Tendinitis/Tendinosis

About Knee Tendinitis

The ending of the word “itis” is defined as inflammation. Therefore, tendinitis is inflammation of a tendon, which connects muscles to bones. Commonly, the tendon that connects your quadriceps muscle to the tibia bone (quadriceps tendon above the kneecap and patellar ligament below the kneecap) can become inflamed resulting in a condition also known as jumper’s knee. This thick tendon runs over the top of your kneecap and attaches to the tibia bone below. This structure can often become inflamed due to abnormal joint movements, poor posture, and weakness of the surrounding musculature. This causes strain to the tendon with resulting pain during repetitive movement and especially with squatting or kneeling down. Other areas of tendinitis in the knee can occur such as the back, outside or inside of the knee.

About Tendon Repair & Post-surgery Rehab

Common surgeries in the elbow, wrist, and hand involve repair of the vast amount of tendons and ligaments in these areas. Depending on the type and extent of your surgery, your physician will recommend physical therapy to help you recover completely from your surgical procedure.

The fingers, hand, and wrist are very tightly packed with tendons, ligaments and intricate structures. This means that swelling is very common in these areas after surgery and can become quite stiff leading to loss of range of motion, gripping, dexterity and normal functioning of the fingers, hand, wrist or elbow.

How physical therapy helps

Physical therapy is the first line in conservative treatment for tendinitis. Most tendinitis is due to underlying abnormal mechanics of movement, walking, and weakness. Our trained physical therapists are experts in evaluating your movement to pinpoint the source of the trouble. Modalities may be used to alleviate pain and discomfort, while hands-on therapy improves joint mechanics and movement.

Finally, gentle strengthening exercises and joint coordination exercises help to restore stability to the affected area and prevent re-occurrence of symptoms. To discover how we can help your knee tendinitis call us today at our Bedford, NH center, around the greater Manchester area..