Tendonitis and Tenosynovitis

Some differences between Tendonitis and Tenosynovitis from The Tendonitis Expert

Date:   2/17/2009 7:18:40 PM   ( 15 y ) ... viewed 12730 times

What Is the difference between Tenosynovitis and Tendonitis?

What you will find on most every site that comes up on a google search is that Tenosynovitis is ‘Inflammation of the tendon sheath’, a very painful condition.

Corticosteriod shots, anti-inflammatories, splints and rest are the common prescriptions.

Tenosynovitis is an irritation and inflammation of a tendon sheath. TRUE

The common prescriptions defeat the pain and cure the problem. FALSE

The fact is, Tenosynovitis is a very different animal than Tendonitis.

And the methods that fail to help Tendonitis also fail to help this even more painful problem.

Tenosynovitis shares some of the dynamic of Tendonitis, but with Tenosynovitis, the Pain Causing Dynamic that is happening in the entire area also has a laser-like focus on the sheath that the tendon slides through.

Repetitive and strained motion of the tendon through the tendon sheath can irritate the tendon sheath.

When this happens, a process of Inflammation sets in.
And of course most people keep doing that repetitive motion until the pain is so severe you -have- to stop...

Tendonitis pain can hurt. It can even become debilitating.

But it’s got nothing on Tenosynovitis pain.

An irritated, inflamed tendon and/or tendonitis injury hurts.

But when Tenosynovitis kicks in...look out.

When you move that tendon through the sheath...

...you may know what I mean when I say it’s a special kind of pain.

And generally, tendonitis aches, then it is a bother, then it hurts, then it goes away, then it hurts again, and worse, and worse.

Whereas Tenosynovitis generally comes on FAST, and STRONG.

And it STAYS, unless you do the RIGHT things for it.

The WRONG things to do for Tenosynovitis

• Continuing to use your hands (or other body parts) hoping the pain will go away. It won’t.

• Corticosteroid Injections have serious potential side effects, including –increasing- your pain for weeks before it decreases. Plus, if you poke that tendon sheath with a needle and force fluid into it...

• Anti-inflammatory medications may help decrease the pain to some degree, but they in no way reverse the dynamic that got you to a painful place.

• Pain Relief Cream, on a good day, -may- decrease pain a little. Again, it can’t do anything to help reverse the pain causing dynamic.

The RIGHT things to do for Tenosynovitis

• Rest is usually on my list of things that don’t truly help. In this case, it is very VITAL to rest the body part and use it as little as possible. Every time you move the tendon, it aggravates the tendon sheath.

It doesn’t take much aggravation to keep the sheath acutely inflamed. For the short term while you do other beneficial things, immobilization is good.

• Wrist Splints are also usually on my list of methods to avoid. In this case, they are useful to help you immobilize the body part to keep the tendon from aggravating the tendon sheath.

• Ice and Ice Dipping. It is vital to reduce the acute inflammation that is causing all the severe pain. Learn How To Reduce Inflammation.

• Once the inflammation and pain is down to minimal levels you can add in light stretching and massage to make the tight muscles attached to tendon relax and lengthen, thus taking tension off the tendon.

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• Re: Tendonitis and Tenosynovitis   by mahlerchiro     11 y