Anyone can suffer from tendonitis, but it's most common in adults due to degeneration of tissue as we age. If you have tendonitis you'll usually feel pain located where your injury is and in the surrounding area. If you suffer from a tendon rupture (ruptured tendon) you might hear a sudden pop or experience severe pain immediately after you're injured. Tendon ruptures usually only happen from accidents or pre-disposed conditions that weaken the tendon - like repeated anti-inflammatory injections, calcium deposits (spurs) around a joint or other diseases (ie. gout). Tendon ruptures usually require surgery to re-attach the tendon to the bone, and if left untreated can result in permanent disability of the affected area.

• You feel a dull aching pain, especially when moving the affected area or joint.
• There is tenderness around the injured area.
• You have any swelling or inflammation - even on-going swelling over time.
• You are experiencing a loss of strength in the area
• Your injured area is hot to the touch or red.
• You sometimes feel a crackling or grating when moving the injured area.
• You feel a lump along the tendon
• You find it hard to move or notice reduced range of motion - especially if you experience more pain from moving the affected area.

If you're suffering from some of those symptoms and now wondering why your injury is taking so long to heal, it's important for you to know that tendonitis is an inflammatory condition where the pain, swelling and inflammation can go on for weeks or even months.

You could have acute tendonitis (an injury that happened suddenly from an accident or from overuse / repetitive actions) or chronic tendonitis (an injury or re-injury that weeks, months or even years old). Either way your tendonitis injury will have a painful impact on the quality of your life.

At this point your mobility - like your ability to walk, run, jump, carry or pick up object or other activities that you would normally do - is probably impaired... Leaving you with very limited range of motion in the affected area or joint.

Healing your tendonitis can be a difficult task, especially if you're suffering from pain in a general area and have no idea what type of injury you're facing.

Everyone will strain their tendon at least once in their lifetime. Straining your tendon is a common injury but the trick with a strained tendon is to make sure it heals properly which will provide the lowest chance of re-injury.

Re-injury of a strained or stressed tendon happens more easily than the original injury. When your tendon is re-injured there's also usually more inflammation. Tendonitis is a degenerative condition in the tendon fibers that attach muscles to bone. People with tendonitis generally complain of a severe, burning pain in the area, that gradually gets worse and becomes even more painful from stress on the joint.

A group of tendons on the top, bottom and along the sides of the foot connect muscles in the leg to the bones in the arch and toes of the foot. A strain to one of the tendons will cause pain in your arch and toes and make it difficult to walk. Posterior Tibial Tendonitis is the most common form of foot tendonitis. These injuries can be caused from over-use, improper stretching or poor form while walking or during any physical activity. Some people with arch issues (ie. that have a flat foot) or arthritis will be at risk of getting tendonitis.

Sesamoiditis is another form of foot tendonitis that's not often thought about. You will know if you have sesamoiditis if you experience most of your pain in the ball of your foot.

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• Sesamoiditis
• Toe Deformities

This kind of injury usually happens from overuse of the tendons in the hip and thigh from activities like running, cycling, football, hockey or soccer. If you've suddenly increased your activity level to include exercise, cardio or any other sporting activity then you might be at risk of getting hip or thigh tendonitis. If you suffer from gluteus medius tendonitis you'll probably notice more pain when walking and a weakness in your legs. This type of tendonitis may also be caused by a difference in the length of your legs (leg-length discrepancy).

Other forms of tendonitis - like iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS) or adductor tendonitis - can present pain in different areas. IT Band syndrome may cause pain on the side of your hip that radiate down to your knee (the IT Band is connected to your hip AND knee). Hip alignment issues or regularly running may cause this condition. Adductor tendonitis may transfer pain into your inner thigh. This condition is also usually experienced by individuals who play hockey, football or soccer. For this injury, pain will be felt when stretching or twisting your torso during exercise or athletic activity.

Tendonitis of the wrist (extensor / flexor tendonitis) usually happens from overuse of the hands and wrists. This can happen from certain jobs that require a lot of hand / wrist movement (ie. assembly line work, tailor, production sewer, mechanic, gardener, painter, office worker, cashier, etc). Although it hasn't been medically proven, tendonitis in the wrist and hand can sometimes be linked to extended use of computer keyboards and other handheld devices (mobile phones, PDAs, gaming systems). With this injury you'll feel pain and swelling in your wrist or hand, and extreme cases may have some nerve damage (carpal tunnel syndrome) with atrophy (wasting away) of the thumb muscle. Other conditions like de Quervain's tendonitis, and thumb tendonitis may mean a thickening of the tissue in your thumb or your pointer finger may be permanently stuck in a bent position (sometimes referred to as 'trigger finger' or 'trigger thumb').

The biceps tendon is in the upper arm attaching at the front of the shoulder. This is more commonly injured than the triceps tendon and is more apt to occur. The distal biceps tendon is on the other end of the biceps muscle and attaches to the forearm just ahead of the inner elbow location. Injuries to both of these tendons is relatively common, especially for those that often handle heavy items. Most at risk are bodybuilders, certain types of athletes that depend on arm strength and heavy manual laborers.

Forearm tendonitis injuries are common injuries and are easily treated with the leg/arm TShellz Wrap^®. In such cases pain, swelling and inflammation will be felt in the forearm, usually when holding heavy objects or even just from typing on a keyboard (overuse injury). In all cases, the Arm / Leg Cold Compress or Ice Pack will reduce pain, swelling and inflammation while treatment with the Arm/Leg TShellz Wrap^® will help mend the damage and increase Blood Flow to the injury, resulting in a faster healing time.

Golfers Elbow is one of the most popular forms of acute tendonitis and is most prevalent in females. Elbow injuries account for 35% to 33% of all injuries in amateur golfers. Golfers Elbow is a very painful condition affecting the inside of the elbow (close to the "funny bone") and results from overuse of arm and forearm muscles, or hitting an obstruction (ground, root, etc) instead of the golf ball during a hard swing.

Tennis elbow is a form of tendinosis which means chronic degeneration of the tendon or tendons. You will have tenderness on and around the tendons that attach to the small bony part on the outside of your elbow (lateral epicondyle), and perhaps a bit of swelling but not much. Tennis Elbow tendinosis is commonly caused from the overuse of the tendons located in your forearm that help to extend your wrist and fingers. The wear and tear on these tendons is a result of small tears in your tissue that don't heal properly. The inability of your tendon to heal properly causes the tendons to weaken until the tissues become very thin, and eventually wear out.

Your shoulders are the most mobile joints in your body. The most common forms of shoulder tendonitis include calcific tendonitis, supraspinatus tendonitis (rotator cuff tendonitis) and bicep tendonitis. Calcific tendonitis is a condition where bone (a calcium deposit) has grown in the middle of one of your rotator cuff tendons. The causes of this injury are still a mystery to many medical professionals, but the body can eventually (over time) re-absorb the calcium deposit so it will disappear.

Supraspinatus tendonitis can sometimes happen with shoulder impingement syndrome. Individuals that work in jobs with repeated overhead activity and athletes participating in swimming, tennis and volleyball are most affected by this injury. If you have supraspinatus tendonitis you'll experience pain, swelling and inflammation on the side of your shoulder (around the deltoid muscle).

Much like supraspinatus tendonitis, bicep tendonitis is caused by repetitive overhead activities like swimming, tennis and baseball or even lifting weights. If you have bicep tendonitis you'll experience pain, swelling and inflammation at the front of your shoulder. Bicep tendonitis is a common condition that occurs with other problems in the shoulder joint.