TENDONITIS / BURSITIS

 

As with any condition, getting a correct diagnosis is the key to getting the correct treatment.  Tendonitis and bursitis are two closely related conditions which I feel are sometimes correctly and sometimes incorrectly diagnosed.  But even if you have been correctly told you have tendonitis or bursitis you may not have been offered a quality treatment.

 

First defining these terms is helpful.  In medical terms any word ending in “itis” means inflammation. 

 

Example:

Arthritis means inflammation of a joint (arthro = joint, and itis = inflammation),

Myositis = inflammation of muscle,

Tendonitis = inflammation of a tendon, and

Bursitis = inflammation of a bursa.

 

 

As the name implies inflammation is a big component of tendonitis and bursitis.  So correctly treating the inflammation is an important step in healing these conditions.  However, there is more than just inflammation involved.

 

 

There is one huge problem with the diagnosis of tendonitis. It's only half of the diagnosis! What do I mean?Look at the muscle in this photo.

 

The red tissue is muscle. The white tissues on the muscle's two ends are tendons.  The ends of muscles turn into tendons.  In other words, muscles have a tendon on each end and this tendon then attaches to the bone.  Any muscle with its associated tendons is a whole or complete unit.  This is important because:

 

The second half of the diagnosis is muscle spasm!

 

Muscles go into spasm as a defense mechanism. When we get hurt, our bodies automatically send the muscles in the area into a protective spasm (a sustained muscle contraction).  When the muscle constantly contracts in this protective state, it pulls on its two tendons which can lead to inflammation of one or both of the tendons.  It works the other ways as well.  If we overuse our tendons they inflame, and the muscle responds reflexively by going into spasm.  The spasm then keeps the inflamed tendon tight, and the tendon can't heal.

 

So most cases of tendonitis are really a combination of muscle spasms and tendonitis. 

 

 

This concept is missed by many medical offices! If you try to heal the tendonitis without addressing the muscle spasm you may heal, but it will take a lot longer. You also may not heal and develop a chronic condition. 

 

Additionally, these muscle spasms and tendonitis injuries develop as a result of overuse. To heal, you need a comprehensive home treatment program that you will use multiple times each day to help your body overcome the daily overuse of the affected area. The treatments offered in this chapter are aimed at reversing the various components of these injuries. This treatment is a shotgun approach. Just as shotgun pellets spread out over a target, so too will your variety of treatment spread out over your condition to reduce inflammation, decrease muscle spasm and bring about healing. 

 

So many doctors may diagnose tendonitis, but the miss the muscle spasm component. Additionally many offices often don't have an effective treatment program.