• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Human Movement

Injury Rehab and Sports Performance Training, City of London

  • About
  • Process
    • Our Process
    • Muscle Activation Techniques
    • Resistance Training
  • Programmes
    • Rehab Programme
    • Performance Programme
    • Health Programme
    • Online Coaching Programme
  • Resources
    • The Little Book of Injury Rehab
    • How to get strong and healthy past 50
  • Blog
  • Contact

Tendon pain? Strength training is the long term solution.

February 17, 2015 by Paul

Firstly tendon pain is probably not tendinitis.

Research has firmly established that tendon pain in most cases is the result of tendon degradation rather than inflammation as previously thought. Hence most practitioners now refer to the condition as a tendinopathy rather than a tendonitis.

Whatever occured to bring about the original injury is past history it seems and in most cases the problematic tendon requires load to bring about a lasting solution.

In a study comparing corticosteroid injections with eccentric loading and heavy resistance training, heavy resistance training produced the best outcomes for subjects suffering from patellar tendon pain.

Here is the problem, which most of you with tendon pain will probably know, exercise with tendon pain hurts.

In most cases it really hurts.

Previously I had mixed results loading problematic tendons. The research at the time was biased towards eccentric loading but with some clients this was intolerable.

So what do you do when the medicine causes more pain than the problem itself?

There are two things that can influence this.

1) Are the muscles that attach to the target tendon contracting appropriately?

2) Is there a biomechanical issue which could be influencing the outcome?

In most cases the answer to those two questions is no and yes.

So for example, with a patellar tendinopathy, are the quadriceps contracting appropriately? Probably not if there is or has been pain at the knee.

If you inject just 20 ml of saline fluid into the knee to mimic the effects of a trauma, you will likely cause inhibition of the quadriceps.

If load is being placed through the muscular system to target the tendon and the muscles involved are not contracting particularly well, the exercise will feel horrible.

Secondly and perhaps more importantly, it is futile working on the tendon if a larger biomechanical issue has been missed.

If for example your hip doesn’t internally rotate on the symptomatic side, your knee will be absorbing more force than is ideal and the tendon may struggle to heal.

Address the biomechanical factors first before working on the symptomatic tissue.

Filed Under: Rehabilitation

Why your shoulder hurts when you bench press and what to do about it.
NFL players using Muscle Activation Techniques (MAT).

Primary Sidebar

Muscle System Health Check
START

The Little Book of Injury Rehab

Not making progress with your rehab?

Subscribe below and find out how to get moving with our FREE 21 page guide.

The Little Book of Injury Rehab pdf

Get strong and healthy past 50

Everything you need to know about exercise at 50 and beyond.

Subscribe and receive our 60 page guide FREE.

How to get strong and healthy past 50 pdf

Categories

Recent Posts

  • Your muscular system is the key to achieving your goal, whatever that is. June 23, 2022
  • Why multi joint exercises don’t work for injury rehab. June 8, 2022
  • Why posture doesn’t matter in the way we’re told it does. May 29, 2022
  • What causes muscle cramp and how to prevent it. April 30, 2022
  • Prioritise value over price when choosing a personal trainer. April 20, 2022

Footer

CONTACT

Human Movement
30 Cannon Street
London, EC4M 6XH

+44 020 7183 1164
paul@human-movement.com

BLOG

  • Your muscular system is the key to achieving your goal, whatever that is. June 23, 2022
  • Why multi joint exercises don’t work for injury rehab. June 8, 2022
  • Why posture doesn’t matter in the way we’re told it does. May 29, 2022

FOLLOW

SUBSCRIBE

Privacy | Cookies | Terms