Tendinopathy Or Bursitis?

How to spot—and treat—these troublesome conditions

- Samantha Rideout

IF THE HUMAN BODY were a marionette, the tendons would be its strings. These cord-like structures connect your muscles to your bones, letting you move your body when your muscles contract. In popular parlance, painful tendons are called tendinitis (which is defined as the inflammation of a tendon). However, the most common tendon problem isn’t just caused by inflammation. It’s an overuse injury that involves tissue degeneration and swelling related to water retention, so the preferred clinical term for it is “tendinopathy.”