Which condition involves inflammation of the tendon due to repetitive use?

• A. Myalgia
• B. Myopathy
• C. Tendinitis
• D. Myositis

Answer: (C)

Tendinitis is inflammation of the tendon caused by repetitive use. Tendons connect muscle to bone and transmit the force of muscle contractions to move joints. Repetitive motions or overuse create microtears in the tendon fibers, triggering an inflammatory answer that produces pain, tenderness, and sometimes swelling around the joint. The term -itis signals inflammation, which helps distinguish it from other muscle-related conditions. For example, myalgia is muscle pain, myopathy is a disease of muscle tissue, and myositis is inflammation of muscle tissue itself, not the tendon. In some chronic overuse cases, the issue may be described as tendinopathy or tendinosis when inflammation isn’t the dominant feature, but the classic inflammatory scenario from repetitive use is tendinitis.