ACUPUNCTURE FOR TENDONITIS BY DR. STEPHANIE WU

Tendons are important structures in our body. They connect muscle to bones and are essential for all movements. Tendonitis is a condition in which tendons become painful, swollen, and inflamed thereby impairing function. When tendons become inflamed, they can cause extreme discomfort and irritation with associated movements. It is usually caused by repetitive strain/overuse and or overload and is generally worse with movement.

Common forms of tendonitis include tennis elbow, golfers elbow, Achilles tendonitis, jumpers knee, wrist tendonitis, shoulder tendonitis, etc.

Contact our San Francisco chiropractic team today to see how acupuncture could help you.

Treating Tendonitis

Due to their physiology, tendons are extremely hard to treat. Tendons are considered white tissue because blood supply to those structures are not as adequate as compared to blood supply to other tissues in the body such as muscles (red tissues). Recovery time for tendonitis ranges from 3 – 6 months but often lasts longer due to restricted blood flow within the tendon structures. Comparatively, muscle strains only take 3-6 weeks and heal much faster with ample rest and proper recovery protocols. There is no golden standard for its treatment and most people experience it at least once in a lifetime. It causes extended setbacks for athletes and can tremendously affect people’s daily and work lives.

Acupuncture is one of the best kept secrets in the history of sports medicine. The Chinese have been using it in their treatment of pain for more than two thousand years. It is extremely effective for the treatment of tendonitis and can help speed up the recovery time.

Acupuncture utilizes sterile single-use fine needles to facilitate blood flow and fibroblastic activity within the tendon structure (where blood flow is generally limited). With the thin needles, acupuncture can get deeper than any form of manual therapy, thereby increasing blood flow and circulation within the tendon tissues. The body can then naturally repair and rebuild the damaged areas much more effectively and efficiently. The sooner you get acupuncture and good blood flow to the injured area, the sooner you will be able to return to normal activities.