What Is Bursitis?
Bursitis is a painful condition that affects the small, fluid-filled sacs called bursae that cushion the bones, tendons, and muscles near your joints. When these bursae become inflamed, the resulting condition—bursitis—can cause significant discomfort, limit mobility, and interfere with daily activities.
At Compass Pain and Wellness, we take a multidisciplinary approach to managing bursitis, combining advanced therapies like TECAR and Shockwave with physical therapy, chiropractic care, acupuncture, massage therapy, and interventional pain management for optimal patient outcomes.
We take a structured, multi-layered approach to Bursitis treatment by combining advanced diagnostics, lifestyle modifications, and progressive therapies to support your mobility and well-being.
Customized Treatment Plans
At Compass Pain and Wellness, we create personalized treatment plans, combining advanced therapies with lifestyle strategies to promote health. Our approach focuses on long-term relief, integrating treatments that fit seamlessly into your daily life. From targeted interventions to posture guidance and ergonomic support, we offer strategies to help improve mobility and reduce the risk of future issues.
Minimally Invasive Procedures
We prioritize non-invasive treatments and may incorporate advanced, minimally invasive techniques designed to ease discomfort and support the body’s natural healing process. These approaches can offer relief with minimal downtime, helping you return to daily activities more comfortably. Throughout your care, we provide ongoing guidance and support to promote positive outcomes.
Comprehensive Care
We take a comprehensive approach to all conditions—going beyond pain relief to support overall function. By combining advanced medical treatments with complementary therapies such as physical therapy, chiropractic care, and mindfulness techniques, we create personalized care plans tailored to your individual needs.
Lasting Relief
Our goal is to support not just immediate relief, but long-term health and sustainable symptom management. By addressing contributing factors behind your condition, we aim to improve function, reduce the risk of future flare-ups, and promote lasting mobility and well-being.
Understanding Bursitis
Bursae are essential for smooth, pain-free movement of muscles and tendons over bones. There are over 150 bursae in the human body, commonly located near major joints such as the shoulder, elbow, hip, and knee. When one of these sacs becomes irritated or inflamed, bursitis develops. While bursitis can affect anyone, it is more common in older adults and individuals engaged in repetitive activities.
Common Symptoms Of Bursitis
The signs and symptoms of bursitis typically develop near joints and include:
- Localized Pain: Often sharp or aching, worsening with movement or pressure on the affected area.
- Swelling: Especially visible and palpable in superficial bursae such as those near the elbow or knee.
- Tenderness: Pain on palpation over the inflamed bursa.
- Stiffness Or Limited Range Of Motion: Particularly in shoulder or hip bursitis.
- Warmth And Redness: In cases of septic bursitis, where infection is present.
What Causes Bursitis?
Bursitis may result from a variety of causes. Understanding these risk factors allows for more targeted prevention and treatment strategies. Some of the potential causes include:
Repetitive Motion Or Overuse
Repeated pressure or friction (e.g., throwing, kneeling, climbing stairs).
Acute Trauma
A direct blow to a joint can inflame the bursa.
Prolonged Pressure
Frequent kneeling or leaning on elbows.
Infection
Bacteria can enter through a skin wound and infect the bursa (septic bursitis).
Systemic Conditions
Diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, gout, or diabetes can predispose individuals to bursitis [3].
Age
Tendons become less elastic and more susceptible to injury with age.
What Happens If Bursitis Is Left Untreated?
If bursitis is not treated appropriately, several complications can arise:
- Chronic Bursitis: Inflammation becomes long-standing, leading to thickening of the bursa walls and persistent pain.
- Tendon Rupture: Nearby tendons may weaken due to prolonged inflammation [1].
- Joint Stiffness: Ongoing pain can limit joint use, leading to stiffness and reduced mobility.
- Muscle Atrophy: Reduced use of the affected area can result in weakening of surrounding muscles.
- Infection Spread: In cases of septic bursitis, untreated infection can extend to adjacent tissues or enter the bloodstream [2].
Early intervention is key to preventing progression and maintaining joint function.
Our Approach for Bursitis
Bursitis can be a persistent and painful condition that prevents you from doing the activities you love. This may impact mobility, work, hobbies, and even emotional well-being, making everyday tasks more challenging
Take the next step and schedule your evaluation today.
At Compass Pain and Wellness, the first treatment step will always be a detailed evaluation with your doctor to give you the answers you need. Next, our team will build a plan of care tailored to your specific pathology. This may involve advanced medical treatments as well as supportive therapies to address all aspects of your bursitis.
How to Diagnosis Bursitis
Diagnosing Bursitis begins with a thorough evaluation of symptoms, medical history, and a physical examination. This will consider the onset, duration, and severity of symptoms, aggravating and relieving factors, and palpation and range-of-motion tests to locate the originating source of your symptoms. Early and accurate diagnosis of bursitis is crucial for developing an effective treatment plan and preventing further complications.
Imaging Tests X-ray can be used to rule out arthritis or fractures but doesn’t show bursae well. An ultrasound may be useful for visualizing fluid accumulation and guiding aspiration, and an MRI will provide detailed soft tissue images to helps confirm diagnosis in complex cases.
Lab Tests: If septic bursitis is suspected, aspiration and fluid analysis may be performed in which fluid is drawn from the bursa to check for infection or crystals (gout/pseudogout).
Conservative Therapies
At Compass Pain and Wellness, we employ a comprehensive, integrative approach that begins with conservative care and progresses to interventional options if needed.
Physical Therapy
Physical therapy improves strength, flexibility, and mobility while addressing pain from injury or chronic conditions.
Chiropractic Care
Chiropractic care improves spinal alignment and joint function to reduce pain and enhance physical mobility.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture stimulates targeted points on the body to reduce pain, support healing, and restore energy balance.
Massage
Massage therapy eases muscle tension and improves circulation to support pain relief and overall well-being.
Medication Therapy
Medication therapy uses tailored prescriptions to reduce chronic pain and improve daily function and comfort.
TECAR Therapy
TECAR therapy can help treat bursitis by delivering deep heat through radiofrequency energy, which reduces inflammation, alleviates pain, and supports tissue regeneration in the affected bursa.
Shockwave Therapy (ESWT)
Can be beneficial in calcific bursitis of the shoulder or trochanteric bursitis.
Activity Modification
Avoiding movements that aggravate symptoms.
Advanced Treatment Options
When conservative measures are inadequate, the following advanced treatments may be considered:
Corticosteroid Injections
Highly effective in many cases, especially in shoulder and hip bursitis [5].
Needle Aspiration
Removes excess fluid to relieve pressure and analyze for infection.
Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) Therapy
Promising results in treating chronic inflammation and tendon-bursa interface pathology [6].
Surgical Options
- Rarely needed but may be necessary for infected bursae or in cases of chronic, treatment-resistant bursitis.
- Surgical removal (bursectomy) may be performed arthroscopically or via open procedure.
Our integrative care team works collaboratively to customize each treatment plan to the patient’s unique condition and lifestyle goals.
References
- Hegmann KT, et al. Occupational medicine practice guidelines: Evaluation and management of common health problems and functional recovery in workers. 3rd ed. OEM Press; 2011. https://acoem.org/acoem/media/PDF-Library/ACOEM-Methodology-Nov-2022-Final.pdf
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470331/
- Galletti S, et al. Bursitis: A Clinical Review. J Orthop Res. 2021;39(2):251-259. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470291/
- Vickers AJ, et al. Acupuncture for chronic pain: individual patient data meta-analysis. Arch Intern Med. 2012;172(19):1444-1453. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29198932/
- Coombes BK, Bisset L, Vicenzino B. Corticosteroid injections for tendinopathy: A review. Br J Sports Med. 2010;44(14):1067-1071. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20970844/
- Fitzpatrick J, Bulsara M, Zheng MH. PRP in musculoskeletal conditions: a meta-analysis. Am J Sports Med. 2017;45(1):226-233. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27268111/
Our Providers
Meet our experienced and compassionate team of doctors who specialize in helping you manage your condition. With a patient-centered approach, our doctors work to understand your unique needs and provide compassionate, personalized care. Trust our providers to guide you on your journey to better health and improved well-being.
