Tendinitis

Tendinitis involves inflammation of a tendon, the fibrous cord that attaches muscle to bone. It usually affects only one part of the body at a time, and usually lasts a short time, unless involved tissues are continuously irritated. Typical symptoms are:

Painful tenderness at or near a joint, especially around a shoulder, wrist, or heel (where is know as Achilles tendinitis), or on the outside of an elbow (where it is called tennis elbow)
In some case, numbness or tingling
Uncontrolled
Stiffness that, along with the pain, restricts the movement of the joint involved.
Occasionally, mild swelling at the joint
Persistence of the soreness, which may last or recur long after the tendon has had time to recover from the original injury.

Tendinitis can occur as a result of injury, overuse, or with aging as the tendon loses elasticity. It can also be seen in systemic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis or diabetes. It may also be seen with certain inflammatory conditions (for example, Reiter's syndrome, ankylosing spondylitis), autoimmune disorders (for example, diabetes mellitus), and some infections.

Tendinitis can occur in any tendon, but some commonly affected sites are the shoulder, the wrist, the heel (Achilles tendonitis), and the elbow. Tendons are usually surrounded by a sheath of tissue similar to the lining of the joints (synovium). They're subject to the wear and tear of aging, direct injury and inflammatory diseases. The most common cause of tendinitis is injury or overuse during work or play. Occasionally, an infection within the tendon sheath is responsible for the inflammation.　

In traditional Chinese medicine, the tendinitis (or tennis elbow)is seen as problem affecting the Large Intestine Meridian, which traverses the arm. The cause is either injury or overuse, although there is often an internal disharmony which acts as a predisposing factor.

Acupuncture　can be useful in treating tendinitis. A study in 1990 indicating acupuncture improved tennis elbow was published in The Clinical Journal of Pain and one in 1994 in the British Journal of Rheumatology. A controlled trial compared acupuncture to sham (fake) acupuncture in people with shoulder tendinitis and found that acupuncture treatment produced significantly higher scores on a combined measurement of pain, ability to perform daily activities, ability to move shoulder without pain, and strength.

Needles will be used at or very near to the source of the pain, as well as in the forearm, and, and wrist. This would be deal with the local symptoms by improving the circulation of "Qi," (pronounced "chee") in the affected area and in the arm generally.

To correct the internal disharmony, points on the trunk, arms and legs would be needled, so that the general circulation of Qi would improve. This would also support the local, symptomatic treatment.

Acupressure　can help relieve tendinitis and promote the proper healing of the affected tissues; the friction technique is particularly effective for chronic tendinitis.

Many people suffer from tendinitis as a result of their work environment. Studies have shown that tendinitis of the wrist, hands, and fingers are often caused by repetitive work and physical stress.

Physical changes to the work environment, such as setting up the work station so that the body is in a balanced, untwisted position, minimizing the need to use excessive force, avoiding overuse of any one joint, changing positions frequently, and allowing for rest periods, have all been shown to diminish symptoms of lower arm tendinitis.

One study of computer workers with arm and wrist tendinitis found that using an ergonomic keyboard versus a standard keyboard reduced the severity of pain and improved hand function after six months of use.

Prevention of this condition requires stretching the muscle on a regular basis and thereby lengthening the tendon connection. This will allow less pulling and tractioning on the tendon attachment to the bone. When tendonitis does occur, it is important to treat it immediately, and thereby prevent it from reaching a stage that is more severe.

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