Change up Your Activities to Avoid this Problem
posted: Mar. 30, 2017.
If you engage in an activity that involves repetitive actions, you are probably setting yourself up for trouble later. Repeating specific movements causes inflammation of tendons (the cord-like structures that connect muscles to bones) resulting in tendonitis. Normally, tendons are capable of withstanding tension, but when inflamed, they are more likely to rupture.
People most likely to experience tendonitis:
- Athletes—amateur as well as professional
- Diabetics
- Older people
Occasionally, tendons may become inflamed from the repeated action of sitting with one foot resting across the top of the other. Extensor tendons on the top of the foot can be irritated by shoes that have been fastened too tightly. Also, the tendon that runs across the top of the big toe is prone to injury from shoe uppers that crease at the wrong place.
How do you know you have tendonitis?
- Pain at the place where the tendon attaches to the bone
- Swelling, heat, and redness of the painful area
- Palpable lump along the tendon
- Crepitus or crackling feeling during movement
Treatment of tendonitis
Initial treatment recommended when the pain is acute (sharp) is ice, rest, compression, and elevation of the affected area. Taking anti-inflammatory pain medication also reduces pain and inflammation. Improve a dull, aching pain by applying a warm compress.
If conservative treatment fails to provide relief, consult a foot care expert like Toronto-based, podiatrist, Sheldon H. Nadal, D.P.M. for more options. He may recommend stretching and strengthening exercises, physical therapy, or the use of splints. If the pain is severe, he may advise a corticosteroid injection or tendon decompression surgery. If he determines there are calcium deposits around the tendon, he may use extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) to reduce these.
Change things up
Early treatment usually resolves the problem quickly; however, the cause of the tendonitis needs to be addressed and you will most likely have to change your behavior to reduce the repetitive action. If your tendonitis has occurred through sport, cross-training and warming up properly before exercising helps. If the pain re-occurs, stop the activity and take a break.
Resources:
http://www.healthline.com/symptom/tendon-inflammation