Tendonitis

Question:

I am a licensed massage therapist and I also do house cleaning, which includes lots of floor polishing which aggravates this type of condition. How long will this take to resolve?

Answer:

Tendonitis results from microscopic tearing of the tendon fascicles due to overloading of the tendon, with a resulting inflammatory response.

There are four degrees of severity of tendonitis:

  1. Tendonitis in which pain occurs after activity.
  2. Tendonitis in which pain occurs at the beginning of the activity then disappears during and returns after the activity.
  3. Tendonitis in which pain occurs at the beginning of the activity, during and after, which may restrict the activity due to pain.
  4. Tendonitis in which pain occurs with all activities of daily living and progressively gets worse.

Depending on the grade of the tendonitis, recovery will also be slightly longer. Some tips:

  • Getting treatment for the injury should be the primary goal.
  • Resting from the activity that caused the injury is also important to allow the tissue to heal. This may be difficult if cutting back on the jobs is required.
  • Try hydrotherapy applied immediately after the activity for 5-20 minutes.
  • Also, pain free stretches of the affected and compensating muscles. This will help to regain flexibility.
  • Remember that it is important to regain full strength to the affected muscles, as this will prevent reinjury.

The outcome will depend on how long the tendonitis has been present before treatments started. Optimal recovery (depending on the client, the location of the tendonitis, etc.) could take 4 to 8 weeks. Some longstanding tendonitis may require treatment up to six months.

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