What is the goal of muscle and tendon injuries?
Furthermore, muscle and tendon injuries can alter movement of the entire body and ultimately limit functional participation in life activities. The goal of this chapter is to aid the clinician in identifying and treating muscle and tendon injuries.
What is the best treatment for a torn tendon?
This will help to take the pressure off the tendon and allow it to heal. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP): this is a type of injection that involves removing a sample of blood and separating the red and white blood cells from the plasma. The plasma is rich in growth factors that can help to repair damaged body tissue.
What is a a tendon injury?
A tendon injury is classed as damage or inflammation located within the soft-tissue structure that helps to connect muscle to bone. Tendons are similar to ligaments in the sense that they are both connective tissue and made up of collagen, but ligaments have no relationship with muscle and just connect bone to bone.
Why do tendons take longer to heal than muscles after injury?
The newly regenerated myofibers on the end of the torn muscle project into the forming connective tissue scar. When compared with muscle, tendons have less vascularity and therefore less oxygen and nutrition after injury. As a result, tendons may be slower than muscles to recover after injury.
What is the treatment for tendon injury?
Prescribe a brace, splint, sling, or crutches for a brief period to allow tendons to rest and heal. Recommend a cast to rest and heal a badly damaged tendon. Casting or surgery is typically used to treat a ruptured tendon.
What are the most common muscle and tendon injuries?
Sprains, strains, and contusions, as well as tendinitis and bursitis, are common soft-tissue injuries. Even with appropriate treatment, these injuries may require a prolonged amount of time to heal.
How do you take care of tendons and ligaments?
Aside from the obvious call to avoid overuse through repetitive motions, the best way to take care of your tendons is to warm up your tissues before activities and maintain a gentle flexibility/stretching program. You'll also be promoting positive results with all your other connective tissues, ligaments and fascia.
How can muscle and tendon injuries be prevented?
Injury-prevention tipsAvoid doing too much, too soon. ... Maintain strength in the muscles surrounding the joint area. ... Train smart by cross-training. ... Never skip your warm-up or cool down. ... Always use proper technique and body mechanics when playing sports involving repetitive motion, such as tennis and golf. ... Keep in shape.More items...
How do you treat muscle pain?
Rest and elevate the painful area. Alternate between ice packs to reduce inflammation and heat to improve blood flow. Soak in a warm bath with Epsom salts or take a warm shower. Take over-the-counter pain relievers (aspirin, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, naproxen).
How do you repair muscle damage?
Your doctor may recommend the following at-home treatments:Rest. Rest the muscle for a few days or until your doctor gives you the okay. ... Ice. Apply ice to the injury for 20 minutes each hour you're awake. ... Compression. Wrapping the muscle with an elastic bandage can help bring down swelling. ... Elevation. ... Medication. ... Heat.
What is the proper treatment for strains and sprains?
Rest: Rest the injured part until it's less painful. Ice: Wrap an icepack or cold compress in a towel and place over the injured part immediately. Continue for no more than 20 minutes at a time, four to eight times a day. Compression: Support the injured part with an elastic compression bandage for at least 2 days.
What helps tendons and ligaments heal faster?
Stretching and flexibility exercises to help the tendon heal completely and avoid long-term pain. Strengthening exercises to help you rebuild tendon strength and avoid future injuries. Ultrasound heat therapy to improve blood circulation, which may aid the healing process.
How do you protect your tendons?
PreventionEase up. Avoid activities that place excessive stress on your tendons, especially for prolonged periods. ... Mix it up. If one exercise or activity causes you a particular, persistent pain, try something else. ... Improve your technique. ... Stretch. ... Use proper workplace ergonomics. ... Prepare your muscles to play.
What is the best way to treat muscle strain?
For immediate self-care of a muscle strain, try the R.I.C.E. approach — rest, ice, compression, elevation:
What to look for in a physical exam for a ruptured tendon?
Diagnosis. During the physical exam, your doctor will check for swelling and points of tenderness. The location and intensity of your pain can help determine the extent and nature of the damage. In more severe injuries, where the muscle or tendon has been completely ruptured, your doctor may be able to see or feel a defect in the area of injury.
How long after muscle strain can you take ibuprofen?
Some doctors recommend avoiding over-the-counter pain medications that can increase your risk of bleeding — such as aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) and naproxen sodium (Aleve) — during the first 48 hours after a muscle strain. Acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) can be helpful for pain relief during this time period.
What is the best treatment for a sprained limb?
Acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) can be helpful for pain relief during this time period. A physical therapist can help you to maximize stability and strength of the injured joint or limb. Your doctor may suggest that you immobilize the area with a brace or splint.
Who to refer to for orthopedic surgery?
While you may initially consult your family physician, he or she may refer you to a doctor who specializes in sports medicine or orthopedic surgery.
What is the first line of treatment for a muscle strain in any area of the body?
First-line treatment for a muscle strain in any area of the body is the R.I.C.E. protocol — rest, ice, compression and elevation. Resting does not mean stopping all activity. But you should avoid activities that increase your forearm pain. This can be quite difficult as your hands are used for just about every task you perform in a day, but increased pain means increased damage and longer recovery time.
How to treat a forearm injury?
Treatment for forearm muscle and tendon injuries can include rest, ice, compression, stretching and strengthening. Less commonly, surgery might be required.
Why is strengthening your forearm important?
Strengthening forearm muscles can help improve weakness that can occur with tendonitis or muscle injury. It can also help prevent future re-injury to your forearm.
What is the extensor carpi radialis brevis?
Most often, this injury is associated with damage to a specific muscle called the extensor carpi radialis brevis, or ECRB. Tiny tears can develop in this muscle as it rubs over the bones in your forearm, especially with repeated use. This muscle is responsible for stabilizing your wrist when your elbow is straight and repeatedly absorbs high impact forces during racquet sports.
Why do my fingers hurt?
Because your fingers and wrists are involved in virtually all daily tasks, these muscles and tendons are subject to injury. Most common are overuse injuries, but direct trauma can also occur.
Where is the flexor tendon located?
The extensor tendon is located on the outside of the elbow, while the flexor tendon sits on the inside of your elbow.
Which muscles are responsible for flexion?
Muscles on the front of your forearm produce flexion, or forward bending, of your fingers and wrist. Muscles on the back of your forearm generally perform extension, or straightening of the fingers and backward bending of the wrist. There are additional muscles on each side of the forearm that move your thumb.
Where does injury occur in the muscle-tendon unit?
Injury to the muscle-tendon unit can occur within the body of the muscle or tendon or at their points of attachment. Frequently, the site of injury in the musculotendinous unit is at the MTJ. When injury occurs near the OTJ, an avulsion fracture may result, with the bony insertion separated from the bone ( Fig. 7-2 ).
How does a tendon injury affect the body?
Injury to muscle and tendon structures can substantially affect individual joint mobility and stability. Furthermore, muscle and tendon injuries can alter movement of the entire body and ultimately limit functional participation in life activities. The goal of this chapter is to aid the clinician in identifying and treating muscle and tendon injuries. Specifically, the objectives of this chapter are to (1) identify basic science components and healing parameters of the muscle-tendon unit, (2) differentially diagnose muscle and tendon pathologies, and (3) discuss evaluation considerations and rehabilitation principles for muscle and tendon injuries.
What is the point of attachment of a muscle to a bone?
The point of connection between muscle and tendon is the myotendinous junction (MTJ), and the point of attachment of tendon to bone is the osseotendinous junction (OTJ). The entire muscle-tendon unit works to produce controlled movement, as well as to stabilize and protect joints. Therefore, when the musculotendinous unit sustains an injury, it often has an impact on joint stability and functional mobility. Injury to the muscle-tendon unit can occur within the body of the muscle or tendon or at their points of attachment. Frequently, the site of injury in the musculotendinous unit is at the MTJ. When injury occurs near the OTJ, an avulsion fracture may result, with the bony insertion separated from the bone ( Fig. 7-2 ).
What is the inflammatory response?
The acute inflammatory phase begins immediately after tissue injury and is characterized by redness, swelling, increased temperature, and pain. The inflammatory phase involves capillary injury and vasodilation, which results in increased blood flow to the injured area. Neutrophils and macrophages are attracted to the site of injury to remove foreign debris and damaged tissue from the area and thereby improve the healing environment. The events in the inflammatory response phase last approximately 2 to 4 days. During the fibroblastic-repair phase, which typically begins 3 days after injury and lasts approximately 2 weeks, new blood vessels form and fibroblasts migrate to the area to synthesize new ground substance and collagen. The wound margins begin to contract in size and weaker type III collagen is deposited in an unorganized fashion to form scar tissue. Finally, during the maturation-remodeling phase, ongoing synthesis and reorganization of collagen fibers take place. The continued collagen deposition transitions to mainly type I collagen, and the collagen fibers in the scar tissue become parallel in alignment as a result of tensile forces applied to the injured soft tissue. The parallel alignment of collagen fibers is usually achieved by 2 months after injury and allows the tissue to endure higher tensile loads. However, this final healing phase is a long-term process that begins approximately 3 weeks after injury and may last up to 1 year. While remodeling, the tensile strength of the wound continues to increase and at 3 months will have approximately 80% of normal tissue strength. When the remodeling phase is complete, the damaged tissue has often not achieved the same tensile strength as uninjured tissue. Luckily, the limitation in tensile strength does not typically affect function. The three phases of tissue healing overlap and represent a continuum of soft tissue healing ( Fig. 7-3 ).
What are the stages of soft tissue healing?
The stages of soft tissue healing consist of the inflammatory response phase, the fibroblastic-repair phase, and the maturation-remodeling phase. Although the literature reports variations in the exact time frames for each phase, these phases of healing overlap and the time frames serve as general guidelines for the clinician because each soft tissue injury varies in severity and in the individual’s response to injury.
What is the function of muscle?
Muscles are composed of contractile tissue and are responsible for creating and dissipating force while enabling voluntary movement of the body. Movement of the skeletal system is made possible through the connection of muscle to bone via tendons.
Why are tendons slower to recover?
As a result, tendons may be slower than muscles to recover after injury.
What is tendon injury?
A tendon injury is classed as damage or inflammation located within the soft-tissue structure that helps to connect muscle to bone. Tendons are similar to ligaments in the sense that they are both connective tissue and made up of collagen, but ligaments have no relationship with muscle and just connect bone to bone.
How to heal a tendon?
Physical therapy: a physical therapy program will help to strengthen the muscles associated with the tendon injury. This will help to take the pressure off the tendon and allow it to heal.
How to prevent patellar tendon problems?
If you are a runner then it would be your leg muscles. Massage into the quadriceps muscles can help to prevent the reoccurrence of patellar tendon problems. Perform regular strengthening exercises for muscles associated with previous tendon injuries.
What does it feel like to tear an Achilles tendon?
Swelling. The tendon may feel warm. Clicking and crunching – if the tendons are tight then they can make a sound as they flick over bony prominences. An audible snapping sound at the time of the injury – this is normally only for full tears of the achilles tendon.
What is the most common type of tendon injury?
This is most common in the following areas of the body: Flexor tendons in the elbow, clinically known as tennis elbow or lateral epicondylitis. Extensor tendons in the elbow, clinically known as golfer’s elbow ...
Why do tendon tears happen?
The poor blood supply of a tendon means that they recover very slowly. If the repetitive activity is repeated on a continual basis without giving enough time for the tendon to recover then it leaves some of the fibers in the tendon vulnerable to tearing. For example, if a tennis player is playing tennis a few times a week without stretching or massaging his forearm muscles.
What is the term for the tendons in the elbow?
Extensor tendons in the elbow, clinically known as golfer’s elbow or medial epicondylitis.
What are the two main functions of tendons?
Tendons serve two functions: to facilitate movement or joint stability by transmitting forces between muscle and bone, and to store energy for later movement. An example of this is the energy created during plyometric exercises. The series elastic component stores elastic energy created during plyometric exercises in response to an eccentric stretch of the muscle. Tendons have the ability to withstand significant physiologic loads; however, they may be at risk of injury by either trauma, degeneration, or overuse. A tendon’s structure is divided into three locations: the muscle–tendon junction, the midsubstance, and the bone–tendon junction.
What are the different types of muscle fibers?
Several types of muscle fibers have been identified in skeletal muscle. The differences between muscle fibers are based on the shape of the fiber and its function. There are two general categories of muscle fiber types: fast twitch (FT) and slow twitch (ST). The “twitch” term relates to the time it takes muscle fibers (and its associated nerve) to contract and relax.
What is the function of skeletal muscles?
Skeletal muscles, and by extension their tendons, are responsible for human movement. Injury to a muscle or a tendon may significantly impact one’s functional ability. One’s experience after a muscle or tendon injury may range in severity from minor pain with minimal functional loss to severe pain with prolonged or permanent functional loss. A person who has sustained a muscle or tendon injury may benefit from a supervised clinical rehabilitation program.
What are the layers of connective tissue?
11-1). There are three layers of connective tissue: the epimysium, the perimysium, and the endomysium. The epimysium surrounds the muscle and (along with the perimysium and the endo mysium) is continuous with the muscle’s tendons. Within the muscle, groups of muscle fibers (known as a fasciculus) are surrounded by the perimysium. Within each fasciculus, each individual muscle fiber is surrounded by the endomysium.