Overview
Bursitis accounts for 0.4% of all visits to primary care clinics. The most common locations of bursitis are the subdeltoid, olecranon, ischial, trochanteric, and prepatellar bursae. The incidence of bursitis is higher in athletes, reaching levels as high as 10% in runners. Approximately 85% of cases of septic superficial bursitis occur in men. A French study aimed at assessing the prevalence of knee bursitis in the working population found that most cases occurred in male workers whose occupations involved heavy workloads and frequent kneeling. Mortality in patients with bursitis is very low. The prognosis is good, with the vast majority of patients receiving outpatient follow-up and treatment.
Causes
Bursitis occurs when the synovial lining becomes thickened and produces excessive fluid, leading to localized swelling and pain. It most commonly affects the subacromial, olecranon, trochanteric, prepatellar, and infrapatellar bursae. Symptoms of bursitis may include localized tenderness, pain, edema, erythema, or reduced movement. Pain is aggravated by movement of the specific joint, tendon, or both.
Symptoms
Bursitis involving the heel causes pain in the middle of the undersurface of the heel that worsens with prolonged standing and pain at the back of the heel that worsens if you bend your foot up or down.
Diagnosis
Your doctor will check for bursitis by asking questions about your past health and recent activities and by examining the area. If your symptoms are severe or get worse even after treatment, you may need other tests. Your doctor may drain fluid from the bursa through a needle (aspiration) and test it for infection. Or you may need X-rays, an MRI, or an ultrasound.
Non Surgical Treatment
According to the National Institutes of Health, custom heel wedges can be purchased by people suffering from retrocalcaneal bursitis. These wedges reduce stress on the heel, which can reduce the pain and inflammation associated with an inflamed bursa. They How much can you grow from stretching? be purchased without a prescription, making it easy for anyone experiencing a flare-up of symptoms to get the added support of these wedges.
Surgical Treatment
Surgery to remove the damaged bursa may be performed in extreme cases. If the bursitis is caused by an infection, then additional treatment is needed. Septic bursitis is caused by the presence of a pus-forming organism, usually staphylococcus aureus. This is confirmed by examining a sample of the fluid in the bursa and requires treatment with antibiotics taken by mouth, injected into a muscle or into a vein (intravenously). The bursa will also need to be drained by needle two or three times over the first week of treatment. When a patient has such a serious infection, there may be underlying causes. There could be undiscovered diabetes, or an inefficient immune system caused by human immunodeficiency virus infection (HIV).
