ACHILLES TENDINOPATHY

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1. TENDINOPATHY: is typically used to describe any problem involving a tendon. The tendons can be worn, injured, stretched, and/or torn.
2. TENDONITIS: Once used to describe almost any tendon pain, medical professionals now only use the term tendonitis to describe acute inflammation of the tendon due to small (micro) tears (the suffix “itis” indicates inflammation)
3. TENDINOSIS: is the non-inflammatory degeneration of a tendon. This degeneration can include changes to the structure or composition of the tendon. These changes often result from repetitive strain-injuries to a tendon without adequate time to heal.
   

   COMPARISON FACTOR	TENDONITIS	TENDINOSIS
   Recovery time in acute cases	2 to 3 days	2 to 3 months
   Recovery time in chronic cases	4 to 6 weeks	3 to 6 months
   Long-term outlook with non-surgical treatment	Almost 99% of cases recover completely	Up to 80% of cases recover completely
   Treatment goals	Decrease inflammation by: Rest, anti-inflammatory medication (short-term course), icing the tendon intermittently, and/or use of cast or splint	Encourage formation of collagen and other proteins by: Physical therapy, exercise, and/or surgery (in some cases)
   Long-term outlook after surgery	Almost 95% of cases recover after surgery	70 to 85% of cases recover after surgery
   Recovery time after surgery	3 to 4 weeks	4 to 6 months

   SOURCE: SPORTS-HEALTH.COM