1. Rest is Best for Joint Pain
If you've got a case of bursitis, then you should skip any activities that aggravate your condition. Rest your body and allow the inflammation to go down. Elevate your joint whenever possible. While resting, apply ice or cold packs to the affected area for 20 minutes at a time. Repeat this activity until you notice that the redness and swelling have diminished. Once the swelling and redness are gone, apply heat to the affected area to ease pain and increase range of motion. Use moist heat over the affected area for 20 minutes at a time. Take anti-inflammatory medication, such as Advil, Motrin, Aspirin or Aleve.
2. Drain the Bursa
If you've got painful bursitis that isn't resolving with rest, then draining the fluid from the bursa is a likely treatment. The doctor cleans the skin around the affected area, then inserts a needle and sucks out the fluid. While most patients experience immediate relief, some patients notice residual pain and swelling from the drainage procedure.
3. Cortisone Injection Relief
Sometime doctors treat significant pain and inflammation with cortisone injections. This is a simple procedure, done in the doctor's office. The doctor injects the cortisone directly into the site of the inflammation. The direct injection allows the doctor to give a patient more cortisone than could be administered orally, minimizing cortisone side effects. Some patients experience pain around the injection area in the hours following the injection. Cold packs treat such pain effectively. While cortisone injections are helpful, they can't be used indefinitely. Repeated use of cortisone injections can make tendons weak.
4. Power Up With Physical Therapy
Occasionally, doctors recommend physical therapy to minimize discomfort related to a reduction in range of motion. Physical therapists can teach you exercises and stretches that improve your range of motion, strengthen your muscles, increase flexibility and reduce the likelihood of future bursitis episodes. Generally, physically therapy doesn't start until the inflammation goes down.
5. Kill the Infection
When bursitis is located near the skin, infection is more likely. Signs of infection include fever, chills and warmth around the affected area. When the doctor suspects an infection, he'll send the fluid that he drained from the area to a lab for analysis. If lab tests confirm infection, then doctors typically prescribe oral antibiotics. Sometimes additional drainage of the fluid is necessary. If the infection doesn't resolve, then surgery is done to remove the entire bursa.
