Tendinosis

Excerpt

Tendon injuries plague a wide variety of patients, ranging from vigorous athletes to non-athletes. Different sports and occupations expose patients to increased risk for certain tendinopathies. Terminology and definition have changed significantly over the last 40 years. Tendinopathy is an umbrella term used to describe tendon pain without knowing the specific pathology, including tears, inflammatory enthesitis, or chronic degeneration. Historically, tendon pain with associated decreased function was described as tendinitis. Tendinitis, by definition, implies that tendon injury is accompanied by an inflammatory response, which occurs in spondyloarthritis. In reviewing available histopathology studies that compare healthy tendons to injured (symptomatic) ones, it is evident that these injured tendons appear to be in a degenerative state with few or no inflammatory cells. Tendinosis more appropriately defines this process.