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What is tendonitis? |
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Tendonitis (also spelled tendinitis) is a painful disorder of a tendon.
Generally tendonitis is referred to by the body part involved, such as Achilles tendonitis (affecting the Achilles tendon), or patellar tendonitis (jumper's knee, affecting the patellar tendon). It was believed that tendonitis was due to inflammation of a tendon, although this is coming into doubt.
Chronic overuse of tendons leads to microscopic tears within the collagen matrix, which gradually weakens the tissue.
Who Gets Tendonitis?Anyone can get Tendonitis, but it is more common in adults, especially those over 40 years of age. As tendons age they tolerate less stress, are less elastic, and are easier to tear.
Where Does Tendonitis Occur?
Tendinous injuries are common in the upper and lower limbs (including the rotator cuff attachments), and are less common in the hips and torso.
Individual variation in frequency and severity of tendonitis will vary depending on the type, frequency and severity of exercise or use; for example, rock climbers tend to develop tendonitis in their fingers, swimmers in their shoulders.
Achilles tendonitis is a common injury, particularly in sports that involve lunging and jumping while patellar tendonitis is a common among basketball and volleyball players due to the amount of jumping and landing.
Tendonitis can occur in almost any area of the body where a tendon connects a bone to a muscle. The most common places are:
- Base of the thumb
- Elbow
- Shoulder
- Hip
- Knee
- Achilles tendon
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