Description

Knee bursitis is a condition in which one or more small fluid-filled sacs near the joint of the knee is inflamed. The sacs are called bags. The bags reduce friction and cushion pressure points between your bones and the tendons, muscles and skin near joints.

Any of the bags in the knee can be affected by the painful swelling, also called inflammation. But more often, the knee bursitis occurs in the course of the kneecap or on the inner side of your knee below the joint.

Knee Bursitis causes pain and can limit your movement. The treatment often includes a mixture of self-care techniques and medical treatments to relieve pain and inflammation.

Symptoms

Knee Bursitis symptoms vary. Depend on the bursa is affected and what is the cause of the inflammation.

The affected portion of your knee might feel warm, tender and swollen. You may also feel pain when you move or when you're at rest.

A direct blow to the knee can cause symptoms to appear quickly. But the bursitis of the knee is often derives from the friction and irritation of the bags. This can happen with jobs that require a lot of kneeling on hard surfaces. So, the symptoms may start gradually and get worse with time.

When to see a doctor

Sometimes, the bursa that is located on the patella of the knee, it may become infected. Call your health care professional if you have:

  • Fever or chills, along with pain and swelling in the knee.
  • Long-term swelling or a change in the color of the skin around the knee.
  • Difficulty to move or extend your knee.

Causes

Knee bursitis can be caused by:

  • Frequent and continuous pressure, such as knees, especially on hard surfaces.
  • The overuse of the knee, or vigorous activity.
  • A direct blow to the knee.
  • An infection of the bursa due to bacteria, which could enter into the knee through a coup or a court.
  • Health problems that can occur with osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, or gout in the knee.

Risk factors

Factors that may increase the risk of acquiring the bursitis of the knee include:

  • Prolonged kneeling. The risk of bursitis is higher in people who work on their knees for long periods of time. This includes carpet layers, plumbers and gardeners.
  • Playing certain sports. Sports that can lead to direct blows or falls frequently in the knee increase your risk of bursitis of the knee. To make the sports that create friction between the knee and a mat. These sports include wrestling, football, basketball, and volleyball. Runners may also have pain and the inflammation of the bursa that is located on the inner side of your knee below the joint. This is called the pes anserine bursitis.
  • Obesity and osteoarthritis. Pes anserine bursitis often occurs in obese women with osteoarthritis.

Prevention

The following tips can help prevent bursitis or keep it from coming back:

  • Use knee pads. This can help you if you often work in the knees, or play sports that put your knees at risk. The use of padding to cushion and protect your knees.
  • Take breaks. If you are on your knees for a while, taking regular breaks to stretch your legs and rest your knees.
  • To achieve and maintain a healthy weight. This can relieve pressure on the knee joints.

Diagnosis

To find out if you have bursitis of the knee, your health care professional will ask about your medical history. Then, they give you a physical exam. Your health care professional is likely that:

  • Compare the condition of both knees, particularly if only one hurt.
  • Gently press on areas of your knee to feel the warmth, swelling and the source of the pain.
  • Verification of the skin over the tender area to look for a change in the color or other symptoms of the infection.
  • Carefully move your legs and knees to determine your knee affected the range of motion. This is also done to find out if it hurts to bend or flex the knee.

Imaging tests

Imaging tests may be needed to determine if a distinct condition of the knee bursitis is the cause of your symptoms. Your healthcare provider may order one or more of the following tests:

  • X-ray. These may be useful in the search of a problem with a bone or arthritis.
  • The magnetic resonance imaging. MRI uses radio waves and a strong magnetic field to produce detailed images of the internal structures of the body. These scans can produce images of soft tissues, such as bags.
  • Ultrasound. This uses sound waves to take pictures. The ultrasound can help your health professional to find the inflammation of the bursa.

Aspiration

Rarely, a sample of fluid from the bursa can be taken for the analysis. A needle is placed in the affected area to drain some of the fluid. This procedure is called aspiration. This can be done if your healthcare provider thinks that you have an infection or gout in the bursa. The aspiration can be also used as a treatment.

Treatment

Bursitis often gets better with time, so that the treatment often helps relieve their symptoms. But your health care professional may recommend one or more treatments. Depends on the cause of your knee bursitis, and that the bag is infected.

Drugs

If an infection with the bacteria that causes knee bursitis, your healthcare provider prescribes medications called antibiotics. Rarely, surgery to remove the infected bursa is performed if the medication does not help.

Physical therapy

Your health care professional may refer you to a physical therapist or a specialist in sports medicine. These professionals can teach you exercises that will help the muscles around the knee and the leg to be more flexible and stronger. This treatment can relieve pain and reduce your risk of having repeated attacks of bursitis of the knee. Protection knee braces can help, if you must kneel. And the compression knee sleeves can help control the swelling.

Surgery and other procedures

Treatments for bursitis of the knee treatment involving injections or surgery include:

  • The injection of corticosteroids. If the bursitis is not improved with basic treatments, your health care professional may recommend steroid injections. The medication is injected into an affected bursa to reduce the inflammation and relieve the pain.
  • Aspiration. This procedure may be done if the medications and self-care does not help enough. You can help drain the excess fluid in the bursa and the treatment of inflammation. Your healthcare provider inserts a needle into the affected bursa and drains the fluid into the syringe. Aspiration may cause mild pain in the short term. After that, you might need to wear a brace that keeps your knee to move for a period of time. This helps the bag to heal and reduces the possibility of repeating the swelling.
  • Surgery. Surgery to remove an affected bursa is rarely done. But it may be recommended if other treatments do not help, or if the persistence of the infection is present. After the surgery, you may be able to return to their usual activities in a few weeks.

Lifestyle and home remedies

To relieve the pain and discomfort of knee bursitis:

  • Rest your knee. Take a break from the activity that caused the symptoms. Try not to kneel down and do the moves that make your pain worse.
  • Take pain relievers. Some drugs that are sold without a prescription can help to relieve the pain. It is intended for short-term use. They include aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) or naproxen sodium (Aleve).
  • Apply ice. Apply an ice pack on your knee for 20 minutes at a time. Do this a couple of times a day until the pain and heat on the knee go away.
  • Try a soft compression. The use of a compression wrap or knee sleeve can help relieve the swelling.
  • Raise your knee. The proposition of your affected leg on the pillows. This helps to reduce the inflammation in your knee.
  • Lose the extra weight if necessary. This can take the pressure of your affected knee.

Preparing for your appointment

You could start by seeing your primary healthcare professional. Then you may be referred to a physician who treats other sets of conditions, called a rheumatologist. Or you may be referred to an orthopedic surgeon.

Here is the information to help you prepare for your appointment.

What you can do

Make a list of:

  • Your symptoms and when they began.
  • Key personal information , including the activities and exercises you perform.
  • All the drugs, vitamins, and other supplements that you take. Include the amount you take, called the dose.
  • Questions to ask your health care team.

Have a family member or friend if you can. A loved one may help to remember the information they give you.

For bursitis of the knee, basic questions to ask your health care professional include:

  • What is the most likely cause of my symptoms?
  • There are other possible causes?
  • What tests are needed?
  • What treatment do you recommend it?
  • I have to limit my activities?
  • There are measures of self-care that you can test?
  • Are there brochures or other printed material I can have? What sites do you recommend?

Feel free to ask questions also.

What to expect from your doctor

Your healthcare provider will likely ask questions such as:

  • Did your pain start fast or slow?
  • What kind of work or other activities you do that could affect the knees?
  • The pain occur or get worse when you do certain activities, such as kneeling or climbing stairs?
  • Have fallen recently, it has been in an accident or received a blow to the knee?
  • What treatments have been tried in the house?
  • What effect did these treatments?
Symptoms and treatment of bursitis of the Knee