BURSITIS
Bursitis is inflammation or irritation of a bursa sac. You have these sacs all over your body. They’re filled with fluid that helps ease rubbing and friction between tissues like bone, muscle, tendons, and skin. Bursitis is common around major joints like your shoulder, elbow, hip, or knee.
CAUSES AND RISK FACTORS
Bursitis is common in adults, especially after age 40.
It’s usually caused by repeated pressure on an area or by using a joint too much. High-risk activities include gardening, raking, carpentry, shoveling, painting, scrubbing, tennis, golf, skiing, and throwing. You can also get bursitis by sitting or standing the wrong way for a long time at work or home, or by not stretching enough before you exercise. Sudden injury can sometimes cause bursitis.
If there’s a problem with the structure of a bone or joint (such as legs that are different lengths or arthritis in a joint), that can put more stress on a bursa, causing bursitis.
TYPES
Bursitis may effect your:
Elbow
Shoulder
Hip or thigh
Buttocks
Knee
Heel
SYMPTOMS
Pain is the most common symptoms of bursitis. It may build up slowly or be sudden and severe, especially if you have calcium deposits in the area. Your joint might also be:
Stiff
Swollen
Red
Call your doctor if you have:
Fever (over 102 F)
Swelling, redness and warmth in the area
Trouble moving a joint.
DIAGNOSIS
Your doctor will ask about your symptoms and do a physical exam to see if the joint is swollen. You might also have tests including:
Imaging test(X-rays)
Lab tests
PREVENTION
You can’t always prevent bursitis but some steps can reduce your risk.
Use cushions or pads when resting a joint on a hard surface
Don’t sit still for a long time
Take breaks often when you are making the same motions over and over again
Use good posture all day
Keep a healthy body weight
If you play sports, mixed things up so you don’t make the same motions all the time
Warm up and stretch before you play always use proper form.
TREATMENT
Take these steps to treat bursitis
Avoid activities that will make it worse
Rest and raise the area
Put brace, band or splint on the joint
Ice the area
Take over the counter anti inflammatory drugs.
See your doctor if you don’t feel better after a week. They might give you medications like steroids, which works quickly to lower inflammation and pain. They might also inject pain medications
Physical therapy can help you strengthen muscles and give you more range of motion in the joint.
It’s rare but you might need surgery if other treatments aren’t helping.