Tips for Taking Care of Your Tendons

Take care of your tendons, and they'll be nice back to you. Follow these tips if you start feeling aches or throbbing.

Ice the area. When a tendon flares up, cold can reduce the inflammation. Pick up a reusable cold pack or wrap a thin towel around a plastic bag filled with ice, an unopened bag of frozen peas, or a resealable bag filled with frozen popcorn kernels, and apply it to the tender tendon. Ice the area for five to ten minutes, three or four times a day, until the symptoms subside.

Cup the pain. Create a nifty ice massager, by filling a paper or foam cup with cold water and putting it in the freezer. Once the water has frozen, tear off the lip of the cup to expose a layer of ice. Place a wet towel on the affected area, and rub the ice over it. As the ice melts, tear off more of the cup. Put your homemade ice massager back in the freezer between uses.

Switch up your exercise routine to give your muscles a break. Swimming is an excellent alternative.

Get help from aspirin. Aspirin and ibuprofen are two over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medications that can help alleviate pain and stiffness. (Acetaminophen can help reduce pain, but it does not reduce inflammation or speed the healing process.) For a list of precautions to take when using over-the-counter analgesics, click here.

Elevate the area. If possible, keep the affected tendon propped up above the level of the heart to help control swelling.

Tape it. An elastic bandage wrapped around the affected knee, ankle, or elbow may help support the joint and keep swelling to a minimum. However, the bandage will be of no use if it is not wrapped properly and securely (but never too tightly). Read package instructions or consult a health-care practitioner, and check the fingers or toes beyond the bandage often for signs, such as cold or pale skin, that it is wrapped too tightly.

Splint it. Some experts recommend a splint instead of tape because it's stiffer and can be used to keep the affected area in a neutral position.

Consider cross-training. Since tendinitis is often brought on by a constant, repetitive motion, you may want to alternate your favorite exercise with other ones. It will minimize the chance that you'll overwork one set of muscles, which can leave the tendons prone to tendinitis. For instance, swimming doesn't pound the legs the way running does, so it's a good alternate exercise for regular joggers. Cross-training can be as simple as alternating days of swimming with days of jogging. Such cross-training also allows you to exercise different muscle groups on different days, increasing your overall fitness.

Build up your body. Before undertaking an exercise routine, such as running or swimming, condition the muscles you'll be depending on to get you through. Weight training is the best way to firm up specific muscle groups. Do arm or leg curls, for instance, with free weights or on a weight-training machine.

Warm up before you warm up. For the physically active, stretching is synonymous with warming up. But there's more to it than a few tugs and pulls. Before doing any stretches, you should do some form of mild, body-warming aerobic exercise for a few minutes, since stretching cold muscles can lead to tendinitis. A pre-warm-up warm-up can take the form of jogging in place, jumping rope, taking a brief and leisurely ride on a stationary bike, or even walking. (If walking is the activity you'll be engaging in as exercise, you can also warm up simply by walking at a slower pace than you'll be using in your workout; the same holds for running and swimming.)

Do a pre-warm-up warm-up, such as jumping rope, to ease your muscles into physical activity.

Stretch painlessly. Stretch until you feel resistance in the muscle, but no farther. If it hurts, you're going too far. Also, perform each stretch gently and slowly, without bouncing or jerking.

Take it slow. If you're starting a new exercise activity or getting back into an old one after a bout of tendinitis, start off with an abbreviated, not-too-taxing routine. Run one or two miles instead of four to five; cycle on a flat course, not hilly terrain; walk at a moderate pace rather than at top speed.

Wear the right shoes. These days, you can find athletic footwear specially designed for virtually every type of activity, and it behooves you to take advantage of that variety whenever possible. If you think your tennis shoes will give you the support and cushioning you need for running, you could be -- quite literally -- sorely mistaken.

When buying a new pair of shoes for a specific activity, think about the kinds of stress the activity places on your feet and legs, and choose shoes with features that can help lessen those stresses. For a sport with lots of pounding or jumping, for example, look for shoes with air chambers in them; these will provide the extra cushioning you need to absorb some of the shock that would otherwise travel up from your feet into your ankles and knees. You should also pay attention to how you wear your shoes (see "Check Your Shoes' Warning Signs").

Vary your terrain. Runners often follow the same route, running in the same direction, on the same surface, day after day. This repetitive routine can lead to tendinitis. Whether you realize it or not, most roads, paved streets, paths, and even running tracks have a slight slant to them, usually to facilitate drainage. Running on a surface that is even slightly tilted puts greater strain on one side of your body than the other, and if you take the same path in the same direction each time, the side that bears the strain never gets a break and becomes ripe for tendinitis.

So make a point of varying your route to prevent either side of your body from taking a pounding every time. If your options are limited, changing the direction you run on a track or path will help. But if you can, try to vary the surfaces you walk or jog on, as well; switch amongst asphalt, clay, grass, and crushed stone (although try to avoid surfaces that are exceptionally hard or soft.) Variety can not only help prevent tendinitis, it can also help prevent burnout by keeping your exercise routine interesting.

Bag the sand. While running or walking briskly on a beach may sound like a lovely way to exercise, sand is not a great workout surface for such activities. The sand causes knees and ankles to twist, which can lead to a strain, sprain, or tendinitis. The same is true of snow.

Cool down after a workout. Spend the last few minutes of your exercise time in less intense activity, so your body can cool down gradually, then gently stretch your fatigued muscles. And if you're prone to tendinitis or are still healing from a bout of it, ice the area to help prevent a flare-up.

Use caution with cleats. Football, baseball, and soccer players listen up: A tendon is more likely to take the full force of a hit or a slip when you're wearing this type of athletic shoe, which anchors the foot to the ground.

Wear knee and/or elbow pads. They help cushion impact and protect these vulnerable joint areas during such sports as volleyball, hockey, and football.

Don't get sidelined by tendinitis. Follow the tips outlined in this article, and your tendons will remain in tip-top shape.