1300 392 552Find Out More About Shoulder Bursitis
Bursitis is the inflammation or irritation of a bag full of fluid, called bursas , which are located in some places where there are friction points, such as muscles, tendons or bones.
The mission of these bags is to help the movement of the joints and avoid friction between them.
There are bursas throughout the human body. In fact, it is estimated that there are more than 150, although bursitis is manifested, especially in the shoulders, knees, hips, pelvis, elbows, wrists, toes and heels, that is, those areas where joint movement It is more repetitive daily.
Causes of Shoulder Bursitis
Although in many cases the origins of the disease are unknown, the main cause of bursitis is the excessive use of a joint . Daily repetition of the same movement or over exertion in the joints can cause the appearance of bursitis. In fact, in some professions such as carpenters, musicians or gardeners it is common for this pathology to manifest itself.
In addition to overload, bursistis can appear after suffering a trauma , having an infection or as a result of having other diseases, such as gout or rheumatoid arthritis or infections.
Symptoms of Shoulder Bursitis
Bursitis is characterized by pain and / or the inability to perform certain habitual exercises or movements in daily life.
The symptoms will vary depending on the area of the body that is affected. The most common are:
– Joint pain and sensitivity when pressing the area surrounding the joint.
– Rigidity and pain when moving the joints with bursitis.
– Redness of the affected area, swelling and in some cases fever.
Prevention of Shoulder Bursitis
The main step to avoid the appearance of bursitis is to avoid carrying out repetitive movements .
Other measures that can be taken into account is the strengthening of the muscles that surround the joint or warm up before starting physical activity.
Types of Shoulder Bursitis
There are two types of bursitis:
Acute
Bursitis is detected when the affected joint acquires a reddish color and when the touch has a temperature higher than the rest of the body. It is painful and is usually the cause of an infection or gout.
Applying cold to the affected area can reduce swelling in acute non-infected bursitis.
Chronic
In this case, the bursitis can be the result of having suffered in advance the acute type. Another of its causes is that the patient has had a previous injury in the joints.
If the reason is the injury, the bursitis manifests itself with swelling and pain and decreases the habitual movement, causing a muscular atrophy and motor weakness. This type of bursitis can last for a few days or last for weeks. It is usually a recidivist.
Shoulder Bursitis Diagnosis
The first step to diagnose the disease is to perform a physical examination . From this, the doctor will be able to determine the type of pain that the patient has, when it appears and in what area it is presented, which will make it easier to find out if it is a bursitis.
If the bursa is inflamed, the doctor can remove a sample of fluid from inside to know the causes of the swelling.
Shoulder Bursitis Treatment
In most cases the bursitis disappears without any specific treatment.
However, the first step that the professional must take is to reduce the pain and inflammation of the patient ; In these cases, the doctor may prescribe anti-inflammatories, such as ibuprofen or naproxen or corticosteroids, such as prednisone.
If it is an acute non-infected bursitis, the patient should avoid overexertion and apply cold in the affected area to help reduce swelling. In addition, in these cases the specialist can indicate the limitation of movements.
The treatment of chronic bursitis without infection is similar to that of acute bursitis, but rest usually has no effect. In this case, it is necessary to resort to more aggressive methods such as intensive physiotherapy Melbourne or injections of corticosteroids.
If the bursa is infected it is necessary to extract the accumulated fluid and follow a treatment with antibiotics.
The evolution of bursitis will depend on each person and the specific treatment. For this reason, experts recommend going to the specialist to perform the proper monitoring of the disease.