Calcific tendinitis
disorder characterized by deposits of hydroxyapatite (a crystalline calcium phosphate) in any tendon of the body
Calcific tendinitis is a common and expected aspect of tendinopathy or enthesopathy where deposits of calcium phosphate form in a tendon or enthesis. Calcium in a tendon or enthesis is seen on radiographs (X-ray imaging).
Calcification in soft tissues is associated with acute inflammation on uncommon occasions, a condition referred to as acute calcific tendinitis. It’s important to distinguish acute calcific tendinitis from the very common calcium deposits in tendinopathy and enthesopathy.
The symptoms of acute calcific tendinitis can mimic infection: intense pain, and warmth, redness and swelling in superficial sites. The symptoms from acute calcific tendinitis resolve spontaneously over a few weeks. The calcium is typically amorphous on radiographs in acute calcific tendinitis and often disappears after the inflammation resolves. Treatment with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can alleviate pain.
Calcifications in the rotator cuff were first described by Ernest Codman in 1934. The name, "calcifying tendinitis" was coined by Henry Plenk in 1952.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Calcific tendinitis” as disorder characterized by deposits of hydroxyapatite (a crystalline calcium phosphate) in any tendon of the body. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1522871. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1934 and 1952.
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This entry incorporates text from “Calcific tendinitis” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.