Corpus3D

Conditions

Tendinopathy

Mechanism
A response of the tendon to load exceeding its capacity to recover. It involves matrix change and an increase in cells and ground substance, not inflammation; hence the -itis ending has been abandoned.
Recognition
Pain located exactly on the tendon, appearing on loading and easing during warm-up only to return afterwards. Next-morning pain is the best gauge of whether the load was too high.
Course
The FC Barcelona tendon guide describes a continuum from reactive through disrepair to degenerative, with the tendon able to move back and forth between stages. That explains why complete rest does not work: the tendon needs load, only in the right dose.
What the guideline recommends
The guide works through a progression from isometric to heavy slow resistance and only then to energy storage and sport-specific load. Pain up to about 3 out of 10 during the exercise is acceptable as long as it has not increased the next morning.

Structures

Sources