Health A-Z

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Harvard Medical School

Tendonitis

Treatment

The quicker your tendonitis is treated, the sooner you'll recover full strength and flexibility. Your doctor first may recommend that you apply ice packs to the painful area for 20-minute periods, three or four times a day. You also should ice the area immediately after any activity that aggravates your pain (such as tennis, running, etc.) To relieve pain and swelling, your doctor may suggest that you take ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin and others), aspirin or another nonprescription anti-inflammatory medication, usually for several weeks. You also will need to rest the area for a few days to a few weeks to allow your body to repair itself. For example, people with golfer's elbow usually need to rest the affected elbow for at least one month. If an infection is causing the tendonitis, you may be given antibiotics.

Depending on the location and severity of tendonitis, you may need temporary splinting, bracing or a sling (for tendonitis in the upper extremity). However, it is important to keep moving the joint to avoid getting a stiff, or "frozen," joint.

For more serious cases of noninfectious tendonitis, your doctor may inject a corticosteroid drug or local anesthetic into the affected tendon. He or she also may refer you to a physical therapist for more specialized local treatments, such as deep heat treatments using ultrasound, friction massage or water therapy to improve joint mobility. The physical therapist also will guide you through a rehabilitation program that will help you to regain strength, motion and function. The length of time for rehabilitation varies depending on the type and severity of tendonitis. For example, it is usually at least two to six months for Achilles tendonitis and at least six months for epicondylitis.

Surgery is rarely needed to treat tendonitis. It is reserved for cases that do not respond to other types of treatment.