Bursitis is the inflammation of fluid-bearing sacs that cushion grinding tissues to prevent friction. Primary bursae are found around the tendons close to extensive joints like shoulders, knees, hips, and elbows. While bursitis is temporary, it causes severe pain that interferes with a patient’s motion.
This condition stems from an overused or pressured bursa. A patient might develop bursitis immediately following an overused bursa or develop pain with time, but it doesn’t lead to deformity.
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What Causes Bursitis?
There are many reasons why an individual can develop bursitis. For example, people who engage in activities requiring repetitive motions are more likely to develop this condition. There have also been reports of people developing bursitis from a vaccine, especially after a health officer mistakenly injected the needle in the wrong spot.
Other causes of bursitis include infection, inflammatory arthritis, injury, trauma on the bursa, gout, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Types Of Bursitis
A human being has over 100 bursae which are all prone to developing bursitis. However, you’re more likely to develop bursitis around regularly used joints. Among the most common bursitis include:
Hip Bursitis
Otherwise known as trochanteric bursitis, hip bursitis results from health conditions like arthritis, injury around the hip, surgery, hip overuse, and other hip-related issues. Hip bursitis is more prevalent in women and seniors.
Retromalleolar Tendon Bursitis
This type of bursitis is caused by injuries and shoes with rigid back support, among other things. An individual used to wearing shoes with rigid back support is bound to put too much pressure on the lower Achilles tendon, resulting in the calf muscle attaching to the back heel.
At the end of the day, they develop an inflammation on the bursa around where the tendon connects to the heel.
Elbow Bursitis
Elbow bursitis is the inflammation of the bursa between the skin and bones on the elbow. This type of bursitis can result from an injury or excess pressure on the elbow.
Knee Bursitis
Also known as goosefoot bursitis, knee bursitis is an inflammation of a bursa between the shin bone and the tendons inside the knee. Knee bursitis results from a lack of stretching before exercise, overweight, rigid hamstring muscles, arthritis, or unexpected knee movement.
Effects Of Bursitis On Your Health
As stated earlier, bursitis is a painful temporary condition affecting one’s motion. However, this doesn’t mean it has no adverse effects on your health. It can impair your way of doing things or cause permanent health conditions.
Among the common effects of bursitis on your health include:
Chronic Pain
If left untreated for quite a while, bursitis can cause permanent thickening or enlargement of the bursa, resulting in chronic pain and inflammation. When this happens, you might become dependent on anti-pain medication and have trouble performing daily activities, leading to poor life quality.
Muscle Atrophy
Muscle atrophy refers to thinning of muscle mass. This condition results from the inability to use a particular muscle for a prolonged period, leading to reduced physical activity and loss.
How To Prevent Bursitis
Unfortunately, not all bursitis is preventable. However, you can reduce your risk of developing this condition by revisiting how you perform daily tasks. For example, you can:
- Practice Safe Lifting: If you get involved with much lifting, you’re more likely to develop hip bursitis. However, you can prevent this by bending your knees before lifting the load to avoid pressuring your hips.
- Use Knee Pads: Knee pads come in handy when reducing the pressure your knees experience when kneeling. If your job requires you to kneel frequently, you should invest in a good pair of kneeling pads.
- Taking Frequent Breaks: Bursitis is commonly associated with repetitive motion. It’s, therefore, vital to take breaks whenever performing tasks requiring similar movements to prevent its development.
Learning proper sitting posture can also go a long way in preventing too much pressure on your hips. Plus, stretching before exercise can soothe the bursa, preventing them from developing inflammation after workouts.
How Long Does Bursitis Last?
Bursitis doesn’t last long. Most people with this condition report improvement after a few weeks. However, you must seek professional treatment and adhere to your doctor’s guidelines to heal faster. You should also avoid pressuring the affected area even after healing, lest the condition recur.
Final Thought
Bursitis is the inflammation of the bursae, fluid-bearing sacs preventing friction between the body joints. A person with bursitis has trouble performing daily tasks like lifting and moving the affected area. While this condition is short-lived, recovering from it requires changing how you do things and the treatment.
That said, visit your doctor immediately after discovering you might have bursitis for timely treatment and advice on preventing the condition from worsening.
