A tendon is a powerful cord of rope-like tissue that attaches muscle to bone. It can also take a lot of abuse on a daily basis, whether you love physical activity or engage in repetitive movements on the job.
When a tendon gets irritated, it becomes inflamed, swollen, and painful — a condition known as tendonitis. This can occur for several reasons, but it’s usually due to overuse or repetitive strain.
At Orthopaedic Care Specialists in North Palm Beach, Florida, Dr. Thomas F. Saylor specializes in tendonitis conditions affecting your upper extremities, wrists, and hands, such as:
If you have severe tendonitis pain, Dr. Saylor recommends these management strategies.
First up, it’s tempting to try to deal with problems on your own. However, if you have tendonitis, it’s important to know when you should see a doctor.
A lot of things can put added stress on tendons, including sudden injuries, jobs, and hobbies. These injuries also become increasingly common with age since tendons become less flexible.
The good news is minor tendonitis issues often respond to self-care, such as:
However, if your symptoms don’t start to improve within a few days, or they’re severe, an expert can create a personalized treatment plan.
Dr. Saylor uses a combination of treatment strategies to manage tendonitis. And, believe it or not, one of them is physical therapy.
Since resting an injury is often the first line of defense for healing, people usually assume it’s time to kick back on the couch. However, that’s typically the worst thing you can do in these situations.
Instead, a personalized physical therapy program can help you strengthen muscles in the injury area while resting inflamed tendons at the same time. This strategy offers numerous benefits for tendonitis, including easing pain and preventing future re-injury.
Physical therapy is also safe to use in combination with other tendonitis treatments.
An additional management strategy for severe tendonitis pain involves targeted injections. At Orthopaedic Care Specialists, Dr. Saylor uses low-dose steroids as well as platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy.
Unlike steroid injections that simply reduce pain and inflammation, PRP eases your symptoms by triggering the healing process. And it uses vital growth factors found in your blood concentrated into a therapeutic injection.
When injected into an area with tendonitis, these powerful substances activate repair on a cellular level, reducing your pain and inflammation as healthy new tissue returns to the area.
When severe tendonitis doesn’t respond to conservative treatment, Dr. Saylor could recommend minimally invasive surgery. These methods use specialized equipment to carry out even the most complex tendon repair procedures with smaller incisions.
The benefits of minimally invasive surgery include:
Minimally invasive surgery can also provide quicker recovery times.
Whether you have severe or chronic tendonitis pain, Dr. Saylor has solutions. Contact Orthopaedic Care Specialists by calling 561-260-5993 to book a visit today.
