Everything You Need to Know About Bursitis
When we ask our patients about bursitis, we often get answers that are similar to arthritis. The terms sound similar and often affect similar areas of the body (around joints). They both involve inflammation, but the key difference is where the inflammation is located. Arthritis means that there is inflammation located inside of the joint itself and the 2 surfaces that create the joint. The term bursitis literally translates to bursa inflammation.
What is a bursa and where is it located? A bursa is a sack of fluid (like a water balloon) that helps to reduce friction between different surfaces in the body. There are multiple bursae in the body and are mostly found around joints. The 2 largest and most common bursae that get inflamed are located at the shoulder and the hip. When a bursa becomes inflamed it’s called bursitis. Bursitis is very painful to touch and is often activity related, meaning, the more activity you do the more it hurts.
Where does bursitis come from? Bursitis can have multiple causes: joint restrictions, muscle imbalance/weakness, sudden increase in activity, improper body mechanics, repetitive activity just to name a few. They all have one thing in common, increased friction causing the bursa to get inflamed leading to significant pain.
Can bursitis go away? Short answer, absolutely! Now for the long answer full of all the little details inquiring minds want. Bursitis is treatable and reversible, unlike arthritis (which is progressive). It’s possible to develop bursitis from bumping your hip into a countertop. Most of the time our body is able to deal with the trauma and eliminates the inflammation on its own. However, if bursitis develops without any known injury or trauma, then it has most likely developed from some underlying cause which may require a full evaluation by your local physical therapist. Bursitis can be transient, meaning it only lasts for a short time, but sometimes it can be present for many years if not treated properly and can be very debilitating.
How do I know if I have bursitis? As mentioned before, bursitis is very painful to the touch. We mentioned that the two most common areas to develop bursitis is in the shoulder and the hip. It can be difficult to touch the bursa in the shoulder due to the bony “ceiling” of the shoulder called the acromion. Generally speaking you’ll notice limitations with range of motion, an inability to lift heavier objects, or reach overhead. In the hip it’s much easier to touch because the bursa is right on top of the bony spot on the outside of our hips called the greater trochanteric prominence. On top of pain with touch, you may also notice pain when standing on the affected leg, going up/down stairs, or laying on the involved side.
When should I seek treatment? The sooner bursitis is identified and treated the quicker it can be resolved. If bursitis is present for an extended period (months to years), it can take longer to correct the underlying cause like joint restrictions or muscle imbalance. If symptoms are present for more than a week or two without known cause it may be a good idea to seek medical attention/advice to ensure it doesn’t become a chronic problem.
Congratulations, you are now educated on the basics of bursitis!!!
As always, the information in this blog post is for educational purposes only and is not meant to diagnose or treat any medical problem. If you believe you may have bursitis it’s recommended that you talk with your medical professional and maybe even seek treatment from a physical therapist to completely eliminate pain from bursitis.