Tendonitis or Arthritis? What the Pain Actually Feels Like

Tendonitis and arthritis can both leave a joint aching and stiff, but they're different problems with different fixes — and treating one like the other usually means the pain just keeps coming back. The quickest way to tell them apart: arthritis pain tends to sit deep in the joint and is worst first thing in the morning or after rest, while tendonitis pain sits at a specific point where a tendon attaches to bone and flares with a particular movement, like gripping, lifting the arm overhead, or pushing off when walking.

Here's what each one actually feels like day to day, and how GD Health Clinic in Barrow-in-Furness and Millom works out which you've got.

What arthritis pain feels like

Arthritis is wear at the joint surface itself — the cartilage that lets bones glide smoothly against each other thins out. That tends to produce:

• •A deep, aching pain across the whole joint rather than one exact spot
• •Stiffness that's worst first thing in the morning or after sitting still, easing off once you get moving
• •Pain that builds gradually over months or years rather than appearing overnight
• •Swelling around the whole joint, not a single lump
• •Pain that's aggravated by weight-bearing activity — stairs, walking, standing for long periods, for a knee or hip

It's most common in the knee, hip and hands, and tends to show up more from your 40s onward as everyday wear adds up.

What tendonitis pain feels like

Tendonitis (also called tendinopathy) is irritation or micro-damage where a tendon attaches to bone — think tennis elbow, Achilles pain, or a painful shoulder tendon. It behaves quite differently:

• •Pain you can point to with one finger, right at the attachment point, rather than a general ache
• •A clear trigger movement — gripping and lifting for the elbow, pushing off or going up on your toes for the Achilles, reaching overhead for the shoulder
• •Pain that's often worse starting an activity and eases slightly once warmed up, then returns after
• •Little or no visible swelling — the area may feel thickened or tender to press rather than puffy
• •A history of a repetitive movement, a recent increase in activity, or a specific overuse pattern (typing, manual work, a new gym routine)

Tendonitis can hit at any age, including in people in their 20s and 30s who wouldn't typically expect an arthritis diagnosis.

Where it gets confusing

The overlap comes at joints where a tendon and the joint itself sit close together — the shoulder is the classic example, where a stiff, arthritic joint and an irritated rotator cuff tendon can produce a similar ache and both restrict how far you can lift your arm. Knee pain going up and down stairs can be arthritis in the joint or tendon pain just below the kneecap. Without examining and, where useful, scanning the joint, it's genuinely hard to tell from symptoms alone — which is why guessing and self-treating often wastes months before someone gets it looked at properly.

How GD Health tells the difference

An assessment starts with where exactly it hurts, what brings it on, and how it's changed over time — that alone usually narrows it down to arthritis, tendon, or both. Where it isn't clear-cut, GD Health is the only clinic in south Cumbria offering diagnostic ultrasound on-site, so the joint or tendon can be scanned the same day rather than referred elsewhere and waited on. Seeing the joint surface and the tendon on screen confirms which one is actually causing the pain, instead of treating a guess.

What actually helps each one

For arthritis, the usual path is physiotherapy first to build strength and movement around the joint, with a steroid or hyaluronic acid injection considered if pain is limiting daily life. Steroid calms an inflamed flare-up quickly; hyaluronic acid (GD Health uses IBSA Sinogel) supports joint lubrication in a more degenerative joint and works more gradually. Neither reverses the wear — they're there to reduce pain enough to stay active and put off bigger interventions like joint replacement.

For tendonitis, physiotherapy — usually loading exercises specific to the affected tendon — is the standard first step. For tendon pain that hasn't settled with rest and physiotherapy, shockwave therapy is available at the Barrow-in-Furness clinic, run by Phoebe: £80 per 45-minute session, typically a course of 4-6 sessions spaced 7-10 days apart. It isn't offered at Millom, so patients from Millom, Dalton-in-Furness, Ulverston or Askam travelling in for shockwave use the Barrow site.

Can you have both at once?

Yes — an arthritic joint under extra strain can quite easily irritate a nearby tendon too, particularly at the shoulder and knee. When that's the case, treatment usually addresses both: an injection or physiotherapy for the joint, alongside tendon-specific loading work or shockwave for the tendon. Which combination makes sense is exactly what the assessment is for, rather than something to work out by trial and error at home.

FAQs

Can tendonitis turn into arthritis?

Not directly — they're different tissues (tendon versus joint cartilage). But a joint that's overloaded because a tendon isn't working properly can wear faster over time, so leaving tendon pain untreated for years isn't risk-free.

Does a scan always tell you which one it is?

Usually, yes. Diagnostic ultrasound shows joint surface changes and tendon thickening or damage clearly, which is why it's used when the history and examination alone don't give a clear answer.

Is tendonitis pain or arthritis pain worse?

Neither is consistently worse — it depends on the individual and how irritated the tissue is. Tendonitis pain can be sharper with the trigger movement; arthritis pain is more of a constant background ache. Severity varies a lot person to person.

Should I rest a painful joint or keep moving it?

For both, some movement is usually better than none — complete rest tends to stiffen a joint further and doesn't help a tendon reload and recover. The right amount and type of movement is specific to what's actually wrong, which is what physiotherapy assessment sorts out.

Do I need a GP referral to get checked at GD Health?

No — you can book an assessment directly at either clinic, and a diagnostic scan can usually be arranged the same visit if it's needed.

If you've been treating a stiff, painful joint as "probably just arthritis" or "probably just a strain" without it improving, it's worth getting it actually looked at rather than guessing. Telling the two apart properly is what makes the treatment that follows worth doing.