Tendinitis: Types, Symptoms and Physiotherapy Treatment
Tendinitis is an inflammation of the tendon that causes pain and functional limitation. Learn about the most common types and their treatment.
What is tendinitis?
Tendinitis is the inflammation or irritation of a tendon, the fibrous structure that connects muscle to bone. Although the traditional term is tendinitis, the preferred term today is tendinopathy, as many of these injuries involve a degenerative process (tendinosis) rather than a purely inflammatory one.
Tendinopathies are extremely common and can affect any tendon in the body. They are usually caused by overuse, repetitive movements or sustained mechanical overloads. At Fontanet Medicina i Fisioterapia we treat tendinopathies with the most up-to-date, evidence-based techniques.
Most common types of tendinitis
The most common tendinopathies we treat at our centre in Tarragona include:
- Rotator cuff tendinitis (shoulder): very common in people who work with their arms raised or overhead athletes
- Lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow): affects the forearm extensor tendons, not only in tennis players but in anyone with repetitive wrist movements
- Medial epicondylitis (golfer's elbow): affects the forearm flexor tendons, common in manual labour
- Patellar tendinitis (jumper's knee): very common in athletes who perform repetitive jumps
- Achilles tendinitis: affects the Achilles tendon, common in runners and athletes
- De Quervain's tendinitis: affects the thumb tendons, related to excessive use of mobile phones and computers
Symptoms of tendinitis
The main symptom of tendinopathy is localised pain in the area of the affected tendon. This pain has a characteristic pattern: it appears at the start of activity, may diminish with warm-up, and intensifies again after finishing the activity or during prolonged rest.
Other symptoms include tenderness on direct palpation of the tendon, morning stiffness, weakness in the associated muscle function and occasionally slight swelling. In advanced stages, pain may be present even during light everyday activities.
Physiotherapy treatment for tendinopathies
The treatment of tendinopathies has evolved enormously in recent years. Current evidence highlights eccentric exercise as the cornerstone of treatment: these are exercises where the muscle contracts while lengthening, stimulating the remodelling of tendon collagen.
At Fontanet Medicina i Fisioterapia we combine progressive eccentric exercise with physiotherapy techniques that accelerate recovery. Extracorporeal shockwave therapy is particularly effective for chronic tendinopathies that do not respond to conventional treatment. Dry needling and percutaneous intratissue electrolysis (EPI) stimulate tendon regeneration at the cellular level.
Manual therapy complements the treatment by addressing mobility restrictions and muscular imbalances that contributed to the onset of the injury.
- Progressive eccentric exercise (personalised protocol)
- Extracorporeal shockwave therapy (3-5 sessions)
- Dry needling and percutaneous electrolysis
- Manual therapy and soft tissue mobilisation
- Correction of predisposing biomechanical factors
- Cryotherapy and anti-inflammatory measures in the acute phase
Recovery and prevention
Recovery from a tendinopathy requires patience, as tendons have a slow metabolism and need time to remodel. A progressive exercise programme maintained for 12 weeks is usually necessary to achieve optimal results.
To prevent tendinopathies, it is essential to respect load progression in sport and work, perform adequate warm-ups, maintain good flexibility and correct poor technique. Our team in Tarragona will help you identify and modify the risk factors specific to your case.