Tendinitis. Shock wave therapy treatment at the Awatage medical center

Tendinitis. Causes and symptoms.

Shockwave therapy at the Awatage medical center

Tendinitis is inflammation of a tendon that occurs where the tendon attaches to the bone and can spread to the entire tendon right down to the muscle. Tendon inflammation can develop in the area of any joint, but tendonitis of the knee, hip, shoulder, elbow joints, as well as tendonitis of the wrists and feet, is most often observed.

Tendon tendonitis develops for two main reasons: as a result of inadequate stress (for example, in athletes) and as a result of age-related changes that occur in the tendons in people over 40 years old.

Causes of tendonitis

Tendinitis is a very common condition in athletes. It is found in sports that involve prolonged stretching or tension of the tendon. The causes of these overloads are jumps, falls, traumatic landings on the legs. Most often, volleyball players, basketball players, tennis players, jumpers, football players and athletes have such overloads. Sometimes the symptoms of tendonitis occur in untrained people after an intense load on the thigh muscles in the form of jumping or running. Tendinopathy (one of the names for tendinitis) of the patella, or "jumper's knee" can occur in young people who suffered from Schlatter syndrome as a child.

Age-related changes in tendons are caused by a decrease in the content of elastin fibers, which provide extensibility and elasticity of the tendons, and an increase in the content of collagen fibers, which provide strength and the ability to resist stretching of the tendons.

Tendinitis can also develop as a result of more rare causes, such as:

infections, especially those that are sexually transmitted;
autoimmune diseases (rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, etc.);
diseases associated with metabolic disorders (gout);
injuries in the area of attachment of the tendon.

Symptoms of tendonitis

The main symptom of tendonitis is pain. At first, pain appears only at the end of a workout or after prolonged physical work. Further, the pain can become permanent. Usually the pain is dull, felt along the ligament or on the sides of it. Only active movements are painful, and the same passive movements do not cause pain. The pain increases with pressure on the area of the affected tendon. Sometimes muscle swelling and weakness may appear in this area.

With intense inflammation, joint stiffness, redness and an increase in the temperature of the skin over the affected area can be observed. In some cases, crunching or crepitus may occur in the area of the inflamed tendon. With a long course of the disease, it is sometimes possible to palpate elastic nodules at the site of the diseased tendon, which is associated with the growth of fibrous tissue at the site of the damaged tendon tissue. Shoulder tendinitis in some cases may be accompanied by calcium deposits with the formation of dense nodules - calcifications. A common outcome of tendinitis is complete rupture of the tendon.

Diagnosis of tendonitis

Before choosing a method for treating tendonitis, it is necessary to conduct objective examinations. Diagnosis of the disease is based primarily on examination data. Ultrasound of the joints and surrounding tissues is used. In some cases, sonography and radiography are performed to exclude other pathologies accompanied by the appearance of similar symptoms of tendonitis. MRI of the affected area is recommended in cases of difficult diagnosis.

In addition, for the diagnosis, the following are taken into account:

provocative tests (straightening from a squatting position), going up / down stairs;
palpation of the tendon and places of its attachment;
soreness on palpation of muscles in a relaxed and tense state.

Conservative Treatments for Tendinitis

First of all, it is necessary to reduce the load on the area of the muscles whose tendons are inflamed. The diseased limb is not completely immobilized, but rather painful movements are avoided. Various bandages and bandaging with elastic bandage of the joints located next to the affected tendon are used. Physiotherapy exercises, exercises for stretching and strengthening muscles, the use of various simulators are effective, allowing to reduce the load.

The standard medical methods of treatment that are offered in a regular clinic or hospital are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, which have a temporary effect and are contraindicated for long-term use. One of the complications of the administration of steroid drugs is degenerative changes in the tendons and ligaments.

In the practice of the Awatage medical center, there were appeals when, after prolonged use of the above drugs (blockades) on the recommendation of unscrupulous doctors of other medical institutions, the patient's tendons were actually "burned" and after a year such "treatment" created much more problems. In such cases, surgical treatment is already used - excision of the problem area of the tendon, scar.

It is customary to include physiotherapeutic procedures in the course of treatment of tendonitis, such as cryotherapy, magnetoreapia, laser, electrophoresis, phonophoresis.

Benefits of treating tendonitis with shock wave therapy.

The successful use of shock wave therapy has its origins in the treatment of sports injuries. During the competition and the Olympic Games, the method of shock wave therapy quickly, without medication (which is very important for athletes undergoing doping control) and the absence of side effects, helped to cope with inflammation of the tendons. After one or two sessions, the athletes could continue the competition.

Radial shock wave therapy is currently used to treat tendonitis. The radial wave is characterized by a high analgesic (analgesic) effect and effectiveness.

The use of radial shock wave therapy for tendinitis can relieve inflammation and stimulate tissue repair. This effect can be achieved due to the fact that an INFRAsound wave of a certain frequency acts directly on the damaged area, improving blood circulation and increasing the permeability of cell membranes.

Due to its medicinal properties, the shock wave destroys calcifications and already formed fibrosis. At the site of exposure, angiogenesis occurs (for the first time in medicine) - the growth of new capillaries, which allows after a while to restore blood circulation and metabolism, quickly and without side effects to go through the stages of tissue restoration and regeneration. The impact of a shock wave is like the invisible scalpel of an experienced surgeon.

Shock-wave therapy procedures at the Awatage medical center are carried out on modern Belgian equipment from Gymna (European leader since 1967). We also included biomechanical muscle stimulation using the patented “V-Actor” technology in the tendonitis treatment protocol of shock wave therapy to affect muscles and ligaments, improving their elasticity and ability to recover. This technology is used in the rehabilitation of astronauts after a long stay in zero gravity with muscle atrophy.

More than half of the patients (and in most cases these are athletes) who underwent a course of shock wave therapy at the Awatage medical center noted a significant reduction in pain already after two sessions of shock wave therapy, about 95% of patients after the start of treatment (on average 5-7 sessions) completely got rid of pain, and only 3% were not satisfied with the treatment (there was a decrease in pain, but this did not allow them to resume training). In the rest of the patients, the results of treatment were not monitored due to failure to appear for repeated examinations.

It is very important to understand that shockwave therapy helps to avoid surgery. For a positive result in the treatment of tendonitis, a high qualification of a doctor and first-class equipment are required, therefore, you need to apply for shock wave therapy only to specialized medical centers.

It should also be remembered that the low cost of a shock wave therapy session may indicate savings in the number of impulses (shocks), lack of experience and ability to apply the method, as well as untimely replacement of consumables in the equipment itself. These factors significantly affect the outcome of the treatment.

The Awatage Medical Center has been using the shock wave therapy method for over 15 years and has extensive experience in treating tendinitis and other diseases of the musculoskeletal system.

Our specialists teach the technique of shock wave therapy at the P.L. Shupyk National Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education (Kiev) - evidence of the recognition of our knowledge and experience at the state level.