What are Tendons?

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Movement or mobility is an important part of our lives and various tissues and muscles along with ligaments assist us to move freely and with flexibility. Any damage to these parts restricts the mobility of our body and can even make us handicapped or dependent for life. Tendons are a part of all these components and are very vital for the free movement of our body. Most often we see that people who work more with right hand complain of pain due to exertion. Over stress is known to be the main cause of injury to tendons which can be easily cured.

What are tendons?

The skeleton of human body comprise of around 206 bones. Tendons are the main connective tissues which hold the whole skeletal frame together. In tandem with muscles and ligaments tendons help in the mechanics of movement and provide form and function to our body. They are also called sinews and perform the main function of connecting the muscles to the You do not have access to view this node.

What are the functions of tendons?

The main function of tendons is to enable free and flexible movement in the body. Running, jumping, walking, lifting, dancing and other similar physical activities are made possible by tendons. The length of tendons is usually decided by the genetics and the muscle size is dictated by the tendons. Longer than average tendons which are mostly placed in the shorter calf muscles or at the back of heel gives more advantage to the runners or jumpers.

What are tendons made of?

Tendons comprise of regular, dense connective tissue which consists of collagen fibers which are densely packed bundles. These fibers are placed parallel to each other in the direction of pull on the tendon. The major components of tendons are:

• Collagen fibers are more or less elastic but have very few blood vessels due to which they have the elasticity property. But this property results in longer recovery in case of tendon strain.
• Fibroblasts are typical cells that are known to regenerate or reproduce the collagen fibers. The cell regeneration is a slow process as there is low vascularity in the tendon tissue as compared to soft You do not have access to view this node

What are the problems related to tendons?

The problems of tendons are mostly due to overuse. People who make lot of use of tendons or exert too much stress on them suffer from Tendonitis. It usually occurs due to the overuse of tendons, sudden exerted force or repetitive motion of one organ. Tendon strain can result in rapture or full tear. Mostly athletes, laborers or active people who overstrain the tendons have problem of knee, ankle, biceps, wrist, calf, shoulders, and even the back of heel. Healing usually takes time after lot of rest. Many times surgery too is advised for repairing damaged tendons. Strains or tear are mostly found in Achilles tendon, rotator cuff in the elbow joint and shoulder or the patellar tendon just beneath the knee cap. These injuries generally can be controlled by rest, elevation and anti inflammatory medications and ice compression.

 

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