Bursitis, the unknown!

Imagine a small jelly-like cushion; are you there? Next place this cushion between a tendon and a bone. You can equally imagine the cushion between two tendons. This jelly cushion represents the bursa.

Its mission is to facilitate the sliding of the tendon on the bone or between two tendons. We find many bursas at the hips, the knees, shoulders, elbows and at the wrists level. When the jelly-like cushion swells and becomes painful we are in the presence of bursitis or the inflammation of the bursa. Bursitis develops most often after a series of abrupt and intense movements or during a prolonged rubbing between a tendon and a bone.

The bursa is situated behind the tendon which brings people to confuse tendinitis and bursitis because the symptoms often resemble each other.

The Orthotherapist will proceed with specific tests to find out if their client suffers from bursitis or tendinitis followed by the appropriate treatments. The bursitis of the Achilles tendon, the elbow and the shoulder are the most frequent.