♦ What is tendonitis?
Tendonitis is inflammation of the tendon structure. This is further classified into tendonosis, tenosynovitis and enthesopathy. Tendons are composed of woven collagen, similar in structure to rope. Their function is to move things. Tendonitis simply described inflammation somewhere inside the tendon. Tendonosis is a swelling or thickening within the substance of the tendon. This usually occurs after long-term strain and stress of tendons. Tenosynovitis is much more severe and describes inflammation of the lining or sheath of the tendon. This results in significant swelling around the tendon. An analogy for a sheath is Jim Bowie pulled his knife out of its cover. The knife would represent the tendon and the cover represents the sheath. The tendon glides inside the sheath with the help of tendon fluid, which allows the tendon to glide. The tendon itself is attached at it’s far end to bone and it origin to muscle. Enthesopathy is pain and inflammation at the attachment of the tendon to bone. Most tendons have counterparts, which balance motion of a joint. For instance in the ankle there is a tendon on the inside and outside that provide balance. An imbalance will cause tendonitis of one or the other.