You find yourself with the diagnosis of “tendinopathy” and have been told to “go to physiotherapy”.

Now what?

You may have thought to yourself “If I just rest, it will get better”.

Healthy tendons are stiff and strong, and this does not happen with rest. In fact, rest, or unloading a tendon, can result in an unhealthy tendon.

Stiffer tendons experience less strain and store more energy to support muscle function.

Stronger tendons are capable of resisting greater loads prior to failure.

There is a lot of evidence that mechanical loading (EXERCISE) can improve tendon stiffness and strength.

How do I load a tendon?

Good news, there isn’t a BEST way. No one type exercise has been shown to produce significant improvement compared to another when the intensity is ‘high’.

Intensity = how hard was it?

We want you to work at ~70% of your maximum ability.

When your exercises no longer feel challenging, it is time to progress them. This typically means adding more weight.

When I go to physio, I sit back and relax while the therapist does stuff to my tendon.

We have discussed the importance of an active, resistance-based exercise program for your tendon recovery and health. If you are doing ‘the things’ (gradual exposure to progressive loading), go ahead and enjoy the extras.

Some important considerations:

Unhealthy tendons have an increased blood supply: treatments that are focused on “improving blood flow” do not have a place in tendinopathy.

We want you to feel good, but we also want to support you back to what you want – a return to participation in the activities you love.

Remember, REST is NOT BEST. Your rehabilitation should focus on ACTIVE interventions.

As for the big question:  How long is this going to take?

We don’t know exactly how long it will take for your tendon symptoms to improve, but it will likely take a lot longer than you want it to. While improved tendon stiffness can occur within 4-8-12 weeks, full recovery can take months.

Your program should be tailored to your individual needs. If you are an athlete, you need to be preparing your body for the activities you want to get back to. If your goal is to get back to daily activities, perhaps it is time to dust off your inner athlete, recognize your abilities, and maybe find some enjoyment in physical activity.