What Is Tendinitis in Vacaville?

Tendinitis is one of the most well-known types of knee pain in Vacaville. It may sound serious but it's actually treatable.

If you're an athlete or fitness enthusiast and experiences knee pain, there's a possibility that you have tendinitis. This can happen more than once especially if you're that active in physical activities.

Tendinitis is known as an inflammation of the tendon, which is a flexible band of tissue that connects the muscles to the bones. When the muscles are pulled, it is transmitted by the tendons to the bones, which allows movement. Inflamed tendons can affect the pulling action of the muscle and can make movement become painful. The knee is surrounded by several large tendons so when one or more becomes inflamed, it is called knee tendinitis.

Symptoms and risk factors of tendinitis in Vacaville

The most common symptom of knee tendonitis is pain with movement. Even a slight movement can already cause severe knee pain. The pain can worsen with running, walking fast, or going up and down the stairs. It can even swell due to inflammation.

When your knees are overused, it could become a risk factor for tendonitis. A repeatedly stretched tendon due to the same kind of exercise over a long period of time can make it become inflamed or strained. This is the reason why tendinitis is very common among runners. Even an intense exercise done over a short period of time can already cause tendinitis. If you're in the middle age or older group, you could be at risk too since the tendons become more brittle as you age, which makes them vulnerable to strain and stress.

Another type of knee pain caused by tendinitis is called jumper's knee. This type of tendinitis is caused by a knee injury due to jumping activities especially when too much strain is placed on the patellar tendon. The patellar tendon connects the knee cap to the shinbone, which is why it is affected by this condition. You can feel the pain just below the kneecap and there's a chance of inflammation as well. Jumper's knee is common among individuals who regularly play basketball or volleyball.

Treating tendinitis

You don't necessarily have to consult with a doctor to be treated of tendinitis. Just follow these recommendations to relieve the knee pain:

• Rest: Avoid any activity that causes tendinitis. The more your tendon works, the worse the injury will become and the longer the recovery it will require.
• Ice: Use a cold compress or ice wrapped in a towel on the affected area for 15 minutes once or twice a day. The ice can help reduce swelling, which could lessen knee pain and speed the healing of the tendon.
• Elevate: Lie down and elevate your knee using a pillow so that it's higher than your heart. This can help in blood flow and reduce swelling.
• Take OTC Medicine: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications like ibuprofen and naproxen are perfect for this condition. Apart from relieving pain, they can also reduce swelling.
• Compress: Wrap your knees in an elastic knee bandage to reduce the swelling and ease knee pain.
• Ease Back Into Activity: Once your tendinitis disappears, don't immediately return to the same level of activity that caused your knee pain in the first place. If you overdo it, your tendinitis will be a recurring one. Make sure to warm up and stretch before every exercise then go slowly on your routine for a few weeks.

If you want to recover completely from tendinitis, you must be patient about it. Proper care can slowly decrease the knee pain in just a matter of weeks but complete healing may take up to six weeks. Once you take it easy for a month or so, your tendinitis will be gone and you'll be on the go again.