Tendinitis

Repetitive activities and weekend warrior exercise can bother tendons, causing pain and swelling.

Update Date: 09.06.2026

Overview
Types
Symptoms
When to see a doctor
Causes
Risk factors
Age
Work
Activities
Medical conditions and medicines
Complications
Prevention
Diagnosis
Treatment
Medicines
Physical therapy
Procedures
Self-care
Preparing for your appointment
What you can do
What to expect from your doctor

By Mayo Clinic Staff

Overview

Tendinitis is new or sudden swelling and irritation, called inflammation, of a tendon. Tendons are thick fibrous cords that attach muscle to bone. Tendinitis causes pain and tenderness just outside a joint.

Tendinitis can happen in any tendon. It's common around shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees and heels. Tendinitis is sometimes called tendinopathy. Tendinopathy is an umbrella term for conditions affecting the tendon.

Most tendinitis can be treated with rest, physical therapy and medicine to reduce pain. Long-lasting tendon inflammation can cause a tendon to tear. A torn tendon might need surgery.

Types

There are many types of tendinitis. Common types include:

  • Achilles tendinitis. The Achilles tendon is the band of tissue that connects calf muscles at the back of the lower leg to your heel bone. Achilles tendinitis is caused by overuse or strain on the Achilles tendon, such as when a runner increases the intensity of a running program.

  • Golfer's elbow. This condition, also known as medial epicondylitis, causes pain where the tendons of the forearm muscles attach to the bony bump on the inside of the elbow. The pain might spread into the forearm and wrist. It's not limited to golfers, but it is often caused by repeated rotation of the forearm and wrist.

  • Patellar tendinitis. This condition is an injury to the tendon connecting the kneecap, also called the patella, to the shinbone. Patellar tendinitis also is referred to as jumper's knee. The condition is most common in athletes whose sports involve frequent jumping, such as basketball and volleyball. But even people who don't take part in jumping sports can get patellar tendinitis.

  • Rotator cuff injury. The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons that surround the shoulder joint. Rotator cuff injuries are most often caused by wear and tear of the tendon tissue over time due to repeated overhead motions or heavy lifting. These injuries are common in people with jobs such as carpentry or in people who play sports such as baseball or tennis. A rotator cuff injury can cause a dull ache in the shoulder that worsens at night or with reaching.

  • Tennis elbow. Pain from tennis elbow, also known as lateral epicondylitis, can be caused by overuse of the muscles and tendons in the elbow. It's often linked to repeated motions of the wrist and arm, for example, the motions used in tennis and other similar sports.

Symptoms

Symptoms of tendinitis tend to occur where a tendon attaches to a bone. Symptoms often include:

  • Pain, often described as a dull ache, especially when moving the hurt limb or joint.
  • Stiffness or weakness in the affected area.
  • Tenderness.
  • Mild swelling.

When to see a doctor

Most cases of tendinitis respond with self-care measures, such as rest, ice and pain relievers. See your healthcare professional if your symptoms don't lessen after a few days and if they get in the way of daily activities.

Causes

Tendinitis can be caused by a single overuse activity. But repeating the same movement over time is a more likely cause. Some people develop tendinitis because their jobs or hobbies involve motions that they repeat, over and over. Jobs such as carpentry or house painting or sports such as baseball, tennis and golf require the same motions to be repeated. Over time, this puts stress on the tendons. In many cases tendinitis develops without a clear cause.

How you move when doing your sport or activity can affect your risk of developing tendinitis. Moving incorrectly can overload the tendon. Having proper form and technique is especially important when sports or a job requires repeated movements.

Risk factors

Risk factors for developing tendinitis include older age and having jobs that involve doing the same motion over and over. Some medical conditions and certain medicines also may increase the risk.

Age

As people get older, their tendons become less flexible, making the tendons easier to injure. Tendons also are often slower to heal and recover from activity as people age.

Work

Tendinitis is more common in people, such as gardeners and manual laborers, whose jobs involve:

  • Repeated motions.
  • Awkward positions.
  • A lot of overhead reaching.
  • Vibration.
  • Forced movements.

Activities

When doing physical activities, the following can increase the risk of tendinitis:

  • Sudden increase in amount or difficulty of training.
  • Too little recovery time after an injury or too little time to get used to the activity again after time off.
  • Hard surfaces, such as concrete or gym floors.
  • Poor equipment, such as old shoes or ones without support.
  • Poor posture or poor technique, such as incorrect form when playing tennis or throwing a ball.

Medical conditions and medicines

If you have certain medical conditions, such as diabetes, or take certain medicines, you can have an increased risk of tendinitis. Medicines that may increase risk include:

  • Antibiotics known as fluoroquinolones.
  • Corticosteroids such as cortisone.
  • Statins, used to lower cholesterol levels.
  • Aromatase inhibitors, used to lower breast cancer risk.
  • Testosterone taken at too high a dose or other anabolic steroids.

Complications

Without treatment, tendinitis can increase the risk of a tendon breaking down or tearing. A completely torn tendon might need surgery.

Prevention

To lower your chance of developing tendinitis, follow these suggestions:

  • Ease up. Avoid activities that place too much stress on your tendons, especially for long periods. If you have pain during an exercise, stop and rest.
  • Mix it up. If one exercise or activity causes you pain, take a break from it and try something else. Cross-training can help you mix high-impact exercise, such as running, with lower impact exercise, such as biking or swimming.
  • Improve the way you move. If you don't do an activity or exercise properly, you could be setting yourself up for issues with your tendons. Think about taking lessons or getting professional instructions when starting a new sport or using exercise equipment.
  • Move right in the workplace. Make sure your chair, keyboard and desktop are positioned correctly for your height, arm length and the tasks you do. This can help protect your joints and tendons from stress.
  • Prepare your muscles. Strengthen muscles used in your activity or sport. For example, if you play baseball, use weights to strengthen the specific muscles you need to use. Strengthening muscles that you use can help them bear the load better and lower the risk of injury.

Diagnosis

Often, a physical exam alone can diagnose tendinitis. Your healthcare professional may press on the affected joint and move the joint into different positions.

Sometimes your healthcare professional may use imaging tests to help with diagnosis. Imaging tests may include:

  • X-rays. This imaging test can show bone spurs or other potential causes for your pain, such as arthritis. Your healthcare professional might use X-rays to rule out other conditions that could be causing the symptoms.
  • Ultrasound. This type of imaging test uses sound waves to make images of structures within your body, such as muscles and tendons.
  • Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). An MRI machine uses radio waves and a magnetic field to create detailed images of the affected area of the body.

Treatment

The goals of tendinitis treatment are to relieve pain, reduce irritation and prevent future tendon conditions. Self-care, including rest, ice and pain relievers, might be all that's needed. But full recovery might take several months.

Changing how you do certain activities and doing physical therapy exercises can help improve pain and prevent future injuries. Other treatment options include noninvasive and surgical procedures.

Treatment options for tendinitis may include:

Medicines

Pain relievers, such as aspirin, naproxen sodium (Aleve), ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) or acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) may lessen pain. You also can apply pain-relieving creams or gels to the skin.

Physical therapy

Physical therapy exercises can help strengthen the muscle and tendon in the affected area. You can do resistance exercises to effectively treat many long-lasting tendon conditions.

Procedures

In situations where physical therapy hasn't resolved symptoms, your healthcare professional might suggest:

  • Steroid injections. The effectiveness of steroid shots for tendinitis varies depending on the condition. A steroid shot around a tendon often helps to quickly ease the pain, though pain relief may be temporary. But repeated steroid shots can weaken a tendon and increase the risk of the tendon tearing over time.
  • Dry needling. In this procedure, a healthcare professional makes small holes in the tendon with a fine needle. This procedure can reduce tendon pain.
  • Shockwave therapy. This treatment uses high-energy sound waves or pressure waves to treat injured tissue. These waves promote blood flow to help the tissue heal. Treatment is done using a hand-held device that is placed on the skin.
  • Ultrasound therapy. This treatment uses sounds waves to generate heat in the tissue. This can promote healing in a damaged tendon by increasing blood flow to the area.
  • Platelet-rich plasma therapy. This treatment involves taking a sample of your own blood and spinning the blood to separate out the platelets and other healing factors. The solution is then injected into the area of long-lasting tendon irritation.
  • Surgery. Depending on the seriousness of the injury, you may need to have surgery to repair the tendon, especially if the tendon has torn away from the bone. There are both minimally invasive and open procedures. A minimally invasive procedure usually results in less pain and quicker recovery than an open procedure. An open procedure requires a larger incision. Which procedure is best for you may depend on the type of injury to the tendon and its location.

Self-care

To treat tendinitis at home, use rest, ice, compression and elevation. This treatment can help speed recovery and help prevent more issues.

  • Rest. Avoid doing things that increase pain or swelling. Don't try to work or play through the pain. Healing requires rest, but not complete bed rest. You can do other activities and exercises that don't stress the injured tendon. Swimming and water exercise may be good options.
  • Ice. To decrease pain, muscle spasm and swelling, apply ice to the injured area for up to 20 minutes several times a day. Ice packs, ice massage or slush baths with ice and water all can help. For an ice massage, freeze a paper cup full of water so that you can hold the cup while applying the ice directly to the skin.
  • Compression. Because swelling can cause loss of motion in an injured joint, wrap the area tightly until the swelling stops. Use wraps or elastic bandages.
  • Elevation. If tendinitis affects your knee, raise the hurt leg above the level of your heart to reduce swelling.

Although rest is a key to treating tendinitis, not moving joints can cause them to become stiff. After a few days of resting the injured area, gently move it through its full range of motion to keep your joints flexible.

Preparing for your appointment

You might start by talking to your family healthcare professional. You may be referred to a specialist in sports medicine or physical medicine and rehabilitation.

What you can do

You may want to write a list that includes:

  • Details about your symptoms.
  • Other medical conditions you've had.
  • Medical conditions your parents, brothers and sisters have had.
  • All the medicines and vitamins you take, including doses.
  • Questions you want to ask the care team.

For tendinitis, some basic questions to ask include:

  • What is the most likely cause of my symptoms?
  • Are there other possible causes?
  • What tests do I need?
  • What treatment do you recommend?
  • I have other medical issues. How best can I manage them together?
  • Will I need to limit my activities?
  • What self-care can I do at home?

What to expect from your doctor

Your healthcare professional is likely to ask you questions, such as:

  • Where do you feel pain?
  • When did your pain begin?
  • Did it begin all at once or come on bit by bit?
  • What kind of work do you do?
  • What are your hobbies? What do you do for fun?
  • Have you been instructed in proper ways to do your activity?
  • Does your pain occur or worsen during certain activities, such as kneeling or climbing stairs?
  • Have you recently had a fall or other kind of injury?
  • What treatments have you tried at home?
  • What did those treatments do?
  • What, if anything, makes your symptoms better?
  • What, if anything, makes your symptoms worse?

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