation, taping and acupuncture to help manage the symptoms along the way.
