Footnotes / Blog

Lets first get some terms out of the way before we discussed effective treatment options. Tendons are chord like structures that connect muscle to bones. They always cross at least 1 joint in the body and allow us to move our body parts. The most easily recognizable tendon is probably the Achilles tendon located in the back of the heel.

Tendinopathy, Tendinitis, and Tendinosis. These terms are constantly thrown around, but what do they mean. Tendinopathy is a general term used to describe any tendon injury, and nothing more beyond that. Tendinitis is probably the most commonly heard of term, and misused term. Tendinitis technically describes inflammation of the tendon and thats it. Usually there is no underlying damage to the tendon or long term consequences. However it is commonly used to by the public and doctors describe any tendon pain due to the familiarity of the term with the general public. Tendinosis is probably a more common pathology and describes a degenerative process caused by old injuries or overuse. Basically this type of tendon injury is more serious resulting in microtears of the tendon that build up over time, which can lead to severe pathology.