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Bursitis

Whether you're at work or at play, if you overuse or repetitively stress the areas around your body's joints, you may eventually develop a painful inflammation called bursitis.

You have more than 150 bursae in your body. These small, fluid-filled sacs lubricate and cushion pressure points between your bones and the tendons and muscles near your joints. They help your joints move with ease. Bursitis occurs when a bursa becomes inflamed. When inflammation occurs, movement or pressure is painful.

Bursitis often affects the areas around the joints in your shoulders, elbows or hips. But you can also have bursitis by your knee, heel and even in the base of your big toe. Bursitis pain usually goes away within a week or so with proper treatment, but recurrent flare-ups of bursitis are common and can be frustrating.

Treatment

If your bursitis is not infectious, the doctor may inject the bursa with a corticosteroid to reduce inflammation. The results last for varying lengths of time. Because of potential complications, injections are usually given no more than 3 times per year, at least 30 days apart.

If your bursitis is infectious, the bursa will be drained with a needle. The doctor will prescribe antibiotics to be taken in pill form. If the infection is very serious, or does not respond to oral antibiotics, or if your immune system is weakened for another reason, you may be admitted to the hospital for IV antibiotics. Most causes of infectious bursitis, however, can be managed safely at home.

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