Preventing tendinitis



DennistheMennis

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Jul 20, 2005
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Hello all:

I don't have tendinitis at the moment, but I did have achilles tendinitis two years ago. I killed it by taking two weeks off the bike, popping ibuprofen, and reducing my mileage a bit. I think it was caused by a slightly rapid increase in my mileage, followed by a 100-mile ride (with near-hypothermia brought on by a surprise rain shower) in which I pulled a slower friend into a headwind for much of the time.

Anyway, it hasn't recurred, but I worry that it might. I also sometimes feel slight twinges in my knees that never stay thank goodness.

So, what is the best way to prevent it from recurring? I can think of a few, but wonder about some of them:

- Get proper bike fitment!!!
- Do not increase mileage too quickly.
- Use good pedaling technique.

It is the last item I'm mostly wondering about right now. Is it useful in preventing tendinitis? If so, do the lower pedal forces of a high cadence help? Or do the fewer revolutions of a low cadence help more? I guess I'm trying to find out if I should spin or not when on rides that don't require a specific cadence.

Anything else?

TIA!
 
I will let others describe the bike fit questions, but one general way to help prevent or treat tendonitis is to use R.I.C.E.. It really does work if used properly. Especially the ice part of R.I.C.E..

One with a decent amount of training experience will know if they have over exerted themselves that may cause inflammation / irritation to the tendons.
 
Thanks, but RICE is not prevention, it's a treatment. Unless I already have a problem area identified (in which case it's treatment), I'd have to dunk my entire body in ice, wrap myself in ace bandages and elevate all of me to use RICE as prevention. Not very pleasant, except I can manage the full-body rest portion! ;)

Again, I'm really just wondering if there's anything I can do to prevent tendinitis from even getting a start so RICE becomes unnecessary.

Ciao,
 
Glucosamine is good to take for tendons and ligaments too.

DennistheMennis said:
Hello all:

I don't have tendinitis at the moment, but I did have achilles tendinitis two years ago. I killed it by taking two weeks off the bike, popping ibuprofen, and reducing my mileage a bit. I think it was caused by a slightly rapid increase in my mileage, followed by a 100-mile ride (with near-hypothermia brought on by a surprise rain shower) in which I pulled a slower friend into a headwind for much of the time.

Anyway, it hasn't recurred, but I worry that it might. I also sometimes feel slight twinges in my knees that never stay thank goodness.

So, what is the best way to prevent it from recurring? I can think of a few, but wonder about some of them:

- Get proper bike fitment!!!
- Do not increase mileage too quickly.
- Use good pedaling technique.

It is the last item I'm mostly wondering about right now. Is it useful in preventing tendinitis? If so, do the lower pedal forces of a high cadence help? Or do the fewer revolutions of a low cadence help more? I guess I'm trying to find out if I should spin or not when on rides that don't require a specific cadence.

Anything else?

TIA!
 
Carrera said:
Glucosamine is good to take for tendons and ligaments too.
Glucosamine is actually a treatment for osteoarthritis. It's thought to be a component of hyaline cartilage (protects joint surfaces). In studies the most promising property of glucosamine has been it's ability to reduce pain. As for preventing tendinitis just follow common sense: warm-up, stretch, emphasis on proper bike fit, don't overtrain, listen to your body, ice when needed, most importantly rest when you need it. There's no magic pill or technique to prevent it. You're left with the daily battle of maximizing fitness while not overdoing it.
 
discobean7 said:
Glucosamine is actually a treatment for osteoarthritis. It's thought to be a component of hyaline cartilage (protects joint surfaces). In studies the most promising property of glucosamine has been it's ability to reduce pain. As for preventing tendinitis just follow common sense: warm-up, stretch, emphasis on proper bike fit, don't overtrain, listen to your body, ice when needed, most importantly rest when you need it. There's no magic pill or technique to prevent it. You're left with the daily battle of maximizing fitness while not overdoing it.
Cool! I've been wondering about glucosamine. It seems to have become more accepted in reliable circles lately, though I haven't personally seen (or looked for) any specific large-scale studies supporting its effectiveness in preventing joint problems. Are there some now?

I'm still wondering about high cadence vs. low cadence in tendinitis prevention though.
 
Fat in your diet. Eat a healthy amount of healthy fats, like the omega's. I've read that our joints are lubricated in a sense by the fat in our diets(synovial fluid). It definitely can't hurt.
 
A new study just came out (new england journal I believe) that found no substantial evidence that glucosamine chondriotin compounds work. Check it out.
 
tyler1212 said:
Fat in your diet. Eat a healthy amount of healthy fats, like the omega's. I've read that our joints are lubricated in a sense by the fat in our diets(synovial fluid). It definitely can't hurt.
Yes, I've heard that too, and I do regularly eat omega-rich foods now, including more fish, flax-seed oil and others. I've also heard that avocados are good for that, and I eat those also for the potassium. But I didn't eat as well in the past as I do now. Perhaps that's why I've had no recurrences?

And thanks for the caution on glucosamine; I'll hold off on that for now.
 
I guess that my knee problems over the years have been "tendinitis" related. I was told that it was tightness and over-devlopement around the knee. As the knee bent the 'IT band' was rubbing back and forth across the knee joint and had damaged the outer cover of the band . Was give some stretches to do and still to this day do them some 10 years later. The only time that I have trouble now is when I have been a bit slack with the stretches. My suggustion is to regurlerly stretch to maintain normal joint mobility.( ankle, knee, hips, lower back, shoulders and neck)
 

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