Tendon Properties & Nutrition: Tendon Care & Elite Food + Supplementation Concepts, Nutrition for Higher Level Adaptations, Health & Performance
Healing or preventing tendon issues is more than simply a few rehab exercises - Highest quality outcomes go deeper than that and we cover this here.
Contents:
Tendon Importance & Resources
Tendon Properties
Common vs Uncommon Approaches: RICE method & Hybrid Method
Nutrition factors and external concepts for managing tendon health and recovery
Tendon Health Importance & Resources for Care
The connective tissue between our muscles and bones determines a tremendous amount about our health, physical ability & performance. Tendonitis in both the acute & especially chronic case can inhibit our capacity to function, enjoy life, and definitely our ability to perform physically at a high level. The first thing that seems to hold individuals back from explosive sport as they grow older is not the loss of muscle mass OR its function, but rather decline in their connective tissue integrity which necessitates downregulation of the use of the muscles.
Fast actions become “dangerous” and falls, impacts, and heavy weights begin to frighten one after they receive an injury - which accelerates the decline as one’s psychology affects their future behaviors (avoiding explosive activity) and then the age related decline with regard to sprint, jump, throw and landing ability becomes exponentially faster (over the course of 5-10 years instead of multiple decades).
What we will cover here is general information on tendon properties, complications, common misconceptions, and pain + injury recovery. This post will also possess a particular focus on the less tangible and non-strength related factors that will both aid with, or inhibit recovery from aches or serious injury depending on what factors you may or may not be managing. Through an understanding of these factors you should understand how to manage important elements in the recovery and management of connective tissue health to address or prevent your own issues afterward.
If you have recently sustained a serious injury, rather than possess a long term chronic issue, the following information does apply but I suggest reaching out to my trusted peers here at:
You can utilize their free information or schedule a consultation for how to go about the initial and progressive stages of a recent issue you've sustained.
(If in an emergency however, contact “911” of course)
Tendons are not static - They grow, change, and adapt to stress like everything else.
It is often considered that “tendons & joints” are like car parts…that they “wear out” the way a tire or breaks do. This is not really the case. Essentially every tissue in the body is made up of a cellular tissue and thus is “alive” and adapts to stress. Tendons, like other tissue, is constantly remodeling itself and repairing daily damage. They adapt to training, stress, and recovery the same way other tissues do (Muscle, bone, ligaments, nervous system etc).
The reason tendons seem to be less responsive is multifactorial, but it is untrue that the joints wear out based on a finite amount of mileage they possess. They need to be cared for and managed like every other element in the body and that can sometimes be poorly understood by the general population.
Nuke Studies
It’s been found that individuals absorbing and consuming food + air that has a high carbon content due to nuclear detonation has been found to dissipate everywhere in the body over time except for the inner core of a tendon.
You can learn more about the details of this here:
https://twitter.com/_SwagHercules/status/1569385428205043713?s=20
This research implies that at least chemically, the inner core of a tendon does not change or alter much past the age of ~17. because if carbon is not being filtered out its less likely much is also being filter into the tendon either.
This does indicate that our activity in our youth is very important to our long-term athleticism and also health (bigger more durable tendons can aid anyone but especially good in our later years)
However, this doesn’t necessarily mean the structure of a tendon cannot change even if carbon levels seem to remain fairly static.
While the “core” of a tendon doesn’t seem to change much ordinarily, the outer layer of our tendons seem to regenerate and adapt daily.
The larger fibrils of the tendon in its center don’t respond as much to stress but this is also because they bear less loading of stress when the tendon function is called upon. So, it is not as much of a major concern to say that they respond to training less, but there is another point worth mentioning:
When the larger fibrils in the core of the tendon ARE injured, they break into smaller fibrils and then begin to repair and adapt the same way the outer layer does.
So, while many have remarked that there is nothing that can be done about tendon repair as it can’t respond to training…this is untrue.
The reality is:
Tendons respond to training much slower than muscle does but they do adapt. Training them to their maximum capability needs to be done with certain considerations for exercise selection & execution as well as appropriate loading progression and volume/frequency.
Tendons will also grow the most during our youth but can be strengthened at any age. If they are injured, they will be more responsive to training as the body is smart enough to have a solution to the “low adaptation” issue. This finding about tendons “not changing past 17” has led to many misconceptions.
The parts of the tendon we utilize the most for our performance (the outer later) is highly adaptable and if trained on a long timeline can make profound improvements in its ability & robustness.
Tendon Responses to Long Range & Reactive Exercises
Tendons are viscoelastic passive tissues that respond differently based on the level of force and speed of movement that they experience. They are elastic in that they are able to store and release energy, which translates into the ability to generate force. However, they are also viscous, meaning that they are able to deform and stretch under load. The speed of movement determines whether the tendon reacts more elastically or more pliably. High-velocity movements cause the tendon to act more elastically, while slower movements allow the tendon to act more pliably.
The loading also plays a crucial role in the tendon's response to physical stress. High loading causes the tendon to become stiffer, which can be beneficial for generating force and power. However, too much stiffness can lead to a decreased ability to store energy and can make the tendon more prone to injury. Therefore, sometimes a balance must be struck between developing stiffness and maintaining elasticity.
To fully develop and recover a tendon's function and health, it is essential to utilize a variety of training methods and contraction types. Varying the length, load, and speed of movement can help to ensure that the tendon is being challenged in different ways and is able to adapt to a variety of stresses. Eccentric loading, in particular, has been shown to be effective in strengthening tendons and improving their function.
(Read more about tension qualities here if you have not already)
However, the nature of this finding is more complex than slow eccentric tempos. Tendons seem to respond largely to stretch mediated tension.
Tendons and other connective tissue respond well to stretch-mediated muscle tension, where the long muscle length and added loading create a large amount of passive tension on the tendon and other tissues. This type of loading is much higher stress on the connective tissues but also is key to their greater adaptations.
In addition to strength work at long muscle lengths, reactive plyometrics create the ability to absorb and release force safely and effectively and are crucial to remain capable in our training and able to handle the higher impulses our strength gains will produce. Time spent under tension in singular positions also round out the variables mentioned above, making tendon development and recovery seem complicated.
Stress/Adaptation Cycle of Tendons vs Muscle
As an added note:
Tendons adapt much slower than muscle does, and this becomes far more apparent when one focuses entirely on maximum muscle gain and their connective tissue cannot keep up with the muscle outputs. Bodybuilders using anabolic drugs are notorious for blowing tendons apart because their muscles grew unnaturally fast. Top powerlifters at the upper level don't differ much in terms of maximum lifting numbers because even when drug-using lifters gain more mass, they are limited by what their connective tissue can handle. Being explosive, strong, or durable means you must both have the structural integrity to support these outputs as well as being psychologically secure and comfortable with calibrating them.
As mentioned prior, tendons adapt much slower than muscles, and this is especially noticeable when prioritizing maximum muscle gain without sufficient connective tissue development.
Anabolic drug use among bodybuilders is notorious for causing tendon injuries due to rapid muscle growth which outpaces tendon and ligament development needed to support their strength.
In high-level powerlifting, maximum lifting numbers don't vary too significantly between drug-enhanced and natural lifters largely because connective tissue limits the maximum outputs that the enhanced lifters might have otherwise had the potential to produce. To excel in explosiveness, strength, and durability, one needs both strong structural integrity and psychological readiness in the tendons to handle these demands.
See here:
https://twitter.com/mpeytoncox/status/1650556563420254210?s=46&t=P4IKTNoKSiQL207_weqnwg
Common vs Uncommon Approaches: RICE method & Hybrid Method
The RICE Method
If you use a google or AI search asking “how to heal or repair tendon issues”… you will likely get some variation of the RICE method.
The RICE method is a common approach that is often recommended for treating soft tissue injuries like tendonitis. RICE stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation, and the idea behind the method is to reduce inflammation and promote healing. However, recent research has shown that the RICE method may not be as effective as previously thought, and may even be counterproductive in many cases.
The original founder of the concept has long since recanting his original position and no longer promotes this approach.