What actually is a bursitis?
I have recently been seeing quite a few clients suffering from bursitis, but very few actually know what a bursitis is.
Now to understand a little about bursitis and why people get it you first need to know exactly what a bursae is.
A bursae is a fluid filled sac (think of them as tiny cushions), that sit underneath tendons/bones to stop the two rubbing together. Tendons are the anchor of a muscle that firmly fix it to a bone.
The tendons are very strong and therefore are under a lot of stress almost like a guitar string, therefore a bursae is necessary to ensure the tendon doesn’t always rub on the bone.
I’m sure you have all seen the films where the hero is dangling on an old rope desperately trying to climb to the top of the cliff whilst the rope gradually frays off the edge of the cliff.
Well this is exactly what would happen to the tendon if the bursae were not there to reduce this friction….So they are pretty important!. As the tendon continually rubs against the bursae during repetitive activities it can become inflamed (swollen) and this can in turn cause pain and discomfort.
The most common type of bursitis that I have been seeing the the clinic over the last few weeks is trochanteric bursitis, this is actually the bursae that sits on the outside of the hip.
If you feel down to the top of your pockets you will feel a large bony area that sticks out slightly, this is known as the greater trochanter of the hip.
This is simply an area where lots of muscle tendons anchor to, similar to a limpet attaching itself firmly onto a rock in a rock pool. Sitting just underneath these tendons is the trochanteric bursae.
With summer just around the corner and many opting to try to lose a few pounds before their holidays, which means repetitive stress injuries such as bursitis can increase.
Going from doing nothing to running or cycling for hours, not adequately stretching, warming up or cooling down can lead to muscles that are struggling with this increase in demand becoming tight, causing excess pressure on the bursae ultimately leading to pain (bursitis).
It is important for you to be properly assessed to determine wether or not it is a bursitis that is causing you the discomfort in this area.
There are various structures around this area and they need to be ruled out to identify the culprit for your discomfort so that it can be more effectively treated.
Signs of a bursitus can be:
A sharp or achey pain in the outside of your hip, (near your pocket).
Pain referring down the outside of your thigh.
Pain that is worse at night or aggravated when going from sitting to standing.
Although it can be hard to avoid bursitus occurring there are certainly precautions that can be taken to help limit the chances of you developing one:
There are a few large and very powerful hip muscle tendons that pass over the trochanteric bursae therefore if any of these muscles becomes particularly tight, more pressure will be placed on the bursae so there will be more chance of developing a bursitis.
Hip stretches particularly of the gluteal muscles and Iliotibial band can help to release this pressure.
Limit repetitive activities if you start to feel this discomfort, (aggravated by repetitive hip bending and extending motions e.g cycling, running etc).
Icing the area can help to reduce the amount of swelling and reduce pressure on the bursae.
PHYSIOTHERAPY: your physiotherapist can fully assess to ascertain the exact nature of the injury and wether other structures could be involved that need attending to.
Physiotherapy involving hands on Deep tissue massage can help to loosen the muscles around the hip to take stress off the bursae as well as other modalities that can help to ease the bursitis.
Start the summer as you want to finish it…. Fully fit!!.
Speak soon,
Jonny 🙂
And if you would like to check out any of my other blogs press here: http://www.paulgoughphysio.com/blog/jonny-corner/
You might know Paul as an expert Columnist who writes weekly health articles for TWO of the North East's biggest daily Newspapers, The Northern Echo And The Hartlepool Mail, he is a regular Speaker at Industry Seminars around the globe and a Radio Personality, often heard on the BBC. Paul has been an expert guest on dozens of Radio shows and regularly interviewed in newspapers, magazines and trade journals all over the world, including the Guardian.
Paul’s background included working extensively in the Premier League with a Top Professional Football Team, and since quitting his job in Professional Football in 2007, his Physio Practice has become the fastest growing in the UK and biggest in the North East. So successful, that companies like BUPA, ASDA, The Vela Group And Coast & Country, repeatedly retain his Physio company's services to keep healthy their own staff and workforce. Paul Gough Physio Rooms is now a large multi-physio, multi clinic speciality practice in Darlington, Durham, Guisborough and Hartlepool.
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