Tendinitis: The young man’s arthritis
I’m seeing more and more cases of tendinitis nowadays, specifically among the active and young population including athletes and yuppies. Supposed to be that problems with the joints, like arthritis, would start creeping up as we get older, but this is a new disturbing pattern that we are seeing.
It’s alarming but it certainly isn’t something that should stop you from what you do whether you are an athlete or a performer. However, it can be irritating and in some extreme cases, it can cause enough trouble to render you immobile on one limb so it should be taken seriously.
Tendinitis is the inflammation of a tendon. Tendons are made up of tough inelastic tissue that connects your muscles to bone. Some people confuse tendons from ligaments, which attach bone to bone and keep them stable together. Tendons allow movement to occur, while ligaments stabilize structures. With repetitive movement however, tendons have the tendency to get inflamed which causes pain and discomfort to the joint. Tendinitis can sometimes be easily confused with tendinosis which is not present in inflammation but occurs also with overuse. Treatment for the two conditions would be different but prevention can overlap. Common places to feel this would be the shoulder, knee and hip. There are ways that you can combat this and it is actually simple.
REST
Adequate rest is needed for your body to recover, including your tendons. When we work out or play sports or generally be more active than sedentary, we also apply stress to the body. We need enough rest to decrease the inflammation that we go through after physical activity especially the strenuous type. Try to get at least a day’s rest after a hard gym or sports session to allow the body time to recover
STRETCH
When coaches say not to stretch before a workout, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t stretch AFTER one. Static stretching before a workout or sporting activity has been proven to be detrimental to performance but static stretching after has been proven to lessen inflammation of the body. Partner it with a foam rolling session before stretching and you introduce oxygen-rich blood to the muscles and tendons to aid in recovery.
LEARN PROPER MOVEMENT MECHANICS
Repetitive stressful movement is bad enough, it gets worse when you do it the wrong way. Make sure that you learn the proper movement patterns for a sport or activity. Getting a good coach will help, as well as proper practice. It takes a while to learn a specific skill, but it takes longer to unlearn wrong movement patterns. Don’t underestimate the importance of warming up, especially movement preparation. Getting the big muscles fired up and ready for an activity and getting adequate blood flow to the needed muscles will be important.
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Editor's note: The blogger's views do not represent Yahoo! Southeast Asia's position on the topic or issue being discussed in this post.
