What is Bursitis?
The inflammation of a bursa is known as bursitis. A bursa is a self-contained lubrication bag that prevents friction between two moving structures in your body at a minimum. Imagine rubbing this sack between your palms; the motion of your hands would be fluid and effortless. A bursa serves as a low-friction, slick, and smooth interface between two moving objects, such as a tendon and a bone.
Your body has more than 150 bursae. Bursae are little sacs found all over the body that allow muscles and tendons to slide over bones. Your movements would be painful without your bursa between these surfaces owing to friction, similar to the pain associated with bursitis.
Common Types of Bursitis
Bursitis can affect any bursa in the body, however the following are the most common types:
- Bursitis Shoulder (Subacromial Bursitis)
- Bursitis Hip (Trochanteric Bursitis)
- Bursitis Knee (Patella Bursitis)
- Bursitis Elbow (Olecranon Bursitis)
- Bursitis Heel (Retrocalcaneal Bursitis)
What Causes Bursitis?
Direct trauma or, more typically, repeated irritation can harm your bursa. Bursitis can also be caused by certain systemic diseases. Your bursa loses its painless, low-friction gliding qualities when you have active bursitis. The extra mass of the enlarged bursa adds to the friction already present in the limited region.
Bursitis can be caused by a variety of factors. The following are some of them:
- traumatic injury
- repetitive bursa irritation
- systemic disease
Repetitive Bursa Irritation
Bursitis is most commonly caused by a repetitive movement or prolonged and severe pressure.
Shoulder bursitis (or subacromial bursitis) is frequent in overhead activities such as swimming, throwing, surfing, paddling, cricket bowling, and water polo. It’s more common in people who have bad posture (e.g. weak scapular muscles, round shoulders, tight pectorals or poor technique). A qualified shoulder physiotherapist can assess and treat all of these issues properly.
Trochanteric bursitis, also known as hip bursitis, is caused by weak hip/gluteal muscles, which cause you to swing sideways (or collapse) while walking, irritating the trochanteric bursa. Rather than focusing simply on the bursitis, the long-term treatment is to address the weak gluteal muscles.
Because of poor muscular control of movement patterns, any bursa in your body, and there are 150+, might be subjected to repetitive damage. Physiotherapists’ professional skill profile includes identifying and correcting these faulty movement patterns. Please seek their professional advice, especially if you have had bursitis for a long time or have had it again.
Traumatic Injury
A severe injury is another cause of bursitis. Bursitis can occur after a traumatic event, such as a vehicle accident or a fall. The acute compression of your bursa usually triggers an inflammatory healing response, resulting in bursitis or swelling within the bursa. Normal movements and activities might become uncomfortable once the bursa is inflamed. Additional frictional forces in subsequent movements can be provided by a pain-sensitive chemical reaction within the bursa or a swelling bursa.
When you fall and land on your knee, your prepatellar bursa is compressed, leading to knee bursitis.
Systemic Diseases
Bursitis can also be caused by systemic inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis. Patients who suffer from these illnesses are more likely to develop bursitis.
Treatments for Bursitis
At Simply Align Physio-Chiro we use our unique trade marked technique which includes Tecar – Radio – Frequency followed by Pulsewave or Shockwave and class IV laser. The combination of these modalities has shown to us at out both locations, Toronto and Vaughan to tremendously help bursitis.
Are you looking for physiotherapy or a Chiropractor? If Yes, then visit Simply Align Rehab Physio in Scarborough/Toronto or Woodbridge/Vaughan or you can always call or text us for your Physiotherapy or Chiropractor needs in Toronto at (416) 438-3230 or For Physiotherapy or Chiropractor need in Vaughan (Woodbridge) at (905) 638-9840.
