General notes
- Depending on disease and stage of disease:
- Relief and immobilization
- Sports leave
- In acute enthesopathy – inflammatory diseases of tendons, tendon attachments to bone, bursae and joint capsules – local cooling and sparing of the affected limb may be helpful.
- Tendinopathy (tendon disease: e.g., of the Achilles and patellar tendons) and tendon pain (What not to do?):
- Complete rest: this can lead to stiffening of the tendon within two weeks, as well as its loss of function
- Ignorance of pain: with increasing pain, the causative training must be reduced; typical sports disciplines that lead to overload of the tendon are jumping, running and sports with rapid changes of direction.
- Stretching the tendon: Scretching can have an unfavorable effect on the tendon, as this leads to a pressure load on the junction between the tendon and the bone.
- Friction massages: pain may be further increased by friction during a friction massage.
- Passive measures: Electrotherapy or cooling (ice) can improve the pain and thus help temporarily, but this does not improve the load-bearing capacity of the tendon. Thus, the pain occurs quickly again with renewed load.
- Wrong exercises: Exercises in the rehabilitation phase should be individually tailored to the patient. Care should be taken that the exercises do not compress the tendon insertion.
Further notes
- For Achillodynia (Achilles tendon pain) see below the topic of the same name.
- In case of osteoarthritis or joint degeneration – see under osteoarthritis.
- In case of trauma – care depending on the nature of the injury.
Conventional non-surgical therapy methods
- Analgesics (painkillers) u. Anti-inflammatory drugs (see below drug therapy).
Medical aids
- The application of a bandage or brace may also be considered for epicondylitis.
