Bursitis pain around your quadriceps muscle will make it difficult for you to move about. The suprapatellar bursa lies just above your knee and under the quadriceps tendon before the tendon wraps around your patella. The prepatellar bursa lies between the skin and your patella. The trochanteric bursa lies on the lateral side of your hips.
Causes
Pain from prepatellar or suprapatellar bursitis usually results from excessive bending or kneeling. Trochanteric bursitis commonly results from a tight iliotibial, or IT, band, running on a slanted surface, and if one of your legs is shorter than the other. If you have wide hips and your knees angle toward each other, you are also predisposed to trochanteric bursitis.
Signs and Symptoms
Symptoms of bursitis above the knee include pain, redness, swelling and tenderness. Your knee may be warm to the touch and you may also hear cracking or grating sounds, commonly referred to as crepitus.
Symptoms of hip bursitis include a deep pain on the side of the hip which may extend down the lateral border of your quadriceps, tenderness of the lateral hip and quadricep area, and crepitus. It may also be too painful for you to lie on the affected side.
Effects
It will be difficult for you to contract your quadriceps to straighten your knee due to the increased pressure from the inflamed bursas, according to Sandra Schultz and colleagues in their book, "Examination of Musculoskeletal Injuries." Hip bursitis could make it challenging to get up from a chair, especially if you have been sitting for a long period of time. You will also have to refrain from any exercises which increase your pain, compromising your training schedule and performance.
Treatments
Typical treatments for bursitis include using an ice pack for 20 minutes three times a day until the pain subsides. You may also take anti-inflammatory medicine such as ibuprofen, according to a 2007 article published by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Corticosteroids can be injected directly into the bursa, providing permanent pain relief. Physical therapy might be prescribed to strengthen and improve the flexibility of your quadriceps and tensor fascia lata, the muscle attached to your IT band. Surgery to remove the affected bursa is a last resort.
Prevention
Prevent irritation to your knee bursas by using knee pads or cushions if you have to kneel down often. Strengthen your inner thigh muscles, your gluteal muscles and use a shoe lift if one of your legs is shorter than the other to prevent hip bursitis. Refrain from excessive running, running on sloped surfaces, and running on concrete.
References
- American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: Hip Bursitis
- National Library of Medicine: Medline Plus: When Hip Pain Signals Bursitis
- "Examination of Musculoskeletal Injuries"; Sandra Shultz, Peggy Houglum and David Perrin; 2005
- MayoClinic.com: Knee Bursitis
