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Tendonitis and Tendinosis, Pediatric

Jay Mehta, MD, MS Reviewed 10/2018
 


BASICS

DESCRIPTION

  • Tendonitis: inflammation of a tendon or along the tendon sheath due to microtears

  • Tendinosis: tendon collagen degeneration due to chronic overuse

EPIDEMIOLOGY

  • Increases with age and at ...

DIAGNOSIS

HISTORY

  • Trauma or overuse

    • Verify acute nature of injury.

    • Pop or snap felt at the time of the event

  • History of rheumatic disease (juvenile idiopathic arthritis [JIA], spondyloarthritis)

  • Fluoroquin...

TREATMENT

GENERAL MEASURES

  • Rest/reduced use of the affected tendon/muscle group is essential, occasionally requiring splinting.

  • Duration of therapy

    • 1 to 4 weeks

MEDICATION

  • NSAIDs initially

  • Rarely, if ever, ...

ONGOING CARE

FOLLOW-UP RECOMMENDATIONS

Improvement often takes 2 to 6 weeks or longer, if chronic. 

Patient Monitoring

If the provocative activity is resumed too soon, the irritation will recur. 

PROGNOSIS

ADDITIONAL READING

  • Almekinders LC, Temple JD. Etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of tendonitis: an analysis of the literature. Med Sci Sports Exerc.  1998;30(8):1183–1190. [View Abstract on OvidI...

CODES

ICD9

726.90 Enthesopathy of unspecified site 

ICD10

M77.9 Enthesopathy, unspecified 

SNOMED

34840004 Tendinitis (disorder) 

FAQ

  • Q: Which activities can result in overuse syndromes and tendonitis?

  • A: Virtually, any repetitive activity in which children engage can cause tendonitis. For example, pain in the tendons of the thum...

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