You would be surprised the number of bursae we have within our bodies. Bursae are little sacs containing liquid which help lubricate muscles and tendons as they glide across one another.
You have 8 bursae around each shoulder, 11 around each knee and as many as 78 on each side of your body. Most of them haven't been given a name and I suppose as long as they're doing what they're designed to do, no one is that interested. But if one little bursae sac becomes injured or inflamed, you suddenly find out just how valuable they are - because your injured bursae are now bearing witness to just how painful bursitis can be.
Bursitis can affect you quite unexpectedly. It can be acute or chronic, depending on the cause. Acute bursitis will attack, retreat, then attack again. It doesn't let you sleep, grabs you when you least expect it and is most frustrating for those trying to find what treatment works best.
The recognition and attention given by the medical profession to it's "big brother" arthritis, leaves bursitis feeling a little left out. So until science becomes a little more focussed to with this affliction, there are some dependable ways of bringing temporary respite from to this painful problem.
Bursitis pain usually affects the joints - that's why it's often confused with arthritis. One of the first things you should do immediately for bursitis inflammation, is to stop the activities that are giving you the pain and rest the joint. It's foolish to try and push through the pain. It will only make matters worse.
The next thing you want to do is place a cold pack or some ice on the affected area. First ascertain whether the joint is hot to touch. If it is, ice will be appropriate. It needs to be applied for about ten minutes, then rest, then do the same again a few more times. It's important not to apply heat if the joint is already hot to touch. Use something cold.
After you've been doing this for a while, the heat should go from the inflammation. Then you can alternate between hot and cold treatments. Try ten minutes of cold, then ten minutes of heat, then ice ... and so on.
The next thing in your arsenal is some anti-inflammatory medication. Some prefer aspirin, but you need to be aware of complications associated with the blood thinning properties of this drug. There are some effective herbal anti-inflammatories available which are specifically formulated for bursitis pain.
Once the acute stage of your bursitis starts to subside, hopefully after about four to five days, it's time to alter your therapy. Instead of resting the joint, you now want to exercise it gently. You also want to give away the cold packs and introduce some heat.
If the bursitis pain is in your elbow, you should try and swing your arm freely to relieve the ache. Only do it for a couple of minutes, but try it a number of times during the day.
If you have bursitis in your shoulder, try an exercise called the "cat stretch". You get down on your hands and knees with your hands on the floor slightly in front of your head. Keep your shoulders stiff as you stretch backward until your bottom touches your knees.
In the end, the best healer for the pain, is time.
Peter Halpin
Author Bio
M.P Lawrence is the director of popular blog TreatBursitisOnline.Com. He is an expert on bursitis and his blog contains stacks of information on bursitis, bursitis pain and related topics.
