Do Tendons Heal On Their Own?

I pretty sure I injured the tendons in my elbows doing bench. it obviously isnt a complete tear or Im sure i would know for sure. So has anyone ever done this. It has been 3 months and I still feel discomfort and I havn’t trained at all but daily activities seem to aggrivate it… especially pushing… Do tendons heal on their own.? Or should I see a doctor?

They heal very slowly - not much blood flow to them. You might be reinjuring them faster than they can heal. I’d get it checked out, but people might have other advice.

I had a split tendon in my wrist about 6 years ago (the tendon had wrapped itself around the bottom of my thumb and I couldn’t make a fist or spread my hands open wide without experiencing shooting pain. I was put in a splint for 4 weeks, the tendon re-aligned itself and I’ve been fine ever since. So, yes, they can heal on their own, it just takes some time.

You were in a splint. So how can you say the tendon healed on its own?

If it still hurts after a couple of weeks of rest, go see a doctor. It’s that simple.

I partially tore a tendon in my ankle and it did not heal by itself. Finally after 2 years I got surgery to repair it and it is slowly healing. Tears will not repair themselves, although often if they are minor people just live with them. However, it is probably worth getting a doctor to check it out, at least to get a baseline on it to see if it is getting worse. That was the case with me…the tendon continued to fray as it rubbed over scar tissue so if they didn’t go in and repair it it would have continued to worsen.

Good luck.

They should heal themselves fine, it’s what your body’s designed to do.

I know I’m contradicting the last poster, sorry bro but i don’t agree.

You’re usually looking at 6-8wks for full recovery as long as you let it recover.

That’s how it was when I snapped 2 tendons in my ankle. Physio really helped me get back on my feet there (literally).

Tendons heal poorly. Often damaged collagen fibers are never repaired completely. The deposit of scar tissue occurs even secondarily to minor injuries such as tendonitis, and the more chronic problem the more delicate the tendon becomes. Of course, if a tendon incurs major trauma such as a rupture, it will never be as good as it used to be.

Depends on the tear. Although it will take a very long time even with assistance. Tendons repair at a very slow rate. 6-8 weeks will NOT do it.

Really?!?!? I recently at an MRI done on my right wrist as I tore a tendon just below the right thumb. My doctor told me that tendons do not reattach themselves and the only way to repair it is to have plastic surgery done.
That is remove a less used tendon and attach it to the torn tendon.

But you say that yours reattached itself!? Wow!!!
Did you have an MRI done which confirmed a tear or perhaps yours was not completely torn.
I think if you can confirm that you had an MRI then I just might get another opinion.
Thanks for the heads up.

[quote]Djwlfpack wrote:
I had a split tendon in my wrist about 6 years ago (the tendon had wrapped itself around the bottom of my thumb and I couldn’t make a fist or spread my hands open wide without experiencing shooting pain. I was put in a splint for 4 weeks, the tendon re-aligned itself and I’ve been fine ever since. So, yes, they can heal on their own, it just takes some time.[/quote]

I have had tendon problems in both of my forearms. DR. said most likely due to over use in weightlifting. Anti inflamms and months of rest. Because every day use flared them up also. It has been neerly a year and they are still alittle sensitive.

But I am able to do almost all the lifts I used to. I stretched and used a foam roller to help release tightness along with taking it easy.

just my $.02