Chronic Tendonitis

Chronic tendonitis (or chronic tendinitis) occurs when a tendon near a joint becomes inflamed, usually because of repetitive overuse. The condition will typically affects patients in the shoulder, elbow, knee, ankle and foot areas, as these are the most active and stressed joints.

Close to 4 million people in the United States seek treatment each year for symptoms of tennis elbow alone! This one of the most common locations for chronic tendonitis and is quite common among athletes. Swinging a golf club or a tennis racquet repetitively can wear on a person's tendons and cause them to become inflamed.

Until recently, treatment options for patients with chronic tendonitis have been limited to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen, and stretching exercises, but that is changing due to new treatment methods such as ultrasonic therapy and shockwave vibration therapies. Ultrasound treatment is quickly becoming very popular for treating this problem, as results have been very positive as long as the patient (1) keeps the area inactive throughout the healing process and (2) sticks to the treatment properly until healing has completed.

Ultrasound is great for tendonitis because the patient can treat themselves continuously without delay, as would happen if they went to a therapist for all their ultrasound treatments.

Patients with chronic tendonitis are instructed to avoid activities that aggravate the condition, as the tendon will not heal properly if it is constantly stressed through overuse. Occasionally, physicians performed surgery on patients or gave them injections of corticosteroids, but this is invasive and is a method of last resort.