Tendonitis Stretching Exercises

Tendonitis is the swelling and inflammation of the tendons that attach the bones to muscles in various parts of the body. Tendonitis can affect many different areas of the body, and stretching and strengthening the associated muscles and tendons will help relieve symptoms and prevent future inflammation. Perform exercises that target the problem area to treat your specific case.

Exercises for Patellar Tendonitis

• Perform hamstring and quadriceps stretches to rehabilitate patellar tendonitis (jumper's knee), according to the University of Michigan Health System.

  Place the heel of the injured leg on a stool in front of you that is approximately knee-height. Keep your leg straight and bend forward until you feel a stretch in your hamstring. Bend only at the waist and do not roll your shoulders, or else you will be stretching your lower back. Do this stretch three times in 30-second intervals.

  Brace yourself with one hand on a wall and stand with your knees touching and the uninjured leg closest to the wall. With the other hand, grab the ankle of the injured leg and try to pull the heel toward your buttocks. Keep your back stationary and straight. Hold the ankle in the stretch for 30 seconds and repeat it three times.

Exercises for Tennis Elbow

• Use the prayer stretch and the elbow extension to treat tennis elbow. This is the tendonitis of the elbow often suffered by tennis players, according to iTendonitis.com.

  Perform the prayer stretch by putting your palms and fingers together in front of your chest. Your fingertips should be just below the chin. Keeping the hands together at all times, lower the hands toward your waist until you feel a stretch under the forearms. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds. This exercise should be done four times.

  An elbow extension is simple. Without turning your body, extend the elbows by straightening the arms and reaching toward a point that is behind you and to the side. For the right arm, this would be a five o'clock position; for the left arm, a seven o'clock position. Perform this stretch five to 10 times twice a day.

Exercises for Wrist Tendonitis

• Wrist tendonitis can be helped by range of motion stretches that are easy to do no matter where you are. Always remember to stop stretches short of causing pain.

  For a flexion stretch, slowly bend your wrist forward as if you are trying to touch your fingers to the bottom of your wrist. Hold the position for five seconds.

  For extension, slowly bend your wrist backwards toward your elbow as far as you can without pain and hold the position for five seconds. For side-to-side stretches, imagine a handshake motion and move your wrist in each direction as far as possible and hold for five seconds.

  Perform each of these stretching exercises in sets of 10, and complete three sets.