Dealing With Bursitis? Here’s What You Need To Know

Have you recently been diagnosed with bursitis, but aren’t quite sure what that means? We’ve got you covered. Here are the basics you want to know about bursitis and what can be done about it.

What is bursitis?
Throughout your body, you have bursa – small fluid-filled sacs that prevent friction between your bones, tendons and muscles around your joints. Bursitis is when a bursa becomes irritated and inflamed.

Bursitis commonly occurs in the shoulder, elbow or hip. However, you can experience bursitis in any bursa.

The most common symptoms include pain, swelling and stiffness of the joint. Pain will often increase during the night time, and becomes worse when you move the joint.

What can cause bursitis?
There are many factors that can cause or contribute to bursitis. Some of the most common include:

• Injury of the joint
• Repeated pressure and overuse of the joint – this is commonly due to repetitive movements at work or during certain sports
• Chronic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, gout and diabetes
• Infection in a joint (e.g. after surgery)
• Age – bursitis is most common in adults aged 40+
• Being overweight – this can increase risk of hip and knee bursitis

How is bursitis diagnosed?
This depends on who you see. Any health professional will take a case history and do a physical examination.

If you seek help from your doctor, they may order imaging tests to rule out other problems that might be causing your symptoms, or they may order a test of the fluid from your bursa to see if there is an infection.

How is bursitis treated?
The focus of bursitis treatment depends on what caused the problem in the first place. But it’s likely that treating your bursitis will include:

• Avoiding activities and movements that make your pain worse
• Resting the area and raise it to reduce swelling
• Managing pain and inflammation

If the cause is an infection, your doctor may prescribe antibiotics to resolve the infection. A small percentage of people may be recommended surgery if other treatments have been unsuccessful.

How myotherapy can help with bursitis
When it comes to bursitis, there are a few steps that your myotherapist will take.

Firstly, we will assess the joint itself for swelling, inflammation, pain and movement. Once we know what we’re working with, we’ll put together a treatment plan to address the issues.

A treatment plan for bursitis often includes:

• Massage, trigger point release and gentle mobilisation to reduce the load on the bursa
• Taping the joint into a more comfortable position to relieve pain and pressure
• Prescribing movements that stretch and/or strengthen the supporting muscles
• Working with your GP to continue management of your pain and inflammation

Another useful therapy that may be discussed is hydrotherapy – exercises and movements performed in warm water. This can reduce pressure on the joint, making therapeutic movements easier and less painful.

If you’re dealing with bursitis, the team at Simple Wellness Myotherapy are here to help. To book an appointment with one of our qualified myotherapists, click here.