The strained tendon is a common yet painful injury that will occur in almost everyone at least once in their lifetime. The trick with a strained tendon is to make sure it heals properly which will provide the lowest chance of reinjury. Reinjury of a strained or stressed tendon occurs more easily than the first time and there is usually much more inflammation around a reinjured tendon than there was during the first occurrence of the injury. Tendonitis is a degenerative condition in the tendon fibres that attach muscles to bone, and sufferers generally complain of a severe, burning pain in the area, which gradually worsens and is exacerbated by stress on the joint.

If you got it from a workout, heavily reduce your workout intensity through the healing stage, and make sure the injured tendon be warmed up (and down) properly before and after a workout where it will be stressed. When treating tendinitis, rest the area, apply cold compression therapy for 10-20 minutes at a time for at least 3 times a day. Do this to the injured area for the first day up to 3 days.

However, this is not what typical person does; they may ice once or twice and rest a bit, but most often just take some pain relief pills and continue to commence their activities. If the strain was minor, their body may be able to heal the muscle fibers normally. Unfortunately, this is not the usual result because the injured muscle is being used instead of rested. Because of the stress on the muscle, their body heals the injured muscle fibers by binding them together with fibrotic adhesions or scar tissue. This is done in an attempt to prevent further damage to the injured area and is a normal protective response of their body.

The most common cause of an tendon inflammation (tenosynovitis or tendonitis) is overuse of the affected tendon. Rest of the affected tendon is all that is required in some cases. Other treatments such as anti-inflammatory drugs or a steroid injection are sometimes needed. Infection of a tendon is an uncommon cause but needs treatment with antibiotics if it occurs.

What is tenosynovitis and tendonitis?

* Tendonitis means inflammation of a tendon. (It is sometimes spelled as tendinitis.)
* Tenosynovitis means inflammation of the sheath that surrounds a tendon (the sheath is called the synovium). Tenosynovitis can be caused by calcium deposits, repeated strain or trauma, high levels of blood cholesterol, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, or gonorrhea.
These two conditions often occur together.