A simple guide to understanding bursitis

Bursitis is a condition associated commonly with your joints. After a hard day's work, your joints are sore and feel like they're on fire. Here's a guide to understanding the condition:

Picture this:  yesterday you raked the front yard, arms sawing back and forth for hours, and today your elbows feel like they're on fire. Maybe you went dancing last night and this morning the cha-cha is gone from your hips. You could have even played catch with the kids, and your shoulder feels like you pitched a no-hitter in the World Series.

• It may be that you've inflamed the tiny fluid-filled sacs called bursae, which help reduce friction between the tendons and muscles around your joints and act as a cushion between the bones and overlying soft tissues whenever you move.
• More than 150 bursae ease your body's movements, but when you overuse or stress your body's joints, especially the elbows, shoulders, and hips, but also the knees, heels, or big toes, you can get the painful condition called bursitis.
• It can also result from too much pressure (like leaning on your elbows or kneeling too long), from a car accident or fall, or even from an infection.

Having an inflammatory condition such as rheumatoid arthritis or gout can make you more vulnerable to bursitis.

• You're more at risk, of course, if you have a profession or hobby in which overusing your joints is common:  a gardener, for example, is kneeling his way toward bursitis; a store clerk who stands eight hours a day may be more susceptible than an office worker.

You can suspect bursitis if you feel tenderness and aching that get worse when you move.

• The area over the inflamed joint may be swollen, warm, even red.
• You may not even remember doing anything in particular to tax your joints.

Most of the time, simple remedies like rest, ice, and anti-inflammatories resolve bursitis within a week or two. If they don't, be sure to see your doctor.

• Untreated bursitis, especially in the shoulder, may lead to progressive stiffness and may cause a permanent lack of mobility in the joint.
• Sometimes home remedies like anti-inflammatories, rest, and ice may not be enough to dispel bursitis. If so, your doctor can check out the problem joint, ask what you've been doing, and perhaps take X-rays or blood tests to rule out other causes of your discomfort. She may offer some solutions.

Although it is a relatively common ailment, bursitis should still be taken seriously. If left untreated, it can lead to worse problems later on. If the simple remedies don't work, be sure to see your doctor.