Tendonitis

Tendonitis (also spelled tendinitis) is a painful disorder of a tendon. Generally tendonitis is referred to by the body part involved, such as Achilles tendonitis (affecting the Achilles tendon), or patellar tendonitis (jumper's knee, affecting the patellar tendon). It was believed that tendonitis was due to inflammation of a tendon, although this is coming into doubt. Chronic overuse of tendons leads to microscopic tears within the collagen matrix, which gradually weakens the tissue.