I've been having shoulder pain and reduced mobility in my left shoulder and it started just before we went on vacation in March to Europe and steadily got worse while we were away. I thought that 6 months of not exercising it with tennis, yoga, and the like would improve the situation but it got worse, to the point that I couldn't even bear sleeping on my left side.
On return last month I went to see the doc who thought, like me, it was tendonitis and I tried NSAID's and steroids before being referred to an orthopedic specialist.
After X-Rays showed bone spurs he sent me for an MRI and I got the results today. It shows bone spurs and lots of tendonosis, which is different from tendonitis, plus a labaral tear (see below).
Tendinosis vs Tendinitis
The suffix "itis" means inflammation; the term tendinitis should be reserved for tendon injuries that involve acute injuries accompanied by inflammation. The suffix "osis" implies a pathology of chronic degeneration without inflammation, so doctors prefer the term tendinosis for chronic tendon injuries of failed healing. Tendinosis is an accumulation over time of microscopic injuries that don't heal properly. Although inflammation can be involved in the initial stages of the injury, it is the inability of the tendon to heal that perpetuates the pain and disability.
The MRI also shows a labaral tear. (I play tennis most weeks with my left hand even though I am right handed. Good for the brain, but maybe a bad technique serving has not been good for the labrum)
I have an appointment next week with the Doc to discuss treatment options, but it doesn't look like it is going to be as simple as 10 years ago when I had surgery for bone ridges that were causing tendonitis.
Anyone else had tendinosis, and if so, what treatment helped?
On return last month I went to see the doc who thought, like me, it was tendonitis and I tried NSAID's and steroids before being referred to an orthopedic specialist.
After X-Rays showed bone spurs he sent me for an MRI and I got the results today. It shows bone spurs and lots of tendonosis, which is different from tendonitis, plus a labaral tear (see below).
Tendinosis vs Tendinitis
The suffix "itis" means inflammation; the term tendinitis should be reserved for tendon injuries that involve acute injuries accompanied by inflammation. The suffix "osis" implies a pathology of chronic degeneration without inflammation, so doctors prefer the term tendinosis for chronic tendon injuries of failed healing. Tendinosis is an accumulation over time of microscopic injuries that don't heal properly. Although inflammation can be involved in the initial stages of the injury, it is the inability of the tendon to heal that perpetuates the pain and disability.
The MRI also shows a labaral tear. (I play tennis most weeks with my left hand even though I am right handed. Good for the brain, but maybe a bad technique serving has not been good for the labrum)
I have an appointment next week with the Doc to discuss treatment options, but it doesn't look like it is going to be as simple as 10 years ago when I had surgery for bone ridges that were causing tendonitis.
Anyone else had tendinosis, and if so, what treatment helped?