Orthopedic   Massage

Monthly Update for March 2010

What is tendonitis?

            Tendonitis is the inflammation of tendons.  In most of the cases I see, it is relieved by reducing the tightness of the muscle.  A number of years ago I was buying a pair of running shoes.  The young woman assisting me had a wrist brace on.  I'm always interested in other's injuries, and asked if it was CTS (carpal tunnel syndrome).  She said the doctor diagnosed it as tendonitis.  She took off the brace and I could see the swelling above the tendons where they intersect the wrist. (If you hold your hand palm up and flex the muscles of your hand the tendons pop up.)  It was the most dramatic case of tendonitis I had ever seen.  I explained that I was a massage therapist and asked if I could work the muscles in her forearm.  She said yes.  After a few minutes of working on loosening the muscles she said, "Oh my God!"   I thought,"Oh shit, what have I done."  She held out her hand, "The swelling is gone!"  It had diminished substantially.  She had to bend her wrist back in order to see any swelling at all.  That was the moment I realized how powerful massage could be in helping tendonitis. By relaxing the muscles, the tendons' swelling was reduced.

Yours in Wellness,

Allan Drew

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