Tendons are cord-like structures where muscles attach to bone. Tendinitis is often very tender to the touch and caused by injury or repetitive use. Bursitis is inflammation of a bursa. This small sac acts as a cushion between moving structures (bones, muscles, tendons, or skin).
While tendonitis causes pain during movement, bursitis can be painful even during rest. Bursitis is typically caused by repetitive joint movement. It may also be caused by an infection, sudden injury or inflammatory medical condition like rheumatoid arthritis or gout.
In most cases, bursitis pain goes away within a few weeks with proper treatment, but recurrent flare-ups of bursitis are common.
Chronic pain: Untreated bursitis can lead to a permanent thickening or enlargement of the bursa, which can cause chronic inflammation and pain. Muscle atrophy: Long term reduced use of joint can lead to decreased physical activity and loss of surrounding muscle.
Doctors can often diagnose bursitis based on a medical history and physical exam. Testing, if needed, might include: Imaging tests. X-ray images can't positively establish the diagnosis of bursitis, but they can help to exclude other causes of your discomfort.
Doctors examine the affected area to look for swelling, redness, or warmth. They also feel for bumps beneath the skin, which may indicate swollen bursae. Doctors use their hands to gently move the affected part of the body to see if bursitis or tendinitis are limiting range of motion or causing pain.
Repetitive motions.
Rest is important if you have knee bursitis, and taking time away from sports that require putting weight on the knee is usually recommended by doctors. Wearing knee pads when you have to be on your knees may help prevent further irritation to the knee.
If you have chronic bursitis, try to minimize flare-ups by stretching each day to increase range of motion. And avoid activities that you know will result in pain. Repetitive-motion activities are especially bad for bursitis. If you do have a flare up, remember that resting your hip is important.
Avoid any activity or direct pressure that may cause pain. Apply ice or cold packs as soon as you notice pain in your muscles or near a joint. Apply ice 10 to 15 minutes at a time, as often as twice an hour, for 3 days (72 hours). You can try heat, or alternating heat and ice, after the first 72 hours.
Is Walking Good for Bursitis? Exercise is often prescribed to improve joint pain, so walking could be a vital part of managing your bursitis symptoms.
Rest, Ice, Heat, Compression, and Elevation
Doctors recommend a combination of rest, ice, compression, and elevation, called the RICE regimen, for several weeks after diagnosis. The time frame for RICE treatment varies depending on the severity of the injury and is determined by your doctor.
Acute Bursitis
It often hurts to move or even touch the inflamed joint, and the skin over the area may swell and redden. Infection or gout can cause extra painful flare-ups that make your skin warm to the touch. Other inflammatory conditions like arthritis also could cause it.
The swelling and redness may spread away from the affected site and go up or down the arm. Also, an infected bursa can make you feel very sick, feverish and tired. If you have any of these symptoms, it is very important to seek immediate medical attention. Traumatic bursitis presents with the rapid onset of swelling.
Massage can feel good, and myofascial release therapy (a type of massage) may decrease the pain of a sore joint. However, do not massage the affected area if your bursitis is caused by an infection; you may inadvertently promote the spread of the infectious agent throughout the body.
Since prepatellar bursitis is quite superficial, topical NSAIDs such as diclofenac topical gel (Voltaren Gel) can be very effective, with minimal systemic side effects.
Massage therapy has been found to be an effective treatment for both acute and chronic cases of shoulder bursitis. In addition to providing relief from pain, massage can also reduce inflammation, increase the range of motion, and improve overall function in the affected area.
Bursae cushion the bones, tendons and muscles in joints, and they reduce friction by providing a gliding surface. Sometimes bursitis goes away on its own over time, but we can provide treatment to help you heal quickly.
Symptoms usually subside within a few weeks. Bursitis of the shoulder usually responds well to rest and anti-inflammatory medication. When there is another shoulder problem, such as bone problems or tendinitis, longer-term physical therapy may be needed.
The fluid is often rich in fibrin and can become hemorrhagic[2]. Bursitis can subdivide into three phases: acute, chronic and recurrent.
Bursa injections contain steroids that soothe bursitis inflammation and joint pain. The steroid injection eases symptoms of hip bursitis, shoulder bursitis and other types of bursitis. If injections don't relieve symptoms, you may need surgery.
Bursitis is a painful condition that affects the small, fluid-filled pads -- called bursae -- that act as a cushion between the bones and the tendons and muscles near joints. Bursitis is the inflammation of the bursae.
For others, bursitis is a long-term (chronic) repetitive movement injury that occurs in the overused joint, such as the shoulders, elbows, hips, or knees. You should call your doctor if you experience the following: Joint pain that lasts more than 2 weeks, even while at rest. Pain radiating to nearby areas.