Tendonitis Does Not Have To Limit Your Sport Or Your Life
"I have seen many tendon injuries in my 32 years. These are some of the most common injuries in sports as well as everyday people," stated Dr. Mike DeBord, CEO of B3Sciences. "Tendons are specialized bands of tissue that connect muscles to bones and at times they can experience great stresses from things like lifting objects or simply repetitive movements.”
What Is Tendonitis?
Tendonitis is defined as an irritated or inflamed tendon. Because tendons attach muscles to bones a tendon injury can make it difficult to move an arm or a leg. The tendons that attach muscles to major bone joints tend to experience the greatest number of injuries. These joints are the shoulders, elbows, wrists, and ankles. The Achilles tendons in the ankles are often injured by athletes.
An acute tendon injury is a sudden injury often caused by sports or other physical activity. A chronic tendon injury is a longer-term injury and may be due to a gradual deterioration of the tendon due to age or overuse.
Dr. Mike DeBord stated that “When a tendon injury (also called tendonitis, or tendinopathy) does occur it usually does not completely heal. As many people have experienced, tendonitis can become chronic and prevent serious problems and interfere with your sport, exercise, and even interfere in your work and everyday life. Tendonitis can also lead to a complete tendon rupture which requires major surgery to repair."
What Are The Symptoms Of Tendonitis?
- pain during movement
- tenderness or abnormal sensation
- swelling or redness
- a lump fell on the tendon
- difficulty with a full range of motion
- weakness
- pain while sleeping in certain positions
Why Tendonitis Can Become Chronic
Unlike muscle tissue, tendons receive a limited supply of blood. Blood delivers fluid and nutrients that are essential for maintaining tendon health, preventing injuries, and healing after injuries occur. Therefore, tendon injuries tend to require more time for rehabilitation and healing. As people, age tendons become more prone to degeneration and they are more susceptible to injury. In addition to a lower blood supply, the water content of tendons decreases with age. This makes the tendon tissues stiffer and unable to tolerate the same stresses as before.
What Is The Normal Treatment For Tendon Injuries?
Initial Treatment For A Tendon Injury Usually Involves:
- rest
- ice packs
- pain relief and anti-inflammatory medication
- some movement of the joint / tendon if not painful
- a brace
A more severely injured tendon may require imaging tests such as MRI or ultrasounds. These tests will assist the medical professional in determining the treatment plan and whether surgery is needed.
BFR . . . A New Advancement In Treating Tendons!
The most important aspect of tendon treatment is the physical rehabilitation exercises to stimulate healing and strengthen the Tendon, according to Dr. DeBord. He is an advocate for a new technology called Blood Flow Restriction (BFR). BFR is a unique exercise that is already being used in every training room of professional sports teams and by many Physical Therapy centers.
How Do BFR Bands Work?
Blood Flow Restriction bands are effective because they use pressurized bands around the legs or arms to reduce blood flow to certain muscles. The bands force the muscles to fatigue deeper but with very light weights and significantly less work, which is ideal when someone is recovering from an injury. When you do light exercise with BFR bands, you quickly feel the fatigue or lactic acid "Burn" in your muscles. This promotes the production of Nitric Oxide (NOx) and Human Growth Hormone (HGH).
Why Is Feeling "The Burn" So Important?
If you cannot fatigue the muscle to the level of feeling the lactic acid "Burn" you will produce very small or no amounts of NOx and HGH.
Why Do You Want NOx And HGH?
NOx significantly increases blood flow and oxygen to damaged tissues, which includes injured and healthy Tendons. HGH stimulates tendons to repair faster and get stronger. The result is increased healing and tendon tensile strength. "For 6 years, I have seen how BFR Bands can help professional athletes and everyday people recover from muscle and tendon injuries. The studies support this conclusion and the results achieved by professionals have been nothing short of amazing," commented Dr. DeBord.
Dr. DeBord also pointed to several studies that examined the results of using Blood Flow Resistance bands during physical rehabilitation. These studies highlight the short and longer-term effects of using BFR bands for low-load exercises. This is especially useful for people who cannot tolerate a load of a standard strengthening program due to pain.
According to the Journal of Applied Physiology, another study has "demonstrated that low-load (20–35% 1RM) blood flow restriction training can induce muscular and tendinous adaptations that are similar to high-load (70–85% 1RM) resistance training. These results are of high relevance for both sports and rehabilitation settings when the lifting of high training loads is contraindicated."
Who Should Use BFR Bands?
Everyone including injured and non-injured people can benefit from Blood Flow Restriction Training. BFR bands were first used for physical therapy and rehabilitation exercises but today it is used by all age groups for exercise. People can maximize muscle gain, produce human growth hormone, and achieve better results in half the time with fewer or no weights.
In addition, BFR bands exert substantially less stress on joints and tendons. And one final point, when exercise produces human growth hormone it stimulates the collagen synthesis in human tendon and skeletal muscle without affecting myofibrillar protein synthesis. In short, BFR bands are an important tool for everyone's exercise routine and those recovering from tendons and other injuries in physical rehabilitation.
