How to Prevent Tendinitis

Tendinitis, which occurs when tendons become inflamed, usually from overuse, can interfere with daily activities. Learning ways to prevent tendinitis or decrease the likelihood of stressing joints can help you make decisions that will avoid this painful inflammation.

"Tendinitis is your body's way of telling you, 'Enough! You're putting too much stress on this muscle and joint,'" according to the University of Rochester Medical Center. "Tendons are connective tissues that hold muscles to your bones. When muscles contract, tendons react, causing bones to move. Too much stress on joints can tear and inflame tendons."

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If the damage occurs repetitively, say while playing tennis, golf, or even typing, the pain can become constant, URMC said.

Here are seven things you can do to prevent tendinitis:

1. Stretch: "Take time after exercise to stretch in order to maximize the range of motion of your joints," The Mayo Clinic recommends. "This can help to minimize repetitive trauma on tight tissues. The best time to stretch is after exercise, when your muscles are warmed up."

2. Cross-train on other activities: To avoid using specific joints repetitively, mix up your activities to use different muscle and tendon groups, Mayo said.

3. Assess your workplace ergonomics: Your chair, keyboard, and desktop should be set at appropriate levels for your height, arm length, and the way you do your tasks, Mayo said. Ergonomic keyboards can help with elbow and hand tendinitis that often comes with typing a lot, for instance.

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4. Consider form and footwear: Achilles tendinitis is a common injury for runners. To help prevent it, learn whether you're a "heel striker," someone who comes down hard on his or her heel, according to Runners World. Wear the right shoes to run; heel strikers should avoid high-profile shoes and look for those with support and shock absorption for the heel.

5. Limit repeated use of the same joint: If at all possible, determine different ways to do things that allows you to rest frequently used joints whenever possible, WebMD said.

6. Push yourself with care: "Be careful about the 'no pain, no gain' approach," Prevention magazine cautioned. "It can be difficult to distinguish between an ache that indicates you're building strength and an ache that means you injured a tendon." 

7. Check your equipment: For people suffering from tennis elbow, Prevention said some people have found switching to a racket with a larger head, as long as it's not heavier, may help. "Some specialists believe that this type of racket cuts down on the transmission of vibrations to the arm," the health magazine said.

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