Tendon health by Ray Sahelian, M.D. Info on tendon injury

A tendon is the fibrous tissue that attaches muscle to bone in the human body. The forces applied to a tendon may be more than 5 times your body weight. In some rare instances, tendons can snap or rupture. Conditions that make a rupture more likely include the injection of steroids into a tendon, certain diseases such as gout or hyperparathyroidism, and having type O blood.
   Being physically active outside of work protects against work-related repetitive strain injury. Leisure-time physical activity improves balance and nutrition to the musculoskeletal system which counters the repetitive or sedentary effects of many jobs. For more information on soft tissue.

Heat Treatment for Tendon Injury
Deep heat treatment can help relieve shoulder pain due to inflammation or tearing of rotator cuff tendon. There is currently no agreed-upon treatment for patients with inflammation or tears in the tendons that make up the rotator cuff of the shoulder. Hyperthermia, in which the surface of the skin is kept cool while tissues deep in the affected area are heated with microwaves to about 110 degrees F, has recently been introduced as a physical therapy and rehabilitation technique. After having success with hyperthermia for treatment of tendon and muscle injuries in athletes, researchers tested the approach in a pilot study of patients with a type of rotator cuff injury known as supraspinatus tendinopathy. The supraspinatus muscle is located on the top of the shoulder blade and is joined to the humerus bone at the top of the arm by a tendon. Hyperthermia was found to be effective in the short-term for treating supraspinatus tendinopathy. The American Journal of Sports Medicine, August 2006.

Achilles tendon inflammation
The Achilles tendon, named after the legendary warrior and hero of Homer's Iliad, extends from the back of the heel into the calf and is the thickest and strongest tendon in the human body.
   Achilles tendinopathy is caused by chronic use may arise after a particularly arduous training session or competition. Pain is the most common first symptom, especially among distance runners. People can stay active while undergoing rehabilitation for Achilles tendinopathy, as long as they keep an eye on their pain, Swedish researchers report. Karin Gravare Silbernagel of Goteborg University had 38 patients with achilles tendon injury undergo physical therapy to strengthen their Achilles tendon for 12 weeks to 6 months. Half were instructed to continue with their normal workout routine, but to monitor their pain and reduce their activity if they rated their pain above "5" on a scale from 0 to 10, with 0 being no pain at all and 10 being excruciating pain. The other half were told to avoid tendon-loading activities such as running and fast walking for the first six weeks of rehab. One year after the rehab program began, there was no significant difference between levels of pain and functional ability between the two groups. People with Achilles tendon injuries have previously been instructed to rest and avoid all activity, Karin Gravare Silbernagel has said, while within the past 5 to 10 years exercise to strengthen the tendon has become standard therapy. American Journal of Sports Medicine, May 2007.

Tendon Questions

Q. Good day to the staff at Sr. Sahelian's website. I'd like to know if Dr. Sahelian knows of any particular foods or nutrients or supplements that are effective in aiding healing and repair/rebuilding of ligaments and tendons. I ask this as a Physical Therapist (intern) who's particularly interested in Sports medicine and sports injuries. I'm aware of glucosamine and chondroitn and the nutrient MSM for healing of cartilage in joint structures, but are there nutrients that enhance healing of tendons and ligaments? Would glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM also play a role in healing of these structures?

     A. We have not seen any specific studies addressing the issue of tendons and ligaments in terms of nutritional supplements, but this is a good question and we will keep this in mind.