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Tendons are flexible bands of tissue that connect muscles to bones. They help your muscles move your bones. Tendinitis is the severe swelling of a tendon.
Tendinitis usually happens after repeated injury to an area such as the wrist or ankle. It causes pain and soreness around a joint. Some common forms of tendinitis are named after the sports that increase their risk. They include tennis elbow, golfer's elbow, pitcher's shoulder, swimmer's shoulder, and jumper's knee.
Doctors diagnose tendinitis with your medical history, a physical exam, and imaging tests. The first step in treatment is to reduce pain and swelling. Rest, wrapping or elevating the affected area, and medicines can help. Ice is helpful for recent, severe injuries. Other treatments include ultrasound, physical therapy, steroid injections, and surgery.
What is a rotator cuff?
Your rotator cuff is part of your shoulder joint. It's a group of muscles and tendons that holds the top part of your upper arm bone firmly in your shoulder socket. The rotator cuff keeps your shoulder stable when you move your arm in any direction.
What are rotator cuff injuries?Rotator cuff injuries are common. Most of them are wear-and-tear injuries from doing the same arm movements over and over - especially reaching over your head. With time, the tissues in the rotator cuff break down, leading to these injuries:
Anyone can develop a rotator cuff injury. But certain people are more likely to have one:
Rotator cuff injuries don't always cause pain. But when they do, the pain is often in the top part of your arm or shoulder. You may feel more pain when you:
Other symptoms from a torn rotator cuff may include:
To find out if you have a rotator cuff injury, your health care provider:
The best treatment for you depends on your age, how much your injury bothers you, and whether your injury was sudden or happened from wear and tear.
Treatments for rotator cuff injuries often include:
Treatments for rotator cuff tendinitis and bursitis may also include ultrasound therapy. Surgery may be an option if your shoulder doesn't feel better in 6 to 12 months.
Treatments for a torn rotator cuff may also include heat to the sore area or electrical stimulation of the nerves and muscles (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, TENS).
You provider may suggest surgery if your tear is large or is from a recent injury, or symptoms last for 6 to 12 months.
When should I see a health care provider for shoulder pain?If certain activities bother your shoulder, it's best to stop doing them and check with your provider. That's because early treatment can prevent mild rotator cuff injuries from becoming more serious later on. If you your arm feels weak right after a sudden injury to your shoulder, see your provider as soon as possible.
Your elbow joint is made up of bone, cartilage, ligaments and fluid. Muscles and tendons help the elbow joint move. When any of these structures is hurt or diseased, you have elbow problems.
Many things can make your elbow hurt. A common cause is tendinitis, an inflammation or injury to the tendons that attach muscle to bone. Tendinitis of the elbow is a sports injury, often from playing tennis or golf. You may also get tendinitis from overuse of the elbow.
Other causes of elbow pain include sprains and strains, fractures (broken bones), dislocations, bursitis, and arthritis. Treatment depends on the cause.
Heel problems are common and can be painful. Often, they result from too much stress on your heel bone and the tissues that surround it. That stress can come from:
These can lead to tendinitis, bursitis, and fasciitis, which are all types of inflammation of the tissues that surround your heel. Over time the stress can cause bone spurs and deformities. Certain diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and gout, can also lead to heel problems. Treatments for heel problems might include rest, medicines, exercises, taping, and special shoes. Surgery is rarely needed.
What are joints?
Your joints are places where two or more bones come together. Your shoulders, elbows, hips, knees, and knuckles are all joints. Your spine has joints, too.
But joints are more than bones. They include the soft tissues around them, such as cartilage, tendons and ligaments. Cartilage is the hard slippery flexible tissue that covers the ends of your bones at a joint. Tendons are tough, flexible bands that connect your muscles to your bones so you can move your joints. Ligaments connect the bones of the joint to each other to keep them stable when you move.
What are joint disorders?Joint disorders are diseases or injuries that affect your joints. Injuries can happen because of overuse of a joint. Or you could have a sudden injury, such as an accident or a sports injury.
What diseases can affect the joints?Many diseases can affect the joints. They often cause joint pain and make your joints stiff, red, or swollen. Most of them are chronic. That means they last a long time. Some may never go away completely. Some of the diseases that affect the joints include:
Treatments are different depending on the disease. But most treatments include medicines and therapies to relieve pain and other symptoms.
What types of joint disorders happen from sudden injuries?Joint disorders from sudden injuries include:
Treatment depends on the type of injury. You can treat many sports injuries at home. But you should call your health care provider if you:
Overuse injuries usually damage the soft tissues of the joint. They can happen when you work a joint too hard by doing the same movements over and over. For example, you could get an overuse injury from playing a musical instrument, playing sports, or doing certain jobs, such as carpentry or painting.
Joint overuse injuries include:
The treatments for bursitis, tendinitis, and chronic strain are often the same. They usually include rest, keeping the injured joint higher than your heart, and taking medicine to reduce swelling. Your provider may recommend gentle exercise and other treatment. In some cases, your provider may suggest an injection (a shot) of medicine into the joint. If these do not help, you may need surgery.
How can I keep my joints healthy?Getting enough physical activity is one of the most important things you can do to prevent or slow joint disorders. Activity strengthens the muscles around your joints and helps them work better.
When you play sports, wear the right equipment to protect your joints, such as knee pads. If you already have joint problems, ask your provider what type of activities are best for you.
NIH: National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases