Bursitis is the painful swelling of a small fluid-filled sac called the bursa, which is present in the joints. These fluid-filled sacs cushion the area where bone would otherwise rub on the tendon, muscles, or skin.
There are more than 150 bursae present throughout the body, but inflammation mostly occurs in the bursae that are present around the joints like the shoulder joint, elbow joint, knees, hips, feet, and buttocks.
Let’s talk about symptoms that appear in bursitis, what causes bursitis, what are treatments options for bursitis, and where you can go for the treatment of bursitis in North Dakota.
Symptoms of Bursitis
If you have bursitis, you may notice the following symptoms around your muscles, bones, and particularly joints.
- Limited range of motion
- Pain, especially during movement
- Swelling
If you have an infection of bursitis, you may experience redness, warmth, fever, and chills. You must immediately see your orthopedic doctor:
- If your joint pain is disabling
- If you have a sudden inability to move the joint
- If you have sharp or shooting pain in the joint along with fever.
Causes of Bursitis
Bursitis is most commonly caused by repetitive motions, such as shoveling, throwing a ball over and over, gardening, etc.
Also, putting pressure on a particular joint of your body for a long period of time during an activity, such as kneeling, may also cause the bursa present in the joint to flare up.
Occasionally, a sudden injury, arthritis, gout, tendonitis, diabetes, and thyroid disease also result in bursitis.
Treatment of Bursitis
Rest is an easy-to-do treatment for bursitis – and is also effective at easing bursitis symptoms. Rest for bursitis refers to avoiding physical activities to prevent further injury.
You can also treat bursitis by taking some self-care measures, such as
- Applying heat or ice on ongoing pain area
- Using splints
- Elevating the injured area
- Taking over-the-counter pain relievers
When these self-care measures fail, your orthopedic doctor may recommend other treatments like:
- Medication – If you’re having an infection of the bursa, your doctor may recommend antibiotics to fight the infection and stave off the soreness resulting from the infection.
- Physical Therapy – Strengthening the muscle around the affected joint with the help of physical therapy and exercises can also provide pain relief and prevent bursitis recurrence.
- Injections – To stave off the inflammation, your orthopedic doctor may inject corticosteroids into your affected joint. Corticosteroid injection works well at reducing inflammation of the bursa. Your doctor may also inject platelet-rich plasma into your affected joint to curb bursitis symptoms and boost healing.
- Surgery – Surgery is rarely recommended for bursitis. During the surgery, your orthopedic surgeon drains the fluid from the inflamed bursa and sometimes removes the affected bursa.
Bursitis Elbow Treatment in North Dakota
If you are having pain and inflammation around a joint that is not getting better with self-care measures, visit us here at The Bone and Joint Center. Our team consists of highly skilled, trained, and board-certified orthopedic doctors who are committed to providing you with highly customized top-notch care for your orthopedic conditions, including bursitis.
If you would like to make an appointment with our orthopedic doctors, call today at (800) 424-2663, or you can schedule a consultation by filling out a form instead.
