Bursitis is the inflammation or irritation of the bursa, which is a sac filled with fluid between our joints. Bursitis typically affects adults, and especially those over 40 years old. Bursitis can affect your elbows, shoulders, hip, knee, or Achilles tendon.
Causes
Bursitis is most often caused by repetitive minor impact on the affected area. It can also be caused by sudden impact to the affected area, which could result in a more serious injury. Some of the most high-risk activities for bursitis include gardening, raking, carpentry, shoveling, painting, scrubbing, and golf.
Age, occupation or hobbies, and other medical conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, gout, and diabetes are all common risk factors for bursitis. Looking at ones’ medical history and a physical examination commonly tests bursitis.
Prevention
There are measures to take in order to avoid bursitis. Common prevention methods include using kneepads, lifting properly, wheeling heavy loads with assistance, taking frequent breaks and exercising. It’s also important to warm up and stretch before and after activities and to also be conscious of maintaining a healthy weight.
Symptoms
If you have a fever over 102, have swelling redness or warmth, have general illness and multiple sides of pain, or are unable to more the affected area, you must see a doctor immediately.
The most common and prevalent symptom when one has bursitis is typically pain in the affected area. Severe loss of motion in the shoulder is also a common symptom that one has bursitis.
Treatment
There are several remedies used to treat bursitis. Some of these include avoiding activities that aggravate the problem, resting the injured area, icing the area the day of the injury, and taking over the counter anti-inflammatory medication. Other common treatments include medication, therapy, injection, assistive device, and in extreme cases, surgery.