Tendinitis likely is wrong diagnosis

Editor's note: Cody Scharf is owner of Thrive Spine and Sport, a chiropractic and soft tissue clinic in Cedar Rapids focusing on sport and overuse injuries. Scharf is a graduate of Palmer College of Chiropractic and certified by Integrative Diagnosis for diagnosis and treatment of soft tissue injuries.

Why isn't your tendinitis getting better? Because you don't have tendinitis.

Before you run away, let me explain.

Tendinitis is an extremely common diagnosis. The problem is tendinitis is incredibly rare.

Unfortunately, tendinitis is one of the most overdiagnosed and misdiagnosed conditions in the body. This means the treatment you are receiving is not making you better. In fact, it could be making you worse.

Tendinosis is most likely a term you have never heard before. It's a term you will get to know if you continue to read, and may be the answer to your problem.

Tendinosis was a term started way back in the 1940s. It is a term used to describe a non inflammatory tendon condition. Tendinitis is used to describe an inflammatory tendon condition.

Tendinitis has been proven time and time again to be a misnomer for several reasons. Since inflammation is the key pathological process involved, while research continues to prove there are very few inflammatory cells present in the condition, tendinosis — not tendinitis — should be the more popular term and is the correct diagnosis.

Now some of you may be sitting there asking what's the big deal over a simple name change. The diagnosis has a significant impact on how the condition is treated. Tendinitis is treated often with rest, ice and anti-inflammatories like NSAIDs and cortisone injections. Treatment of tendinosis is focused around manual therapy to eliminate degenerated tissue, eccentric exercise and load management.

Getting the right diagnosis from the start is a very big deal.

Mistreatment of either condition means you get worse, not better. Not surprisingly, research also has shown those treating tendinitis with NSAIDS and cortisone injections are actually worse off after a year than those who did not. Why is that?

NSAIDS and cortisone are used to treat inflammation. Most cases of 'tendinitis,' as already mentioned, ren't inflammatory. These types of drugs accelerate degeneration and weaken tendons and are horrible options in the long term management of this condition.

l For more information, email Scharf at dr.cody@thrivespineandsport.com or visit www.thrivespineandsport.com