Understanding Tendonitis

Tendonitis isn’t just a health condition that is relegated to athletes. Gardeners, housekeepers and even surgeons can all potentially develop this condition from repetitive use of their bodies. In most cases, you can expect the pain and inflammation from this common injury to ease up within a couple of weeks provided that you give yourself proper care and time to heal.

 

What is Tendonitis?


Your tendons are a fibrous band of tissue that connects your muscles to the bones. They’re found throughout your body, but the ones around your ankle, wrists and shoulders are the most vulnerable to injuries.

Tendonitis occurs when the tendons are exposed to forces that generate small tears and other forms of damage that lead to pain and inflammation. The Achilles tendon is especially prone to developing this injury due to trauma that occurs when you run and jump for prolonged periods of time or simply come down too hard on your foot.

Interestingly, people tend to use different names for tendonitis, although they all come from the same type of injury. You might hear of tendon inflammation as being referred to as these conditions:

 

  • Tennis elbow
  • Swimmer’s shoulder
  • Achilles tendonitis
  • Golfer’s elbow
  • Jumper’s knee

Common Tendonitis Symptoms


The symptoms of tendonitis occur near the site of the injury. Pain, tenderness and mild swelling are the most common symptoms that you might experience. Typically, the pain gets worse with the movement of the affected body part, and you might notice that the soreness increases with activity.

Mild symptoms will usually begin to improve within several days to six weeks provided that you rest and practice self-care measures such as using red light therapy for tendonitis. After that, you could be dealing with a more severe form of the condition called tendinosis. This form can take several months to recover from, and it can sometimes require surgery.

Causes of Tendonitis


The condition is generally viewed as an overuse injury. Engaging in repetitive tasks places the tendon under constant strain without enough time to rest and recover. For instance, a construction worker who constantly uses their shoulder to move a tool in the same way many times over the course of a shift might develop tendonitis.

Sports tendonitis can also occur in people who go through heavy training such as you would to prepare for a basketball game or gymnastics competition. Dancers and other people who do a lot of jumping often develop tendonitis in their Achilles tendon since it bears the brunt of their weight as they lift their body off the ground and land.

In some cases, you might not feel like you overused the tendon at all. This often happens with weekend warriors who might suddenly decide to do a lot of physical activity that their body isn’t ready to handle. Suddenly deciding to go for a multi-mile run could cause your tendon to feel the effects of doing more activity than it is used to doing.

There are also a few factors that influence who might develop the condition. As you age, your tendons lose some of their elasticity. This can cause them to be more prone to injury. Aging can also impact how well your body heals, which means that you might need to practice better athlete tendonitis care to prevent your condition from worsening.

On top of icing the tendon, resting and making sure to avoid irritating movements, you can use red light therapy to encourage faster healing.

Red Light Therapy Can Help Tendonitis


With red light therapy, tendonitis is relieved through the use of two different types of lights that penetrate the skin and promote healing processes in your body. Our red light therapy for foot pain relief device delivers infrared lights at 880 nanometers, which is invisible to the naked eye. Red light is also delivered at 660 nanometers, for a dual effect that goes deep into your skin where it stimulates adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production.

ATP, which is the energy-containing molecule located within a cell’s mitochondria, is responsible for helping to promote healing at the cellular level. Using our device helps your body to generate more energy within the tendons that help reduce inflammation and pain naturally.

Compared to other types of treatment, red light therapy is convenient and only takes a few minutes each day. To use the device, all you have to do is place your feet on it or direct it towards the affected limb and let the light do its healing work. Afterward, you won’t have lingering side effects like you might with pain medication, and you can use the device anytime you feel the symptoms of tendonitis flaring up.

Get Relief From Your Tendonitis with Red Light Therapy


Tendonitis can affect you at any point in life, and it is important to be prepared to help your body heal so that you preserve your ability to move freely. For athletes, having to take even a few weeks off from training could impact their ability to participate in a competition.

Fortunately, you don’t have to let an irritated tendon leave you on the sidelines. Choosing to use red light therapy helps you get back on your feet faster so that you don’t have to miss a beat in your training routine.