Tendon problems are  extremely common. They were once called tendonitis and now called tendinopathy. Common areas where tendon problems occur include the elbow (tennis elbow), the shoulder (rotator cuff), the heel (achilles), the hamstrings and the knee (patella tendinopathy.)

In young people, tendons are commonly injured by trauma to the area or by the athlete training harder than normal. Seeing these people as soon as possible after the occurrence of pain greatly improves recovery time. With early treatment these conditions can have an excellent outcome.

In the 30 – 60 year old age group, the tendons have usually experienced gradual overload over time. These are treated differently and take longer to repair but again can have good long term outcomes.  For some of these people, they have an acute injury overlaying an older problem.

Physiotherapy plays a vital role in reducing your pain, assessing the biomechanical loading issues that may have contributed to your tendon becoming overloaded, changing your loading patterns to unload the tendon, developing a program to strengthen the tendon without overloading and then assisting you to safely return to activity.

Our physiotherapists are highly experienced in diagnosing and treating issues involving pains in muscles and joints and can help you get back to normal in a timely manner.

Published in “The Village Observer”, June, 2013. Written by Burns Bay Physiotherapy.