Home » Orthopedic Care » Shoulder Bursitis
Overview
There are bursae present in the area adjacent to the tendons near the shoulder joint. These bursae are nothing but tiny fluid-filled sacs that reduce frictions between tissues of the body. Bursitis is the inflammation of the bursae. The injury or inflammation of the bursa around the shoulder causes bursitis shoulder. An underlying rheumatic condition also causes bursitis in the shoulder. It is very important to get shoulder bursitis treatment to get relief from the pain and for the smooth working of the shoulder joint.Symptoms of Shoulder Bursitis
Pain around the shoulder or on the tip is the most common shoulder bursitis symptom.
Along with this, the other symptoms include:
Along with this, the other symptoms include:
- Pain while touching the shoulder
- Fewer movements of the shoulder joint
- Outside the shoulder redness and swelling is seen
- Difficulty in performing normal activities of the shoulder like combing hair or reaching shelves.
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Causes of Shoulder Bursitis
The shoulder bursitis causes mainly include repeated minor trauma that is overuse of the shoulder joint and the muscle. Infection in the bursae is also responsible for bursitis shoulder but infection is rarely seen in the shoulder, it may happen in knee and ankle. The bursitis is commonly related to impingement and tendonitis of the rotator cuff in the shoulder. Medications are available to ease such pain, slow bone loss, and reduce inflammation. It is necessary to keep an open eye for rheumatoid arthritis signs, symptoms and treatments.Diagnosis of Shoulder Bursitis
Manual test by your physiotherapist can let you know about the shoulder pain bursitis which is totally different from a rotator cuff injury. Out of all the ultrasound investigation to know about the bursitis is the best method to confirm and start the treatment. At times your physiotherapist may ask for a MIR scan, x-ray, aspiration, and magnetic resonance imaging which are also useful.Treatment of Shoulder Bursitis
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Nonsurgical treatment
Restricting certain activities:
To treat the shoulder bursitis reducing inflammation is the first step. For this, avoid the activities that cause pain that is don’t stretch your shoulder beyond your comfort zone. You can heal your bursitis by giving proper rest to your shoulder. The best treatment for shoulder bursitis is simple exercises and physical therapy, which are helpful to return to your normal shoulder activities.
Medications:
The bursitis shoulder pain relief medications also prove effective for reducing inflammation such as Motrin or Advil.
Icing:
Ice your shoulder to reduce bursitis in shoulder blade. When there is chronic bursitis or acute pain then the ice packs are always beneficial. You should be careful while icing and do not massage with it for more than 15 to 20 minutes.
Physical therapies:
Even though if medicines give you relief from swelling and pain of bursitis shoulder, physically therapies should be undertaken to avoid future injury or pain.
Cortisone shots:
When the above shoulder bursitis treatment are not helpful then you can ask your doctor for cortisone (steroid) shot. They are quite helpful but also consists some side-effects like weakens the tendons if overused. -
Surgical treatment
Some of the shoulder bursitides need to be treated surgically. The shoulder bursitis surgery is a minimally invasive procedure done with a special probe called an arthroscope. Small incisions are made to remove the inflamed bursa, spurs, and some of the bones to make large space for rotator cuff tendons.