Tendon

Tendon (or sinew) is a tough band of fibrous connective tissue that usually connects muscle to bone and is capable of withstanding tension. Tendons are similar to ligaments and fasciae as they are all made of collagen except that ligaments join one bone to another bone, and fascia connect muscles to other muscles. Tendons and muscles work together and can only exert a pulling force.

Tendons are subject to many types of injuries. There are various forms of tendinopathies or Tendon injuries due to overuse. These types of Tendon injuries generally result in inflammation and degeneration or weakening of the Tendons, which may eventually lead to Tendon rupture.

Tendinopathies may be caused by several intrinsic factors including age, body weight, and nutrition. The extrinsic factors are often related to sports and include excessive forces or loading, poor training techniques, and environmental conditions.

The Tendons in the foot are highly complex and intricate. If any Tendons break it is a long, painful healing process, not to mention the intricacy of the repairing (if fully severed) process.

Most people that do not receive medical attention within the first 48 hours of the Tendon injury will suffer from severe swelling, pain, and an on-fire feeling where the Tendon injury occurred. They are very painful when they are inflamed or not in use.

This article is copied and/or modified from an article on WikipediaŽ - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. Although the vast majority of the WikipediaŽ encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.