Treatment for Shoulder Bursitis

Bursa is a fluid filled sac that plays the role of a shock absorber between a tendon and a bone. There are 160 bursae (plural of bursa) in a human body. The major bursae are located adjacent to the tendons near the large joints such as elbows, knees, hips and shoulders. The inflammation of bursa is known as bursitis and shoulder bursitis is quite common in older people.

If it is accompanied with an inflammation of tendons, the condition is described as shoulder bursitis tendonitis. Along with aging, a number of factors can lead to shoulder bursitis. These are infections, injury to the shoulder, overuse of shoulders and rheumatoid arthritis.

Shoulder bursitis is typically characterized by localized pain, swelling, tenderness and sharp shoulder pain accompanying the motion of the affected tissues. This condition is not only very annoying and painful but it just makes your life miserable. It prohibits you from doing many simple things that are a part of your daily routine.

You feel pain when you raise your arms over your head, move your hand, while sitting idle and even while sleeping. In addition to these symptoms, you feel your shoulder to be weak, or at least not as strong as what it used to be earlier.

The basic strategy for the treatment, which is commonly followed by doctors starts with the detection of the exact cause. The doctor relies on physical examination, family history, medical history and the information revealed by diagnostic tests. The diagnostic tests for detection of bursitis include X-ray and MRI scan. Many-a-times, the calcification in the bursa is observed in case of chronic or recurrent shoulder bursitis.

The treatment depends upon the reason behind inflammation and rarely, is the cause of infection. The doctor may prescribe antibiotics to cure and prevent further spread of infection. Shoulder bursitis is mostly caused by an injury to the bursa. The best way to reduce inflammation is through the use of anti-inflammatory medicines.

Therefore, the doctor is most likely to prescribe these medicines. The commonly known oral anti-inflammatory medicines are Motrin, Aleve, Advil and Celebrex. You should strictly follow the dosage directions given by the doctor for these medicines. They help a lot in reducing the inflammation and discomfort.

If the doctor does not see the desired improvement with the anti-inflammatory medicines, he may consider the option of cortisone injections for the treatment. It is a steroid shot and is injected into the area of inflammation. The purpose is to place the medicine directly into the affected area for fast and effective treatment.

There can be a small number of cases in which no significant improvement is noticed with the above given treatments. The doctor takes surgery as the last option. The aim of the surgery is to drain the bursa and fix the problems present in it. At home, you may try out certain things that will speed up the treatment. Let's take a look at them.

Give your shoulder enough rest. Do not perform any activity that causes pain and discomfort. Generally, such activities are raising your arms upwards and moving them behind yourself.

Take a clean towel and dip it into ice-cold water. Squeeze it to remove extra water and place it on the affected shoulder for about 10-15 minutes. Do it 3-4 times a day for relief from pain and inflammation, and for stimulating the blood circulation in the shoulder. It is not recommended to rub the shoulder directly with an ice cube. The reason is that there is a potential risk of skin burn with the direct application of ice.

As an alternative to ice packs, you may place a heat compress on the shoulder. Many people get more comfort with heat. It also improves blood circulation in the shoulder, which is necessary for healing bursitis. A heat compress helps a lot in shoulder bursitis.

In most of the cases, the doctor recommends pain management or physical therapy for shoulder bursitis. The discomfort is relieved to a great extent by regularly attending such sessions. You may perform some mild exercises to fasten the recovery process. Discuss with your doctor about the exercises that would prove beneficial in your case.

Thus, you see that treatment for shoulder bursitis involves a number of strategies, ranging from medications to pain management, for complete cure. It is advisable here that you abide by all the instructions given by the doctor, so that the disorder can be treated well on time.