Tendon Healing Time- How Long Does it Take?
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Tendon Healing Time- How Long Does it Take?
It is possible to sustain a tendon injury through various activities from work to contact sports, and onset can be gradual or sudden. Tendons are found throughout the body and attach muscle to bone. Most tendon injuries occur close to a joint with the most commonly affected injuries being the shoulder, elbow, ankle, knee and hand. These injuries can be extremely painful and debilitating and vary in degree of severity from tendonitis to complete rupture.
A complete rupture of the tendon usually requires surgery except for the patient choosing or not being able to have surgery. Healing time also can depend on these factors:
- Which tendon was injured
- The amount of fraying of the tendon
- How much of the tendon was torn
- The activity level of the person who has the tear.
- Other medical conditions
- Does the patient smoke.
Illustration of an Achilles Tendon Rupture
Symptoms of a Tendon Injury
If you have a tendon injury, you may experience increased pain with movement, stiffness, weakness, swelling and a cracking sensation called crepitus in the affected area. Pain may be point specific or may radiate from the joint and increase at night or first thing in the morning. If you feel a tightness on the bottom of your foot that gets worse with use, you may be experiencing plantar fasciitis.
The Achilles tendon is another tendon in the foot which can tear or develop Achilles tendonitis. Tendonitis or tendonitis are terms used for inflammation of the tendon. The surrounding areas, due to wear and tear from repetitive use (i.e., running) or sudden, sharp movements (i.e., lifting, jumping), can overload a joint and causing small tears in the tendon. When it tears the first symptom is immediate pain and dysfunction. When the bicep tendon is torn, you feel immediate sharp pain and the muscle will look deformed in the upper arm.
Illustration of a man with a torn bicep
Management or Treatment of Tendonitis
Current management for tendon healing with tendonitis includes:
- Stop activity and rest injury site.
- Medication to manage pain/acetaminophen and inflammation/NSAIDS.
- If pain is severe, medical attention is needed; this may include physician administered corticosteroid injections or immobilizing the area with bracing and splinting.
- Your physician may refer you to Physical or Occupational Therapy to decrease pain, and restore normal motion and strength.
- Gradual return to normal activities. This will reduce the risk of re-injury and promote a pain-free return to activity. Long-term injuries that do not respond to conservative methods may require surgery.
Surgical Options For Torn Tendons
Tendon repair surgery is required when the tendon has pulled away from the bone as a result of a traumatic injury or laceration. The tendon is reattached to the bone or end-to-end, and splinting/immobilization are required to allow time for tendon healing.
Occasionally a tendon graft is required to reconnect the tendon when it has retracted from the bone. Alternatively, a tendon transfer may be required, which involves relocating a tendon from an unaffected area to the affected area to restore functional use. The stages of tendon healing takes time but occurs in 3 stages.
Tendon Healing Time for the Rotator Cuff Muscles and Tendons
Tendon Healing Time After Surgery
How long does it take for a repaired tendon to heal? There are certainly many variables within the healing time for tendons. The quick answer to the question, is the tendon healing process lasts 12-16 weeks pending the type of tear and injury.
A repaired tendon is weakest from 7-10 days post-op. The tendon strength increases moderately by 21-28 days post-op and max strength is reached at 6 months post-op. Final tendon strength is about 2/3 the pre-injury tendon strength, especially with older individuals.
Physical Therapy Mobilization
Early mobilization allows for improved range of motion (ROM), but can decrease the strength of the tendon repair. This is why undergoing Occupational or Physical Therapy treatment is an important part of tendon healing.
If an individual progresses too quickly past post-surgical guidelines the tendon healing process can be impaired. One of the biggest concerns with tendon healing is increased scarring which prevents movement, loss of joint mobility, stiffness and possible tendon re-injury.
Patients will require physical therapy to regain motion and strength while safeguarding the tendon repair. Therapy will focus on decreasing scarring to promote increased strength and mobility of the repaired tendon. The sooner the tendon repair is performed, the greater the likelihood of a successful operation with positive recovery outcomes. Once healed, yoga is a great alternative exercise that has a very low impact on the body.
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