Firstly, let’s look at tendon structure

The physiology of tendons is very different to that of muscles and because of this, the tendon rehabilitation process can vary widely from that of other injuries.

A tendon is part of the connective tissue group of body tissues.  Connective tissue is generally fibrous and made up of lots of tough collagen tissue as shown below.

 

How long will it take to get better?

Although tendons can repair, because of their low supply of blood, they generally repair quite slowly.  Depending on how much damage the tendon has received, along with other factors such as age, metabolism and immune system, your tendon can take anywhere between 2-10 weeks to heal.  If the tendon is not unloaded properly or it has been neglected for more than three months it may take longer to heal.

 

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Tendontrak is MWE’s unique approach which gives you access to multiple services for tendon recovery.  These services include:

• Graded assessment
• Ultrasound Imaging
• Braces/tapes/supports
• Shockwave therapy
• Injection therapy – steroidal or platelet rich plasma PRP
• Hands on therapy
• Resistance gym equipment

 

At MWE we take a systematic approach to tendon rehabilitation to ensure you recover as quick as you can.

The tendon rehabilitation process

1. The first, most important part of the tendon repair process involves diagnosing the severity of the tendon pathology. This can be done by assessing the function of the tendon.
2. Secondly unloading of the tendon is necessary so as to cease any inflammation. This means reducing the stress on the tendon as it functions in day to day living.  Often this step isis overlooked yet it is vital to allow the tissue to repair.  It may involve modifying your activities.
3. Once the tendon has been adequately unloaded, we can then load the tendon in a very specific and controlled manner so as to allow for adaptation to the new load. This is a slow and gradual process as microscopic tearing of the tendon must reform over time.
4. The forth phase for repair is to load the tendon in more functional activities which put the tendon to the test. This must also be a gradual increase in load and duration so as not to re-injure the “still at risk” structure of the tendon.
5. Finally, once the tendon has passed the graduated tests in the clinical setting, it’s time to return to high level activities which might be work or sport related.