What is enthesitis?
The areas where your tendons and ligaments attach to your bones are called entheses. If these areas become painful and inflamed, the condition is called enthesitis or enthesopathy.
The most noticeable symptom of enthesitis is pain in the area around a joint when you use that joint. You’ll notice this type of pain when you use the joint or attachment point that’s affected by enthesopathy.
For example, if you’re experiencing enthesopathy in your ankle or Achilles tendon, you’ll feel pain whenever you move or put pressure on your foot or tendon area. You may also notice that the area of the tendon that attaches to the bones is tender to the touch.
Conditions that affect the spine, such as spondyloarthritis, can cause pain in your hip bones.
They can also cause general lower back pain. You may also feel less able to move your spine, as spondyloarthritis can cause your vertebrae to fuse together.
Hip enthesopathy can also sometimes be linked to bowel conditions, such as inflammatory bowel disease, or to a gene that’s passed down in families.
Knee enthesopathy is usually linked to overuse or stress put on your knees. This type of enthesopathy often results from conditions such as patellar tendonitis (runner’s knee).
Pain with this condition is usually worse when you’re exercising and putting stress on your knees. You may also feel pain when performing certain daily tasks, such as getting up from a sitting position or climbing stairs. Enthesopathy in your foot usually affects your plantar fascia, the tissue under your foot arch.
It can also affect your calcaneus, or heel bone. Enthesopathy in your ankle and tarsus, or Achilles tendon, usually affects the point where your Achilles tendon attaches to your heel bone.
See your doctor for assistance in managing this type of problem.
Source: Healthline
This article is for informative purposes only. Please see your doctor if you experience any symptoms. Questions can be forwarded to questions@walkindoctor.co.za.
Walk in Doctor / Walk in Dentist 0861 943 943