The bursae are small fleshy sacks filled with fluid that help our joints move smoothly and absorb shock. If you think of bursa as a zip lock bag with a small amount of oil inside and no air and then rub it between your hands, your hands will easily slide against each other and this is how bursa work. There are about 160 individual bursa in your body and they are found near your joints where muscle and tendon slide against each other and over your bones, without bursa your joints would creek and grate within.
Like many other musculo-skeletal problems in the body bursitis is often age related and seems to effect women more often than men. The symptoms of bursitis may include swelling and inflammation in your joint but the main one is pain that is made worse when you press against it. Bursitis is not like that “good pain” feeling that you get when a stiff muscle is rubbed, it is aversive to the touch. Bursitis may feel like arthritis but strictly speaking it is not because it does not primarily effect the joint capsule.
Because bursitis can be age related it may manifest with other musculo-skeletal diseases, so if you doctor has told you that you have it but your symptoms are slightly different from those described here that might be why.
Bursitis is caused by repetative strain injuries, cumulative muscle micro trauma, having one leg shorter than the other, arthritis, standing for long periods, accidental trauma and poor posture. Good old fashion neglect won’t help you either, being generally unfit will not help your bursitis nor will poor water consumption.
When your bursitis is very acute doing any exercise may be painful but when you are in your normal day to day living with bursitis routine, regular stretching exercise is a great idea. Ultra-sound, friction massage, ice packs (4-5 times a day), rest and anti-inflammatories can all help relieve the symptoms of bursitis.
In serious cases of bursitis that do not respond well to other measures, fluid may be aspirated via a needle to relieve pressure inside your effected joint. This type of therapy can be effective thougfh a little on the uncomfortable side, if you try the gentler options first aspiration may be unnecessary.
I have always found massage to be effective on bursitis (Self Massage too), not so much on where the bursitis pain is actually felt but the muscle attached to the particular tendon that the bursae is cushioning. For instance when a person has hip bursitis you will find thigh muscles not far from the pain site that need to be loosened and stretched. Bursitis usually results from the over use of particular muscles.