What is the difference betwen tendons, ligaments and muscles?
Tendons connect muscles to bone, whereas ligaments connect bone to bone in a joint. Tendons are constructed of connective tissue (collagen, elastin) where as muscles are constructed of actin and myosin (specialized protein strands). Tendons, although able to increase in length under a load, do not have contractile properties like muscles do. Tendons also do not have a very good blood supply (vascularization) compared to muscles. Tendons have very strong attachments to bone, so strong that it may pull of a section of bone instead of rupturing when subject to trauma. Some forms of tendonits involve the tendon actually pulling off the top layer of cells (periosteum) of a bone, resulting in an inflammatory response. Well known examples include plantar fascitis and shin splints. What causes tendonitis? When a muscle undergoes a concentric contraction (shortens in length as it contracts) it pulls the tendon towards it. Since a muscle is anchored to bone, its tendon will often contact and sli
