STOP RESTING YOUR TENDONS
- Storm Baynes-Ryan
- Mar 11
- 3 min read
Newsletter July 18 2025
Please don't rest tendonitis - Louder, for those in the back.
This was first published in 2025, but I've revised it, and will ongoingly do so as I get more information.
Its so frustrating for clients who are told by well-meaning but under-educated medical professionals (this is not dissing the profession, GP's are under massive pressure, and need to be able to manage everything from headaches to ingrown toenails, and I don't expect them to do the job of a physiotherapist) - to rest.
Rest is a shitty treatment protocol. Except for when there is a new and significant injury, rest for more than 72 hours is not helpful.
A true tendonitis is rare - it's an inflamed tendon and honestly? I hardly ever see them.
Healthy tendons normally don't have much to say for themselves. There is a balance between tendon healing and breakdown. The healing process is keeping up with the loads it's being under. Remember - the body is a truly intelligent being and it loves and adapts to load.
If you imagine a seesaw, the tendon generally stays pretty much stable, a bit of load, a bit of repair and Bob's your uncle.
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What I do see is tendonopathy. It's a breakdown in the healing/loading process. Sometimes it's lots of activity that causes it, e.g. drenching all the lambs and jabbing them for "golfers/ tennis elbow" (elbow flexor/extensor tendonopathy) or a long walk in shoes that are uncomfortable "plantar fascitis" (plantar fasciopathy). Sometimes it's not even much and feels like it shouldn't have done anything.
This is where the tendon load is in exceedance of the capacity of the tendon - you have gone past the natural tolerance of the structure. There are changes - multiple, at a microscopic level initially, and as you ignore it, and think it will be ok, it becomes macroscopic. (Don't come at me, you know who you are!).
The healing process is out of balance, but unfortunately, it levels itself off at a "new normal" which has lower capacity. This is where the rubber hits the road - your capacity drops, your load tolerance lowers, you get pain earlier, so you load less, so your capacity drops (are you picking up what I'm putting down?"
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The best way to repair a tendon is to load it. Different tendons like different loads, and it depends a lot on the structure and location and type, but here is some generalised info.
Normally recovery is slow, steady and quite dull. Small additions to activity in a very specific way, without flaring up is helpful.
Tendons don't like compression - especially when they are cranky. Remembering it's three dimensional, when it's stretched hard on one side - it's often jammed on the other. What this means practically - for exercises work holding still in a position that elicits low pain (2-3/10, that settles quickly).
A great way to start and to settle them down is some steady isometric loading, working to a hold of 45 seconds, for 3 sets. When we do this, the muscle continues to shorten, the tendon is lengthened under load and physiological changes start to happen. The long and short of this, is that the collagen begins to organise itself in the direction of force, as well as changing the other structures within the tendon to be more comfortable.
Tendons are a part of the human body and don't exist in isolation. Progressive overload is important, but the healing process is also impacted by sleep, physiology (blood sugar, diabetes, thyroid etc), fuel and load/overload, mechanics...
It's important that you look at yourself as a whole human.
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Other things you can do -
Bracing/Orthotics/Taping - this can allow you to be in less pain
Footwear changes
Technique changes
Checking why the load is being dumped in that spot - your overall strength and mechanics (this takes someone who has knowledge in biomechanics/your sport)
Sleep
What you desperately need to know for tendonitis/tendinopathy is that they need load. Rest is doing you a great disservice. Progressive, and specific loading is queen. The other thing is that you have to be in this for the long haul. You may feel better quickly, but you need to improve your overal strength and tendon capacity to make sure it doesn't just keep slightly recovering and then coming back.
"Rest is doing you a great disservice"
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