10 Natural Remedies That Help With Tendinitis Inflammation and Tendinosis Degeneration

Heels, shoulders, knees and wrists. These areas are especially prone to injury when you overuse or overextend your tendons. That’s because the fibrous connective tissues that attach your muscles to your bones pull a lot of weight whenever you’re doing repetitive activities or sharp, quick movements like weightlifting, gardening, tennis or painting.

Learning how to treat tendinopathy injuries may seem a bit confusing at first. In the past, it was determined that tendons would get inflamed (tendinitis). But biopsy studies show that what was often happening was tendon degeneration (tendinosis).

“The sudden pain in the setting of a prolonged activity occurs due to excessive force through the tendon, which commonly, the body was not prepared to handle,” explains sports and exercise medicine specialist Leonardo Oliveira, MD.

“Those episodes improve by resting and avoiding the inciting activity. The typical overuse injury related to tendons, which has a much slower progression, is marked by tendinosis, or tendon degeneration.”

It’s essential to have a history of injuries and get a physical examination to establish the correct diagnosis. The goal is to understand the cause of your tendon injury and identify which treatments will work best.

Along with medical evaluation, there are a few things you can do at home when you first experience tendon pain (and during your rehabilitation journey).

Best natural home remedies for tendinitis and tendinosis

Dr. Oliveira shares that most treatments for sudden tendon pain and tendinosis are related to the repetitive process of rest, strengthening and pain management. But before you go searching for your own solutions, again, make sure you make an appointment with a healthcare provider first.

“You want to work with your healthcare team to find out what’s causing your pain and how you can get stronger without risking further injury,” he emphasizes.

Some variation of the following natural home remedies for tendon pain will then be worked into your treatment plan, depending on the severity of your injuries, your symptoms and what’s available to you.

1. Relative rest

The range of relative rest you need is dependent on the severity and type of injury you have. Sometimes, relative rest can last up to two to 12 weeks.

“The reason we call it ‘relative rest’ is because we want people to be active without stressing the injured tendon,” explains Dr. Oliveira.

But if you enjoy exercising or practicing for a race, you don’t have to lose your momentum while you’re healing. Often, people stop completely in the setting of an injury or don’t reach their goals. But try to focus on what you can do.

“This period of time is a unique opportunity to strengthen other body parts that are not injured or which you have not had time to pay attention to,” he adds. “In addition, if you can’t do one particular exercise, find others that can help you maintain your heart health or cardiovascular fitness.”

For example, if you can’t run because of a tendon issue in your ankle, you might be able to swim to keep your heart active while you treat your foot.

2. Ice or heat

Ice is particularly helpful for sudden injuries when you want to numb your pain and reduce the negative inflammation that causes swelling.

Heat is better when you’re relieving discomfort for chronic, long-term tendon pain or tendinosis. It tends to increase blood flow in the affected area, which might help the healing process. It also tends to help relax really tight muscles.

Never place an ice pack or heating pad directly on your skin and never leave them on for a prolonged period or overnight to avoid burns or frostbite. Instead, wrap an ice pack or heating pad in a towel and place it on the affected area for 15-minute intervals, four to five times a day, with 30-minute breaks in between.

3. Over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medications

Over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs) like naproxen (Aleve®), or ibuprofen (Advil®) can also help reduce pain.

“You want to take these for a very short period of time, generally, no more than two weeks continuously because we know there are risks for your stomach and kidneys with chronic use of anti-inflammatory medications,” warns Dr. Oliveira. “The goal is to decrease the pain in order for you to be able to then appropriately load the tendon.”

You also want to avoid NSAIDs if you’re on blood thinners or have high blood pressure, heart issues or diabetes. If you have any questions or concerns about taking NSAIDs, talk to your healthcare provider before taking them.

4. Wearing correct footwear and clothing

If you experience an injury, even once, it increases your risk for future injury because that part of your body has weakened. Despite all rehabilitation efforts, the tissue can be slightly different. At these times, wearing protective accessories, like elbow sleeves, and supportive footwear can be an important investment.

“If a person with a flat foot has appropriate shoes for their condition, that will lead to enhanced foot support and better alignment,” says Dr. Oliveira. “You can think of it like a car. When it has better alignment, it won’t veer to the right or the left. You’ll be avoiding the abnormal stress pattern by wearing the right shoes.”

5. Physical therapy and stretching

“Exercise is going to be the principle treatment that will get you back to your previous strength,” notes Dr. Oliveira.

Often, exercise and strengthening begin with a strong approach to physical therapy.

“You want to be aggressive with your rehabilitation because you don’t want to lose the momentum of movement,” explains Dr. Oliveira. “You don’t want to aggravate the tissue, but you want to strengthen the diseased structure and the tissue around it in a controlled environment.”

For example, if you’ve injured your Achilles tendon and it’s too painful to exercise that specific tendon, your physical therapist will recommend exercises that focus on strengthening your hip muscles, leg muscles and even your feet. Focusing on these areas directly impacts and helps your Achilles tendon get stronger over time.

“You’re working on getting your muscles stronger, you’re working on flexibility and you’re not stressing the tendon to where it can be uncomfortable,” he continues.

6. Epsom salt baths or soaks

There’s not much in the realm of scientific evidence, but integrative medical experts commonly recommend Epsom salt baths and foot soaks as complementary treatments to reduce inflammation and provide muscle pain relief. If you have tendon pain, this natural home remedy could be useful at the end of a restful day or right after physical therapy exercises.

7. Compression

“Compression socks and athletic wraps help keep your muscles tight so that they’re working at optimal capacity,” says Dr. Oliveira. “If you’re having discomfort walking, for example, compression socks might be beneficial because they can decrease pain, reduce swelling and improve your circulation and blood flow.”

Compression sleeves may also be an option for anyone dealing with tendinitis or tendinosis in their arms or wrists.

8. Massage

As we see with exercise, taking care of the tissues surrounding an injury can improve your healing process and recovery time. Massage therapy is just another complementary treatment that helps, particularly if you’re dealing with tight muscles.

“A lot of times, massaging the soft tissue around an injury will help drain the tissue of negative inflammation and help loosen some of that tightness,” explains Dr. Oliveira. “If you relax those muscles, you can decrease their tension, decrease inflammation and decrease your pain. You’ll likely be less sore the next day and more ready to go in physical therapy, too.”

He adds that a massage gun can help relax the injured tissue and the structures around it. But you need to be careful with overstimulation of the particular tendon.

“You don’t want to massage the area of injury because it could aggravate that injury,” he warns. “Instead, you want to massage the areas around it.”

9. Acupuncture

Acupuncture is a complementary treatment sometimes used for pain management. A 2020 systematic review of previous research found it may help with several other sports-related injuries, including tendonitis.

“With acupuncture, you’re working on the nerves and stimulating your central nervous system,” says Dr. Oliveira. “By desensitizing certain pain receptors, you might wake up with less pain the next day so that you’ll be able to do the exercises you need to do.”

10. Anti-inflammatory foods

Leafy greens. Fatty fishes. Turmeric, cinnamon and garlic.

There’s an abundance of anti-inflammatory foods out there that help fight off inflammation. The Mediterranean diet in particular has been proven to help improve overall health and wellness. So, if you’re dealing with tendinitis, making sure you’re eating healthy in general is a good choice to include along with your other treatments related to rest, exercise and strengthening.

What to avoid

In general, relative rest, appropriate exercises and pain management are key natural home remedies for tendon pain. It’s a process that takes time, but don’t rush it.

“If you’re injured, you don’t want to push through your pain when you’re already in discomfort,” advises Dr. Oliveira.

If you’re in pain after physical therapy or your pain continues to get worse while you’re exercising at home, rest up, ice your injuries and tell your healthcare provider what’s happening.

“There are 500 or more exercises out there. We just need to find the ones that work well for you,” he emphasizes. “You never want to train or rehab to exhaustion. If you exercise or go to therapy and the next day your symptoms are dramatically worse, you’re limping or you have swelling, those are red flags that you probably did too much.”