Is it normal to be scared of the doctor? Bursitis occurs when the small fluid sac under the skin, known as the bursa, becomes inflamed between the joints, bones and tendons. Bursa cushions the bones, muscles and joints as they rub against each other during movement and also produce a lubricating liquid which helps to reduce friction in the body. The cause of bursitis is usually a result of injury or repetitive movement, but it can be due to an infection, obesity or as a complication of gout or arthritis. Any bursa can become inflamed but the most common swellings occur in the shoulder, the elbow, the ankle, the knee (often nicknamed housemaid’s knee), the buttocks, the hip and the thigh. The risk of bursitis increases if you regularly do an activity repetitively. For instance, gardeners and carpet fitters can develop housemaid’s knee as a result of constant kneeling. The symptoms of bursitis are usually quite mild and the condition often goes away on its own within a couple of weeks, but it has been suggested that 1 in every 200 visits to the GP is because of bursitis.
When bursitis occurs the affected area normally feels warm to touch, appears swollen or be painful when moved. If a fever is a symptom in addition to the swelling, then it is important to see a doctor as this is usually a sign of an infection. Treatment normally only requires a self-care approach known as PRICEM. This stands for protection (e.g. padding), rest, ice, compression (e.g. a bandage), elevation and medication (ibuprofen is recommended). If the case of bursitis is particularly severe then steroids or antibiotics can be prescribed. A doctor could also aspirate the bursa by inserting a needle into the affected area to draw out the excess fluid. Severe chronic bursitis can sometimes require surgery to remove the bursa but this is usually only as a last resort. Bursitis can easily be prevented by protecting joints like using a knee pad, taking regular breaks from repetitive actions, warming up before exercise and strengthening the muscles using physiotherapy to give extra protection.
The information provided on this website (including any NHS Choices medical information) is for use as information or for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical care by a qualified doctor or otherWe do not warrant that any information included within this site will meet your health orThis Embarrassing Bodies site does not provide any medical or diagnostic services so you should always check with a health professional if you have any concerns about If you want to embed our videos in your site, read our embedding T&Cs here What’s the best mattress for my back?Shoulder pain at night is a very common problem. If you have night pain because of your shoulder you know how disruptive it can be! Night pain in your shoulder is almost always because of an issue with your rotator cuff. The most common cause of night pain in your shoulder is due to a process we call rotator cuff tendinosis. Injuries to the rotator cuff will also cause significant pain at night.
No matter which side you try to sleep on, your shoulder pain wakes you up. Eventually, this will start to significantly affect your quality of life and your psychological well being.The most common cause of night pain in the shoulder is the rotator cuff. Many of you will have mild or moderate pain during the day, but terrible shoulder pain at night. When the rotator cuff is torn or frayed it will irritate the bursa which sits on top of the rotator cuff. That will cause inflammation which we call a bursitis. That inflammation is the reason you have such severe pain at night.As you can see there are different types of rotator cuff injuries. The most common cause of rotator cuff pain is a process we call . This implies that your rotator cuff is starting to wear out and degenerate. If the rotator cuff begins to degenerate enough it may start to tear — what we call a partial rotator cuff tear. That can irritate or inflame the bursa sitting on the rotator cuff. It might hurt with certain activities too… but it is the night pain that usually makes you call our office.
Some of you have injured yourself or fallen onto your arm and now your shoulder pain is keeping you up at night. For those of you with night pain following an injury a full thickness rotator cuff tear is possible.Most people with night pain from rotator cuff tendinosis will respond to:initially sleeping in a reclining chair. : These ice sleeves are very useful at minimizing your pain and improving your recovery from a rotator cuff injury.Sleeping with a Shoulder Support Pillow/SystemPhysical therapy to address the rotator cuffanti-inflammatories – Tart Cherry Juice, Advil, Alleve.Injections: this will diminish the inflammation.TimeSurgery: A novel biological patch now enables us to potentially cure the most common cause of night pain in the shoulder.A small percentage of people will not respond to non-surgical treatment of your injured rotator cuff. I find that people with severe night pain are usually ready to have surgery sooner than most people without night pain. They are miserable …as are those who live with them.
Thankfully, we now have a surgical option proven to diminish or eliminate night pain in your shoulder.Research has shown that surgery on your rotator cuff to repair a rotator cuff tear, or to reverse tendinosis can dramatically improve or eliminate your night pain.Sleep disturbance is common in patients undergoing rotator cuff repair. After surgery, sleep disturbance improves to levels comparable with those of the general public. Preoperative and prolonged postoperative use of narcotic pain medication negatively affects sleep.Source: Sleep Disturbance Associated With Rotator Cuff TearSurgery options for night pain and injuries to the rotator cuff depend on whether or not you have rotator cuff tendinosis, a partial rotator cuff tear or a full thickness rotator cuff tear. For those of you who injured your rotator cuff from a fall and have weakness and night pain then a repair of your rotator cuff is your best option.For patients with severe night pain due to tendinosis or a partial rotator cuff tear one of the most promising procedures is where we can deliver a small patch into the shoulder during a shoulder arthroscopy (minimally invasive).