Bursitis

What is Bursitis?

Bursitis affects fluid-filled sacs present at the joints where the tendons, muscles, and skin get attached to the bone – these are called Bursa or Bursae (Plural). The function of a bursa is to provide cushion and reduce friction at the joint. There are over 150 bursae present in our body at various joints like the elbow, shoulder, knee, pelvis, and other places. Usually, through overuse or constant trauma, the bursae get inflamed causing pain and discomfort.

Is Bursitis similar to Arthritis or Tendonitis?

No, bursitis is different from arthritis as the latter is responsible for permanent damage to the cartilage of the synovial membrane. Bursitis on the other hand is mainly a temporary inflammation of the bursa sacs that goes away with time.

Similarly, bursitis differs from tendonitis as it does not affect or irritates the tendons joining the bones.

Types of Bursitis

There are several types of Bursitis – they can be either chronic or acute depending upon its occurrence and duration. They are categorized based on their location and characteristics.

Prepatellar Bursitis: This usually occurs around your kneecap (patella) due to its inflammation. The causes can be putting a strain on your knees due to bending, injury to your kneecap, or sports activities.

Olecranon Bursitis: When the inflammation takes place around your elbow, it is called olecranon bursitis. It occurs when the elbow constantly rubs or rests against a hard surface, or injury to the elbow.

Trochanteric Bursitis: Often, due to sitting for prolonged periods, arthritis or injury, our hips can develop bursitis. This results in pain and discomfort in the buttocks region.

Retrocalcaneal Bursitis: This form of bursitis takes place in our heels due to continuous activities like running or jumping which impact the bursae around our heels.

Causes of Bursitis

Bursitis is generally caused due to an injurious trauma, doing tasks that have repetitive physical motions like carpentry, and sports like tennis or baseball. Conditions like arthritis, gout, or abnormal thyroid can lead to bursitis. It can also be caused by the improper posture of an individual.

An individual’s age is also a factor in bursitis – older age people are more prone to it.

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Symptoms of bursitis

The symptoms of bursitis are similar to arthritis and include swelling, pain in the joints, redness, and restricted motion. If the bursa has gotten infected then one might even experience fever and chills.

Get Treated at Dunes Pain Clinic

Our expert physicians at Dunes Pain Clinic are there to relieve you of your bursitis pain. Using a combination of various treatment methods ranging from physiotherapy to minor interventional treatments, we try to derive the most effective way to treat you. In physical therapy, various exercises are prescribed to the patient depending upon the region affected – massages and ice packs are also included.

Steroids therapy might also be administered to reduce bursitis pain and inflammation. NSAIDs or non-steroid anti-inflammatory medication like ibuprofen are given to provide quick relief in pain. Only in severe cases, when non-invasive medication provides no relief, are surgical methods used.

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