How do tendinitis and tendinosis differ?

• A. Tendinitis is acute inflammation of a tendon; tendinosis is chronic degeneration without overt inflammation.
• B. Tendinitis is chronic degeneration; tendinosis is acute inflammation.
• C. Both involve inflammation equally.
• D. Tendinosis involves bone degeneration.

Answer: (A)

Differentiating acute inflammatory response in a tendon from long-term degenerative change is what this topic centers on. Tendinitis refers to an inflammatory reaction in a tendon, usually after overuse or overload, with typical signs like pain on movement and sometimes swelling or warmth. Tendinosis is a chronic, degenerative condition of the tendon tissue resulting from repetitive microtrauma and imperfect healing, marked by disorganized collagen and cellular changes rather than a prominent inflammatory response. In tendinosis, overt inflammation isn’t the main feature, whereas tendinitis is defined by inflammation. That’s why describing tendinitis as acute inflammation and tendinosis as chronic degeneration without overt inflammation is the best match. The other choices mix up inflammatory versus degenerative roles or introduce unrelated bone degeneration, which doesn’t fit tendon pathology.