Bursitis
Bursitis
8 Ways to Wipe Out the Pain
There are 8 of them around each shoulder, 11 around each knee, and as many as 78 on each side of the body. Most of them aren't even named, and as long as they do their job, there's no reason to ever notice a single one.
But let one stop working and you'll know just how important those little sacs of fluid called bursae really are. And you'll know just how painful the condition called bursitis really is.
Bursae ensure the smooth, frictionless working of the body's many joints. They are so hard working, inconspicuous, and uncomplaining, one doctor wrote, "that even when one of them misbehaves, this is usually misattributed to some more important structure."
And there's no telling when it will happen. Bursitis strikes, it retreats, it strikes again. The on-again, off-again nature of acute bursitis is aggravating for sufferers and frustrating for those trying to determine what type of treatments actually work.
Compared with joint diseases like arthritis, bursitis is an ugly stepsister waiting for a date. Perhaps medical science will take greater notice of this wallflower affliction someday. Until then, here are some tried-and-true remedies that may bring temporary relief from this painful condition.
Rest is best. "The first thing you do with any joint pain is rest that thing," says Alan Bensman, M.D., a physiatrist at the Minnesota Center for Health and Rehabilitation in Minneapolis. "Stop the activity that's causing the pain and rest the joint. Forget that old sports adage about working through the pain."
Immobilize and ice. "I will generally use ice if the joint is hot to the touch," says Allan Tomson, D.C., of the Total Health Center for Natural Healing in Falls Church, Virginia. "Alternate 10 minutes of ice, 10 of rest, 10 of ice, and so on. As long as it is hot, do not apply heat to it."
Attract relief with opposites. If the pain or swelling is not terribly acute and the heat is gone, Dr. Tomson sometimes recommends cold-and-hot combination treatments—10 minutes of ice, followed by 10 minutes of heat, followed by 10 minutes of ice, and so on.
Count on some OTCs. "I would recommend using an appropriate anti-inflammatory medication, as long as you're not allergic to it," Dr. Bensman suggests. "The one I like best is aspirin. Timed-release aspirin lets you build up a level in the blood without needing to take it so often. Enteric-coated aspirin (Ecotrin and Ascriptin are two examples) is absorbed through the intestines and is good for those with ulcers. But aspirin is still one of the best things going."
Calm the pain with castor oil. The acutely painful stage of bursitis will usually recede in four or five days, but it can last longer. When the pain is no longer acute, therapy must be changed. At this point, heat replaces cold and exercise replaces immobilization.
Dr. Tomson recommends a castor oil pack, which is as simple to make as it is effective. Spread castor oil over the afflicted joint. Put cotton or wool flannel over that, then apply a heating pad. That's all.
Become a swinger. If elbow or shoulder pain is the problem, doctors recommend swinging the arm freely to relieve the ache. Exercise for only a couple of minutes at first, but do it often during the day.
"You want to maintain range of motion," says Edward Resnick, M.D., director of the Pain Control Center at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. "You don't want to get a stiff shoulder, but you don't want to overstretch it, either."
He recommends bending forward and supporting yourself with your good arm and hand on a chair. Allow the painful arm to drop downward, then swing this arm back and forth, side to side, and finally in circles both clockwise and counterclockwise.
Try a little cat tip. The importance of exercise following a bursitis attack cannot be overemphasized. Our experts all recommend stretching techniques to return full, normal movement to the joint.
An effective primary stretching motion for stiff shoulder joints is called the cat stretch. Get down on your hands and knees. Put your hands slightly forward of your head, then keep your elbows stiff as you stretch backward and come down on your heels.
"I tell people to walk their fingers up a wall in the corner," Dr. Resnick says. "The object is to try and get your armpit in the corner. That way you know you're getting effective exercise."
Take time for ten. Some say the best cure for bursitis is one capsule of time taken daily for ten days. Sometimes less time is needed, sometimes more, but time is always the active ingredient.
If all else fails, say doctors, time will heal the wound.
PANEL OF ADVISERS
Alan Bensman, M.D., is a physiatrist at the Minnesota Center for Health and Rehabilitation in Minneapolis.
Edward Resnick, M.D., is an orthopedic surgeon at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is director of the hospital's Pain Control Center.
Allan Tomson, D.C., is a chiropractor with the Total Health Center for Natural Healing in Falls Church, Virginia.
