Tendinitis
About This Condition
Tendinitis is a condition where a tendon or the connective tissue that surrounds the tendon becomes inflamed.
This is often due to overuse (e.g., repetitive work activities), acute injury, or excessive exercise. People who are at higher risk of developing tendinitis include athletes, manual laborers, and computer keyboard users. Occasionally, tendinitis may be due to diseases that affect the whole body, such as rheumatoid arthritis or gout.
The most common sites of tendinitis are the shoulder, elbow, forearm, thumb, hip, hamstring muscles (in the back of the upper leg), and Achilles tendon (behind the ankle).1
Symptoms
People with tendinitis may have symptoms, which appear after injury or overuse, including swelling, redness, tenderness, and sharp pain in the affected area, which is worsened with movement or pressure.
Other Therapies
Treatment may include local injections of steroids such as dexamethasone (Decadron-LA®), methylprednisolone (Depo-Medrol®), and hydrocortisone (Solu-Cortef®), or anesthetics such as lidocaine (Xylocaine®), as well as immobilization and controlled physical therapy.