Tendonitis in Runners

Tendonitis is a painful condition, often seen in runners and those participating in other sports, such as tennis and swimming.

By looking after your body nutritionally, eating a well-balanced diet, and by wearing the correct footwear, you can protect your body against tendonitis.

Including sulphur, vitamin C and essential fatty acids into your diet can also aid in preventing tendonitis.

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Tendonitis, what is it?

Tendonitis is the inflammation of a tendon, which attaches muscle to the bone. The associated pain is a result of the inflammation.

Tendonitis usually affects the upper and lower limbs, and different tendons are affected depending on the type of sport. For example, runners are more likely to get patella tendonitis (knee), whereas swimmers are more prone to getting it in their shoulders.

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Possible causes of tendonitis

Tendonitis can be caused by a number of different factors such as trauma, wearing old or incorrect footwear, infection and nutritional imbalance. A lack of sulphur in the body is thought to be a causative agent in tendonitis.

When the body undergoes dietary or physical stress, it puts a strain on the adrenal glands, which release the stress hormone cortisol. High or continued release of cortisol can result in adrenal burn out and inflammation.

The body uses sulphur (a natural substance in the body) to remove cortisol from the blood, in a 'detox' reaction. This then reduces the body's levels of this important compound, so it has less available sulphur to help maintain healthy tendons (keeping them flexible), and to heal inflamed tendons.

It is therefore important to include sulphur-rich foods in the diet and consider taking a sulphur supplement such as methylsulfonylmethane (MSM). MSM also occurs naturally in foods. Spicy or hot foods such as radish, onion, garlic and cruciferous vegetables all contain good levels of MSM. Superfoods such as bee pollen and maca also contain excellent levels.

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Possible treatments and ways to prevent tendonitis

As a runner myself, I take MSM as a supplement to my diet, along with superfoods. I recently suffered patella tendonitis whilst training for a half marathon, and started taking MSM. It really helped with pain and healing. I now take it on a regular basis, combined with vitamin C, which greatly enhances its efficiency, and have not suffered from tendonitis since.

Massage from a practitioner, or self massage, for example using The Grid, can be very beneficial. Some people also find ice to be useful for localised swelling and inflammation.

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Summary

I hope you have found these tips and hints useful, please feel free to leave your own comments, or experiences of tendonitis.

If the problem persists or worsens, you may need to visit a health professional, chiropractor or physiotherapist. Check out our sports clinic. To make sure you are wearing the correct footwear, why not visit our store for a free personalised shoe fitting and natural gait analysis.

Happy running all.