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Acute Tendonitis If someone does a physical activity to excess they strain the muscle(s) that was/are overused. This can happen to a retired person working in their garden too hard, or to a well-trained athlete who is pushing themselves too hard. This problem is commonly seen in the "weekend warrior" athlete who sits at a desk all week and then plays softball or tennis all day on the weekend. The resultant muscle strain (mild tear) creates inflammation and pain. This strain usually occurs near the end of the muscle where it attaches to a bone or blends into its tendon, creating a condition known as acute tendinitis. This condition could also be created if the muscle is strained from trauma such as a fall or misstep. When treating acute tendinitis rest the area, apply cold compression for 10-20 minutes at a time for at least 3 times a day. Do this to the injured area for the first day up to 3 days. Blood Flow Stimulation Therapy may be used after the acute swelling is improved. Cold compression therapy will reduce initial inflammation and swelling and Blood Flow Stimulation Therapy increases blood flow through the area to speed the healing process. This can be further helped by the use of ultrasound applications over the affected area, as it reduces swelling quickly and increases blood flow to the area, helping the tendon heal more quickly. The trick to any tendon injury is getting it to heal with minimal scar tissue formation and with as much realignment of tendon fibers as possible - something both Blood Flow Stimulation Therapy and therapeutic ultrasound are great at! Even with optimum healing there is always less elasticity in a previously injured tendon. The trick is to make sure you heal this the best you can, that way your chance of reinjury down the road is much lower than average.
| Tendon Injury Facts: When the tendon gets inflamed it is known as tendonitis, and when the tendons are chronically overused, it may lead to microscopic tears in the collagen matrix and causes a gradual weakening of the tissues. Achilles tendonitis is a common injury among runners, as the Achilles tendon is responsible for helping you lift off the ground with each stride. As computers become ever more important elements of the work place and everyday life, incidents of wrist tendonitis are on the rise. Oral Medications can mask the pain but do not aid in the healing of tendonitis. Anti-inflammatories and pain killers can cause tendonitis to worsen. Ice and Compression are the easiest and most effective treatments for tendonitis. Dear MendMeShop, At the end of the 2009 school year, (I'm a teacher) I developed plantar fasciitis in my right foot. I remember literally being in agony the last day of school and calling my orthopedic surgeon for an emergency appointment. He saw me, prescribed ice, supportive shoes, and offered to give me a shot of corticosteroid. He informed me that the shot might help but it also might make it worse! Needless to say, with that comment, I passed on the shot. I was really having a hard time with the pain. I began to search on the internet to find out all I could about plantar facsciitis and possible regimens to follow to aleviate my problem.. One site led to another and I finally found MendMeShop. MendMeShop offered a foot wrap that sounded like the perfect way to ice my foot. The plantar Freezie gel pack didn't freeze solid and the wrap molded perfectly to my foot. It certainly beat a tub full of hard ice! After that, I began researching the little ultrasound machine offered at MendMeShop. I was a little afraid of the price, but decided, after reading many testimonials, to invest in something many said worked well for them. I used the ultrasound regularly with great success along with the plantar Freezie. Following the directions in the ultrasound box, (I also got a phone call from MendMeShop to help me with the machine) I felt a great deal of difference in the level of pain in my foot after just a couple of days treatment. The condition is now gone from my right foot. I routinely exercise fairly vigorously including jogging on the treadmill. I would never have been able to do that last summer! My husband and I continue to use the ultrasound on sore tendons and muscle spasms. The ultrasound was a bit of an investment, but who can put a price on freedom from pain? Rating: Caroline Withers Dear MendMeShop, I am 49 years old. 2 years ago I started feeling pain in my right knee. Usually it disappeared after 10 min, so I didn't pay a lot of attention to it. After a few weeks it became stronger and one day I needed to stop jogging after 5 min. The next day it was even painful to walk. I visited a sports medicine surgeon for x-rays examination -the diagnosis - inflammation of patella tendon (point of its insertion into patella). Took a course of physical therapy for 4 weeks twice a week. Sadly, the knee didn't feel the same. The pain was there and I felt it on each sharp movement of my right leg, when I went upstairs, and when I try to run up even a few steps. A few months later on the street, I misstep and felt sharp pain on the knee cup. This time it became swollen and REALLY painful. Visited the doctor again and obtained really strong anti-inflammatory drug which helped. I also enrolled in PT again, but after all this it was still painful. A few months ago I went to the doctor for a third time and obtained a knee MRI ($2000 cost) and I was told that I have a partual tear of patella tendon and tendinosis. No running now and pain felt even when I touched a particular spot on the patella, and if I tried to do even partual squat it was painful as well. Recommendations - 3rd round of PT. This time I decided to take matters into my own hands. I browsed the internet a lot, and read a lot of "horror" stories of how people suffering from runner knee for many years found out nothing, even surgery, helped them. A few papers mentioned ultrasound, so after additional research I decided to invest around 100% into the device. There are few devices available which according to specs looks the same, but amazon reviews were quite positive for mendmeshop and I liked the fact that when I called customer service, I immediately got connected to live person and all my question were answered. The device arrived as promised. I've started treatment around 3 weeks ago, went by the manual 2 times per day 10min on high for the first two week, 3rd week I did once a day only, so today (Oct 25 is the first day of 4th week which is recommended to skip treatments). As it mentioned in the manual, I didn't feel any warm sensation on the skin (some people complained about heat), The device itself becames slightly warm but that's about it. You can hear a little humming which nearly disappears when you have a good seal between the metal head and the skin. Results: immediately after each treatment I felt a tangible decrease in pain just by pressing on the patella. Moreover , I also felt much less pain when I did a very partial one-leg squats. Now 3 weeks after I started the treatment , I can do 10-15 one leg partial decline squats literally pain free (a little ache but nothing similar to what I had before). No pain when I stand up from chair or go upstairs. I am very encouraged ( frankly I was sceptical at the beginning and thoght it's a snake oil, but I decided to try and I am very happy I did ). I'll definetely continue to use the device in the future. I have a scheduled visit to my knee doctor in a few weeks and I am eager to see what he will tell. I would be very interested to get a second MRI and see if there are any changes in tendon , but I am skeptical he will send me. Well now I am happy that there is a progress with pain and I am about to start exercising on the Nordic Track ski machine since it's less pressure on the knee joints). I am not taking any risk in starting jogging (I tried few steps and it's OK , but I don't want to take chances). Overall, I achieved great help from this device and I wish I would have started it much earlier. Need to give credit for MendMeShop customer service - immediate connection to live person, questions promptly answered, notification e-mails after shipment. Rating: Vladimir Rainish  Dear MendMeShop, Hi MendMeShop, i was forwarded your email from Jo Taylor as she purchased the Platinum Knee Therapy Kit for the Sport Taekwondo focus group at London Southbank University, which I head up. The Ultrasound has been used extensively already for all kind of knocks associated to Taekwondo. However the greatest benefit has been for our athlete who represents GBR at World level. This athlete has lateral meniscus damage and a very slight ACL tear. However, such is the nature of the competition season surgery is not something we can really look to at this point. As such he gets periods where the lateral aspect is sore and slightly inflamed, by using the ultrasound coupled with the inferno wrap this problem has reduced significantly (he was able to spar 33 rounds over two days very recently with no problems). I believe the increased intra-articular blood flow induced by these systems has enabled such activity. I have subsequently placed the purchasing of two more sets on the agenda of the next focus groups meeting in relation to the other sports of rugby and basketball that are priority at the University. Many thanks Sincerely Dr Dave Cook Rating: Dr. David Cook           |
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