Sports and tendon injuries

Did you know that muscle, tendon, ligament, joint and bone injuries all have very different management, rehab and prognosis? What is good for one isn’t necessarily what will help the other. Sports and tendon injuries, such as tendinopathy, require diagnosis and appropriate management for optimal recovery.

Tendinopathy (also known as ‘tendinitis’ or ‘repetitive strain injury’) is a common injury we see at Pivotal Osteopathy.

You’ve probably heard of ‘tennis elbow’ or ‘golfer’s elbow’ – these are examples of tendinopathy conditions. Funnily, we usually see these conditions in people who don’t play either of these sports!

Now importantly to note, a tendinopathy is not the same as a tendon tear or rupture – acute tendon tears are pretty serious and can sometimes require surgery. That being said, micro-tears of the tendon can occur over extended periods of time when the workload the tendon is put under is higher than its capacity. This is usually how we see tendinopathy present clinically.

We will often see patients who have had on/off pain in their elbow, knee, hip, wrist, lower calf or shoulder for months. The area hurts so they rest, and then it will feel a bit better, so they think “Great! It’s ok now” and get back to doing their usual activities. Pretty quickly it’s often really painful again. This vicious cycle repeats and often gets more debilitating each time it gets aggravated. Taking anti-inflammatories can actually interfere with and delay the healing process.

So what is the answer if it’s a tendinopathy?

When the cause is a tendon rather than muscle, rest and taking anti-inflammatories (which is what we find most people do) usually just doesn’t fix it. Tendons are what attach the muscle to the bone, and their role is to transfer forces generated by a muscle to bone to elicit movement. They are high in collagen and are springy. Due to its structure, the tendon must be appropriately progressively loaded in order to lay down new cells to put the ‘spring’ back into the tendon so that it can function effectively. Tendon injuries occur either when there is an acute injury or from an imbalance between work capacity and load. Tendinopathy injuries do take a while to heal, but with the correct loading and rehabilitation advice (sometimes we may even recommend splints or braces to help support too) you’ll be back quicker to doing what you enjoy than staying in a constant cycle of rest/re-aggravation for months on end.

Whether you are a keen gardener, cyclist, runner, or not sporty at all, any injury that either prevents or impedes your ability to carry out your normal daily activities, play a sport or enjoy a hobby, can be very frustrating, difficult and often painful. Injuries do need professional assessment and diagnosis as the treatment and management varies widely, both by region and the tissue that has been injured.

Come and see us at Pivotal Osteopathy if you have a sports or tendon injury and we will give you a specific diagnosis, treatment and management plan for your injury to get you back on track and reach your health goals.