Bursitis Mate pupuhi pūkoro wē

Common types of bursitis are:

• subacromial bursitis, which causes shoulder pain
• olecranon bursitis (student's elbow), which causes elbow pain
• bursitis in your hip, which contributes to greater trochanteric pain syndrome (a common condition causing pain and tenderness on the outside of the hip and thigh)
• prepatellar and infrapatellar bursitis (housemaid's knee), which causes pain in your knee.

Bursitis can happen if you:

• move a joint in the same way many times, such as when you throw a ball a lot
• put a lot of pressure on the area, such as kneeling or resting on your elbows
• have certain types of arthritis, like gout or rheumatoid arthritis
• have an injury near a sac, such as a strained shoulder or an inflamed tendon
• have an infection, usually on your skin, that spreads to the sac
• are an unhealthy weight, which puts more strain on your joints.

You may have bursitis if you have some of these symptoms around a joint:

• swelling
• redness
• pain, which may only happen when your joint is in certain positions
• stiffness
• heat
• reduced movement in a joint.

Your healthcare provider or physiotherapist will usually be able to diagnose bursitis from what you tell them and from looking at the area.

They might send you for an ultrasound scan if the affected sac is deeper in your body and difficult to feel. An x-ray will not help, as x-rays do not show soft tissue such as a sac.

Your healthcare provider might need to use a needle to take a sample of fluid from the swelling if they think you have an infection or a type of arthritis. This fluid can help them make the right diagnosis.

Rest

The best way to help bursitis is to rest and protect the joint from pressure and repetitive movements. But do not stop moving the joint completely unless your healthcare provider or physiotherapist tells you to. If you do not move your joint at all, you could lose muscle and end up with scar tissue that could cause long-term stiffness in the joint.

Pads and cushions

Use pads or cushions to protect the painful joint. For example, use knee pads if your job involves a lot of kneeling.

Ice and heat

Applying ice and heat can help reduce the swelling and ease the pain.

Ice tends to help more for hot, red, swollen areas. Put crushed ice in a damp towel and hold it against the bursa for 15 minutes.

Heat can help with deeper bursitis. For example, if it is in your hip. Use a hot water bottle or a wheat bag. Be careful not to burn your skin.

Anti-inflammatories

Your healthcare provider or physiotherapist may suggest that you take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication such as ibuprofen or naproxen for a short time. They will check first if you can take these. You should not take one for more than a couple of days without your healthcare provider's advice, and not at all if you have heart, kidney or stomach problems.

Anti-inflammatories

Your healthcare provider may decide to drain the sac if it is very swollen and stops you from moving. Unfortunately, the fluid is likely to come back. It is not good to keep draining the fluid as this increases your chances of getting an infection.

If the sac is infected, you might need antibiotics.

Antibiotics

Some types of bursitis can be treated with a steroid injection, which helps to get rid of the inflammation. But this does not work for all types of bursitis. Your healthcare provider or physiotherapist will know if this will help you.

Steroid injections

A physiotherapist can also give you exercises that can help to stop or prevent injuries in the nearby tissues that might be causing the bursitis.