Tendinitis

Tendons are tough pieces of tissue that connect your muscles to your bones.

Tendinitis is inflammation of a tendon.

• Tendinitis causes pain, especially when you move that tendon

• It's most common in middle-aged or older people, because tendons weaken with age

• It can also be caused by hard exercise or doing tasks that use the same motions over and over

Tendinitis probably comes from the many small injuries, tears, and general wearing out that happen as you get older. Important contributing causes include:

• Overexercise or doing exercises the wrong way

• Doing the same motions over and over

Certain disorders make you a little more likely to get tendinitis:

• Rheumatoid arthritis

• Systemic sclerosis

• Gout

• Diabetes

Gonorrhea, a sexually transmitted infection, sometimes spreads through your body and infects a tendon.

Tendinitis can also occur as a side effect of some antibiotics.

Symptoms of tendinitis include:

• Pain when the tendon is moved or pressed

• Sometimes, swelling and warmth

Tendinitis is most likely to happen to tendons in these parts of your body:

• Shoulder (rotator cuff)

• Hand

• Upper arm

• The back of your heel

• The side of your knee

• Near your hip bone

If tendinitis lasts a long time, the tendon can weaken and you may have:

• Stiffness and difficulty moving (especially if your tendinitis is in your shoulder joint)

• A feeling of snapping or catching when you move the joint

Doctors can usually tell you have tendinitis based on your symptoms and physical exam.

Sometimes they do tests, such as:

• MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)

• Ultrasound

Treatment usually includes:

• Resting the painful area, sometimes by wearing a splint or sling

• Heat or cold packs

• Sometimes a corticosteroid injection

Once the inflammation gets better, you’ll do exercises to help the tendon move more easily.

For severe cases of tendinitis, doctors may do surgery.