The painful nonruptured tendon: clinical aspects

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine
• Orthopedics
• Biomedical Science

Background:

• Tendon conditions significantly impact athletes, leading to considerable morbidity.
• Current treatment outcomes for athletes with tendinopathies are frequently unsatisfactory.
• Despite decades of evidence, clinical practice often uses the inaccurate term "tendinitis" for tendinosis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the discrepancy between evidence and clinical practice in managing tendon conditions.
• To emphasize the need for accurate diagnosis and terminology in tendinopathies.
• To advocate for improved knowledge translation in sports medicine.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing scientific literature on tendinopathies.
• Analysis of the common terminology used in clinical practice versus scientific evidence.
• Discussion of challenges in translating evidence-based recommendations into clinical practice.

Main Results:

• Strong evidence supports tendinosis, not tendinitis, as the underlying pathology for common clinical tendon conditions.
• The misnomer "tendinitis" persists widely in clinical settings.
• A significant gap exists between evidence-based recommendations and current clinical practice.

Conclusions:

• Accurate diagnosis and terminology (tendinosis over tendinitis) are essential for effective treatment of athletic tendon injuries.
• Knowledge translation efforts are vital to ensure patients receive evidence-based care.
• Further research and improved implementation strategies are needed to enhance patient outcomes in sports-related tendinopathies.