Exercises for tendinitis reduce tendon stiffness and improve muscle flexibility, helping to relieve pain, burning sensations, lack of muscle strength or swelling common in tendonitis in the hand, shoulder, elbow, knee or ankle.
These exercises can be done gently daily, without exerting too much force, respecting the body’s limitations so as not to worsen the pain. However, if severe pain or a tingling sensation appears during exercise, it is recommended to consult a physiotherapist or orthopedist so that exercises and treatment can be carried out individually.
Watch the video with physiotherapist Marcelle Pinheiro with the best exercises for tendonitis:
Some other stretching exercise options for tendonitis are:
1. Flex and extend the wrist
Wrist flexion and extension is an exercise for tendonitis that helps to stretch the tendons and muscles of the hands and arms, improving the pain of tendonitis in the hand, wrist and elbow, and helping to recover movement, also being useful for the syndrome. of the carpal tunnel.
How to make: Standing, stretch your arm forward, parallel to the floor, keeping your elbow straight. With one hand, help bend the wrist of the outstretched hand, pressing down on the back of the hands, maintaining this position for 15 to 30 seconds. Then, stretch your hand backwards, pressing your fingers back, not forgetting your thumb, so that you feel the inner part of your arm stretching, maintaining this position for 15 to 30 seconds. This exercise can be done in 3 sets for each hand and can be repeated 2 to 3 times a day.
Another way to perform this stretch is with your arm stretched forward and gently bend your wrist back and forth, without the help of your other hand, holding the position for 5 seconds. Then, close your hand and gently move your wrist from side to side. Hold each position for 5 seconds and do 3 sets of 10 movements.
2. Flex the leg
The leg curl exercise allows you to stretch the knee tendons and relieve the pain caused by patellar tendonitis or pes ansus tendonitis, as well as stretching the quadriceps muscle of the leg and improving the flexibility of the hips.
How to make: Stand on one leg and bend the other back, holding it with your hands for 30 to 60 seconds. Repeat with the other leg.
3. Stretch your leg
The leg stretching exercise allows you to stretch the tendons of the knee and foot, as well as the leg muscles, helping to relieve pain and inflammation caused by pes ansus tendonitis and foot tendonitis, in addition to improving the flexibility of the leg muscles and the movement.
How to make: Sit on the floor with your legs straight, bend one of your legs and with your spine straight and shoulders aligned, lean your body forward to reach your foot with one hand and try to pull it towards your body, holding for 20 to 30 seconds. Repeat with the other leg.
4. Stretch your arms back
The exercise of stretching your arms backwards helps to stretch the muscles and tendons of the arms and shoulders and also helps with the mobility of the wrists, being very useful for tendonitis in the shoulder, arm and wrist.
How to make: Standing, place your arms behind your back, cross your fingers, turn your palms outwards and lean your body forward, extending and stretching your elbows as far as you can, for 30 seconds straight.
5. Sitting on your heels
The exercise of sitting on your heels allows you to stretch the shoulder tendons, relieving the pain of shoulder tendonitis. Furthermore, this exercise also stretches the muscles that support the shoulder, such as the back, pectoral and spinal muscles, improving shoulder movement and flexibility.
How to make: get on your knees on the floor and place your buttocks on your heels, as if you were going to sit down. Lean your torso forward, bringing it closer to the floor, keeping your arms straight and your palms facing down. Do this movement for 30 to 60 seconds.
6. Crossing your arm
The arm-crossing exercise allows you to stretch the shoulder, being another good stretching option for shoulder tendinitis, helping to alleviate pain, and should be done standing up to allow the tendons and shoulder muscles to stretch well, increasing flexibility and the range of movements.
How to make: Standing, with your legs shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent, place your right arm across the front of your body, at shoulder height. With your left arm, hold your right arm in this position, pressing your right arm into your chest. Hold this position for 30 seconds and repeat with the left arm. You can do 3 to 4 repetitions for each arm.
Another way to stretch the shoulder hamstrings is to stand, with your arms stretched forward, turn your palms outwards and cross the fingers of both hands. Then, extend and stretch your arms and elbows well for 30 seconds.
7. Pushing the wall
The wall pushing exercise is a good option for tendinitis in the foot, calcaneus and ankle, as it allows you to stretch the tendons in the feet and legs, relieving pain and improving flexibility.
How to make: Standing, with your arms extended forward, rest your hands on a wall at chest height. Bring one leg behind the body, keeping the foot flat on the floor and flex the knee of the leg in front. Lean your body against the wall. Hold this position for 30 to 60 seconds and repeat 3 times.
Another good option for foot tendonitis is to move your toes. To do this, you must be standing, without shoes and with your feet flat on the floor, raise your toes, lifting them off the floor for 5 seconds. Repeat this stretch in 3 sets of 10 movements.
8. Twisting your back
The back twisting exercise allows you to stretch the tendons and muscles in your hips, relieving the pain and stiffness of hip tendonitis, as well as helping to improve flexibility.
How to make: Sit on the floor with your legs straight and your back slightly tilted back, supporting your arms. Cross your left foot over your right leg and slide your heel towards your buttocks. Make a slight twist of the torso to the left side, placing the elbow of the right arm on the outside of the left knee and resting the hand on the hip. Do this movement for 30 to 60 seconds. Repeat with the other leg.
9. Touch the floor
The ground touching exercise is another good option for hip tendonitis, as it helps improve flexibility, relieving pain and stiffness.
How to make: Standing, move your feet apart so that they are wider in relation to your shoulders and then lean your body forward so that your hands touch the floor, always keeping your knees straight. Then, lean your body to the left side, so that you can grab your left foot. Return to the starting position and lean your body to the right side, grabbing your right foot. Hold for 20 to 30 seconds in each position and repeat 3 times.
