We all know someone who has some form of tendinitis or maybe you have had or have tendinitis at this time. Tendinitis is the inflammation of the tendon or sheath, whereas tendinosis is the collagen degeneration within the tendon.
Tendons are easy to injure because tendons have a poor blood supply. The area with the weakest blood supply is called the watershed zone. This lack of blood supply makes it prone to injury and also makes it harder to heal. Some of the symptoms of tendinitis are warmth, pain, swelling, and sometimes a crunching sound. Tearing of tendenous tissue causes bleeding and inflammation and releases pain-inducing chemicals.
The most common causes of tendinitis are from occupations or physical activities with repetitive motions or with trauma such as a fall. Some of the most common areas of tendinitis are the shoulder, wrist, Achilles, rotator cuff and tennis elbow. Tendinitis is often spelled Tendonitis and either spelling is correct but most medical literature uses the spelling Tendinitis. So the goal with tendinitis is to relieve tendon stress by reducing the tightness of muscles pulling on the tendons and to bring blood supply back to the tendon with massage.
Massage is best for chronic recurring pain from tendinitis or tendinosis. The right pressure and technique of massage will stimulate the healing process in the fibers of the tendon. Treating tendinitis with massage often starts with relaxing the muscles in the area, while avoiding excessive pulling on the tendons.
Deep longitudinal –stripping massage on the tendon and deep friction massage across the tendon will encourage the growth of cells found in connective tissue to aid in proper healing. If the tendon is showing signs of heat, redness, swelling and or pain then massage can be applied to the associated muscles but should be avoided around the tendon area until the inflammation has subsided.
Hydrotherapy is also an effective remedy for tendinitis, which causes the tissue to expand and contract by alternating three minutes of applying a moist warm compress with one to two minutes of applying a moist cold compress. This draws the blood, inflammatory debris and lymphatic congestion surrounding the torn tissue away from the area, increasing the speed and comfort of healing.
After you have been diagnosed with tendinitis your doctor will most likely prescribe physical therapy, ice and gentle stretching. In my next article we will talk about stretching and the natural ways to heal Tendinitis.
– Jeannine Nystrom
Jeannine Nystrom specializes in rehab exercise therapy, is a licensed massage therapist, certified stretching therapist, certified personal trainer and esthetician. As someone who had multiple injuries when she was younger that limited her living a healthy normal life, she was thrilled to find someone who was able to teach her how to self help with stretching and massage, getting back into shape and living a balanced life.
She owns a studio and day spa in Juno Beach, Florida and teaches all of these practices to her clients so they too can have a total holistic body and live a more balanced life.
Visit Jeannine’s website at http://www.totalholisticbody.com
