Tendonitis and Rest
Don't Waste Your Time
Tendonitis and Rest.
Common sense tells us that if we just take some time off, the pain will not only go away, but the -problem- will go away.
Such is not the case, unfortunately.
Will rest cure Tendonitis? No. Will rest heal Tendonitis? No. Will rest fix tendonitis? No.
Can rest fix, heal, or cure Tendonitis? No.
Well then why to doctors prescribe rest to every single sufferer of tendonitis that walks through their doors, if it doesn't work?
Tendonitis and Rest
Why Do Doctors Prescribe Rest?
If I ever get shot with a gun or hit by a car, I want to go see a doctor. They're the best.
But for something as subtle as Tendonitis, doctors just don't have much to work with. If there's a rip or a tear or a break, that's pretty obvious and they can target that.
But Tendonitis symptoms, whether mild or debilitating, can come from nutritional deficiency, from chronically tight muscles and/or connective tissue, from compensation patter, etc.
Tendonitis is made up of a variety of negative factors, the amounts of which any person suffers from differ, and can differ greatly.
See: What Is Tendonitis
Tendonitis and Rest
Doctors prescribe rest for Tendonitis because it is part of the 'Standard of Care'. 'Standard of Care' is the plan approved by the AMA and/or hospital system. If the doctor follows the standard of care, they are protected from lawsuit, etc.
The problem is, Standard of Care is applied, whether it works or not. And it is prescribed to everyone, regardless (with slight variation depending on how the patient shows up at the office).
So if you have Tendonitis of any kind, the doctor is first going to prescribe Rest and Anti-inflammatory drugs like Ibuprofen.
Depending on how 'bad' it is, the doctor also commonly prescribes a splint or some kind of immobilization. For an example of this, see Wrist splints and braces.
Doctors prescribe rest out of professional habit. They hope it works, and they expect to see you back again for 'stronger' methods/prescriptions when the first round of rest and inflammatories fails.
Tendonitis and Rest
Rest Is Doomed To Fail
Immobilization and anti-inflammatories are doomed to fail, just like rest is doomed to fail.
Why? Because (specifically for rest) there is a HUGE difference between Rest and Relaxation.
When you understand the Pain Causing Dynamic, you'll understand why.
Essentially, tendonitis is a function of progressive muscle tightness, connective tightness, and a Process of Inflammation.
Those are structural changes that exist regardless of how much pain there is.
Rest reduces new irritation to the pain dynamic. That's a good thing. But even if you rest for a month and pain goes away, you're NOT fixed!
Those structural aspects of too tight muscles and constrictive connective tissue and the defensive mechanism of the inflammation process are still in place.
That's why you can rest for a year, then pickup your job or sport or hobby again and the pain is incredibly likely to come right back (quickly, or slowly).
Tendonitis and Rest
Go Hand In Hand
I'll talk all day long about the fact that Rest is a poor method to try and fix Tendonitis with.
In the long run, it won't work. Rest will never work to cure Tendonitis of any kind.
Having said that, Tendonitis and Rest go hand in hand.
Why?
Because every tool is good for -something-. Rest won't heal tendonitis, but rest IS very effective at limiting the amount of new irritation to an already irritated dynamic.
Let me say that again: Rest IS very effective at limiting the amount of new irritation to an already irritated dynamic.
New irritation to your tendonitis dynamic is one of the several factors that you need to be aware of, and that you need to pay attention to.
You don't necessarily need to avoid new irritation, but it's a factor to take into account.
Do you have Tendonitis and want to stay active at work or your hobby? Ok, no problem. That just means you need to factor that into your self care program.
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