Tendon pain significantly impairs mobility and quality of life, yet the biological mechanisms that regulate healing remain poorly understood. The local tissue environment facilitates dynamic communication between sensory nerves, resident tendon cells, and immune populations. These interactions influence both cell behavior and the overall healing response. However, the pathways that connect these cellular interactions to pain and healing remain underexplored and continue to limit the development of effective targeted therapies. This work aims to investigate how neuroimmune cues shape tendon healing and pain by integrating controlled in vitro tendon systems with pre-linical models of tendon injury and disease, validated using human tendon tissue. Together, these approaches bridge bench–to–bedside to uncover the mechanisms underlying tendon pain.
