Chronic tendinopathy and resistant soft-tissue injuries are rarely a structural problem alone. In most cases the limiting factor is micronutrient depletion: invisible to your physio, unaddressed by your protocol and measurable with a single blood panel.
of chronic tendinopathy patients have at least one correctable micronutrient deficiency
Abate et al., Muscles Ligaments Tendons J, 2013
longer recovery when vitamin D is deficient at time of injury
Barker et al., J Bone Joint Surg Am, 2013
of elite athletes show suboptimal magnesium despite a normal diet
Nielsen & Lukaski, Magnesium Research, 2006
Rehab loads the tendon so it rebuilds. That only works if your body has the raw materials to rebuild with. Nobody checks, because a tendon problem does not look like a nutrition problem.
Tendon is about 85% collagen and vitamin C is what locks those fibres together. Correct a low level and tendon collagen building doubles.
Shaw et al., Am J Clin Nutr, 2017; Baar, Sports Medicine, 2019
Tendon cells respond directly to vitamin D. Below 30 ng/mL they build less collagen and return to sport takes longer.
44% of competitive athletes are vitamin D deficient year-roundBarker et al., JBJS, 2013; Farrokhyar et al., Sports Medicine, 2015; Ribbans et al., J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol, 2021
Magnesium helps switch off the signalling that keeps a tendon irritated and painful. You lose more of it through sweat than someone who does not train and it is rarely on a GP panel.
Nielsen & Lukaski, Magnesium Res, 2006; Simental-Mendía et al., Magnesium Res, 2017
Your stores can sit below what repair needs while your blood count reads normal, so nothing gets flagged. The muscle around the tendon works less efficiently and rehab gets harder.
56% of endurance athletes have ferritin below the functional thresholdPeeling et al., Br J Sports Med, 2008; Clénin et al., Swiss Med Wkly, 2015
Our Solution
TendonForge exists because a specific gap sits inside conventional rehab: physiotherapy loads the tendon, but nobody measures whether the raw materials for repair are actually there. Micronutrient depletion is common in athletes, measurable and correctable, yet a standard musculoskeletal workup rarely tests beyond CRP and occasionally vitamin D. TendonForge closes that gap with an injury-specific panel and repeated testing timed to your loading phases rather than a single snapshot. Every report is reviewed by a registered sports dietitian with injury rehabilitation experience and read against your own baseline across the recovery arc. That lets you and your physio see whether correction actually held before the next loading phase, instead of guessing.
A single reading is a snapshot. Tracked against your own baseline over time, it becomes evidence your clinician can load against.
TendonForge is a structured lab-monitoring programme built around your injury. We combine a targeted micronutrient panel, biomarker analysis and personalised supplementation, timed to your rehabilitation phases so every loading session happens in optimal biochemical conditions.
12-marker injury-specific blood panel
Vitamin D, C, B12, magnesium, zinc, ferritin, CRP, hs-CRP, copper, selenium, homocysteine and albumin. Each is selected for its direct role in tendon and connective tissue repair.
Inflammation status tracking
CRP and hs-CRP measured at baseline and each retest, giving your physio or sports medicine physician objective data on tissue inflammation across the recovery arc.
Personalised supplementation protocol
Specific doses, timing around training and form selection (e.g. magnesium glycinate vs oxide) based on your actual results rather than a generic RDA chart.
Retest at 10 weeks
A follow-up panel confirms deficiency correction so you and your clinician know supplementation is working, and can adjust before the next loading phase.
Week 1
A single blood draw (home microsampling or partner clinic) covers all 12 markers. Processed in a UKAS-accredited laboratory within 5 business days.
12 markers, one kitWeek 1–2
Your report is reviewed by a registered sports dietitian with injury rehabilitation specialism. You receive exact doses, timing and product-quality guidance based on your results.
Sports dietitian reviewedWeeks 2–10
Vitamin C is timed pre-exercise (as per Shaw et al., 2017). Magnesium is dosed around sleep and training. We provide a written schedule your physio can integrate into your rehabilitation plan.
Phase-aligned planWeek 10–12
A follow-up panel confirms correction of all identified deficiencies and retests inflammatory markers. You receive a comparative report showing trajectory: evidence of progress your clinician can rely on.
Before and after comparisonYes. All samples are processed in accredited laboratories and results are accompanied by a clinical summary formatted for physiotherapists, sports medicine physicians and dietitians. The report includes reference ranges, optimal athletic thresholds and interpretation notes. Hundreds of clinicians across the UK already use TendonForge results in patient management.
Absolutely. TendonForge is built to work alongside physical rehabilitation rather than replace it. The supplementation protocol is timed to work in conjunction with your loading programme. We provide a one-page summary for your physiotherapist so they can integrate the nutritional data into their session planning.
A standard NHS blood test for a musculoskeletal complaint rarely includes more than FBC, CRP and occasionally vitamin D. The TendonForge panel tests 12 specific markers, including vitamin C (almost never tested on the NHS), zinc, magnesium, selenium and hs-CRP, with thresholds calibrated for athletic populations rather than sedentary reference ranges.
TendonForge is designed for all tendinopathies (Achilles, patellar, rotator cuff, lateral elbow, hamstring proximal), plantar fasciitis and stress-reaction injuries. We also support athletes with repeated soft-tissue muscle strains where inadequate recovery is a recurring feature.
Most athletes begin to notice improved recovery between training sessions within 3–5 weeks of correcting magnesium and vitamin D deficiency. Structural improvements in tendon load tolerance, driven by collagen synthesis, typically emerge between weeks 8–12. That is why the protocol includes a retest at week 10, to confirm biochemical correction before final rehabilitation progression.
Tell us about your injury and we will send you our free evidence brief, The 5 Deficiencies That Keep Tendons from Healing, straight away. No payment required to join the waitlist.
We will contact you as soon as possible
