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| Bursitis |
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What is Bursitis?
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Wherever your bones, tendons, and ligaments move against each other, particularly near joints, the points of contact are cushioned by small fluid-filled sacs called bursae. By reducing friction, each of the more than 150 bursae in your body helps the joints operate smoothly through the full range of natural movement. But when a bursa becomes irritated and swollen, it's called bursitis—or inflammation of the bursa.
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What Causes Bursitis?
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When a joint is overused or injured suddenly, or when it remains under pressure for a long time, a nearby bursa can become inflamed. The sac fills with excess fluid, causing pressure on surrounding tissue. The immediate signal is pain, often accompanied by inflammation, swelling, and tenderness in the area. This is different from tendinitis, which is inflammation or irritation in the cord attaching muscle to bone, called a tendon.
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Age plays a role in bursitis, and one of the most common places it strikes is in the shoulder, which has the greatest range of motion of all the body's major joints. The pain is generally felt along the outside top of the shoulder. The discomfort of bursitis tends to be most severe after a night's sleep and will typically subside somewhat with normal activity. Other places that are prone to bursitis are the elbows, hips, knees, and the base of the thumb.
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Bursitis is associated with strenuous activity, particularly among the following types of people:
• Manual workers—Heavy lifting, repetitive motion or working for extended periods can strain the joints and bring on a bursitis attack.
• Athletes—They may get bursitis after running, throwing, or jumping, or from making aggressive arm swings in tennis, baseball, and even bowling.
• Otherwise-sedentary people—If they push their bodies past reasonable limits, they risk bursitis.
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What are the Symptoms of Bursitis?
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• Pain, inflammation, and swelling in the shoulders, elbows, hips, knees, or joints of the hands or feet, particularly during stretching or extension when exercising, lifting, or otherwise pushing the joint beyond its normal limits.
• Restricted range of motion in a joint, with or without immediate pain.
• Muscle weakness.
• Loss of motion, especially affecting the shoulder.
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How is Bursitis Treated?
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Although bursitis generally disappears in a few days or weeks, you must take measures to avoid further strain or injury. A physical therapy program that includes stretching and focused strengthening exercises could be helpful.
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Though you may be tempted to tough-out the pain, it's not a good idea. Left untreated, chronic bursitis can lead to the formation of calcium deposits in normally soft tissues, sometimes causing permanent reduction of motion in the affected joint.
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Initial treatment typically consists of aspirin or other over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). These pain relievers also tend to reduce inflammation. These pain relievers also tend to reduce inflammation. An injection of a local anesthetic mixed with one or more cortisone preparations into the bursa may be recommended to decrease inflammation and reduce pain. Heat and ultrasound can help relax the joint and promote tissue repair.
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Diathermy (deep-heat therapy), under the direction of a sports physician, licensed physical therapist, or trainer, not only can relieve the discomfort and inflammation of bursitis but also can soothe tense muscles, nerves, and tendons. It may help to apply ice to the affected area for 20 to 30 minutes twice daily for two to three days.
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Bursitis may recur, particularly if you engage regularly in strenuous exercise or physical labor. In such cases, your doctor may prescribe corticosteroid treatment, in the form of either oral medication, topical creams, or injections to the affected joints. In severe cases, it may be necessary to draw fluid from inflamed and swollen bursae with a needle to relieve the pressure. In persistent conditions, bursae can be surgically removed.
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Bursitis Prevention
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Prevention of this condition requires stretching the muscle on a regular basis and thereby lengthening the tendon connections around the bursa. This will allow less friction to the tendon/bursa/bone connection. As mentioned previously, reducing the compression with sitting or lying down is crucial for helping to keep the bursa from losing its natural lubrication and allowing the bursa friction to occur more readily. When bursitis does occur, it is important to treat it immediately, and thereby prevent it from reaching a stage that is more severe.
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