The Run Smarter Podcast What Modern Science Reveals About Tendon Pain & Recovery
Feb 8, 2026
A deep dive into what happens inside painful tendons at a microscopic level. Discussion of why imaging often does not match pain and how collagen, nerves, and tissue changes drive symptoms. Exploration of factors like load timing, low-grade inflammation, oxidative stress, cellular ageing, and metabolic health. A look at future diagnostics, regenerative treatments, and why a holistic rehab approach is needed.
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Loading Can Temporarily 'Wring Out' Pain
- Brodie Sharpe recounts Keith Barr's observation that loading can 'wring out' fluid from tendons producing temporary pain relief.
- This explains why exercises sometimes reduce pain during the movement but symptoms return hours later.
Inflammation Is Subtle, Not Absent
- Traditional visible inflammation is often absent, but subtle long-lasting inflammatory signaling exists.
- Brodie Sharpe explains this is why the term 'tendinopathy' replaced 'tendinitis'.
Tendon Pathology Follows A Continuum
- Tendon pathology follows a continuum from reactive to disrepair to degenerative stages, affecting reversibility.
- Brodie Sharpe stresses that earlier stages can fully recover while degenerative tissue is harder to restore.
