What is knee bursitis? This is an inflammatory process covering different parts of the knee. Pathology can affect one or more articular cavities, depending on the place of friction and pressure. Diseases can be affected by both adults and children. But why this happens and how to treat knee bursitis at home, we will understand below. This information can be useful to everyone.
What is bursitis of the knee joint
Bursa is a periarticular sac that plays an extremely important role in the joint. It is she who isolates the joint and protects it from the harmful effects. Inside the knee there are several such structures. Due to them, the cartilage, despite the constant friction between each other, does not wear out for a long time, and the mutual pressure between the bones does not lead to injuries.
If one of these bags becomes inflamed for some reason, exudate accumulates in the joint - a special fluid that contains blood and various bacteria. This is what knee bursitis is. Patients with this diagnosis are frequent clinic visitors.
Knee bursitis most often occurs in people who spend whole days on their feet. These are usually service workers, such as waiters, hairdressers, salespeople, and cleaning staff. Often, pathology occurs among athletes, especially those who incorrectly distribute the load on the leg muscles. As for children, bursitis often appears due to a deficiency of vitamins D, C and serious damage.
Is it possible to get rid of the problem with medications and whether surgery is necessary depends on the form and neglect of the disease.
Causes of the disease
All kinds of injuries are considered the most common factors leading to the development of a problem: bruises, cuts, cracks, sprains. In this case, it is possible to develop both bursitis and synovitis of the knee joint - inflammation of the synovial membrane, which proceeds with a similar clinical picture.
In addition to injuries, the disease can appear for other reasons:
- arthrosis, arthritis;
- lupus erythematosus;
- rheumatism;
- strong compression of the joint;
- prolonged physical activity;
- infection of other parts of the body;
- gout;
- avitaminosis;
- allergic reaction;
- psoriasis;
- severe poisoning;
- interruptions in metabolic processes, salt deposition;
- hormonal disorders, especially in women during menopause.
Among other things, bursitis of the knee joint can occur in people leading an active lifestyle without rest.
Types of disease
Doctors divide bursitis into several types, depending on localization.
- Front - inflammation covers the area above the patella. It is this type that is found most often. The main reason for this pathology is damage to the knee.
- Popliteal - in this case, the joint bag located under the knee becomes inflamed. The problem appears with tendon injuries and sprains. Popliteal bursitis is often found among athletes who train too often.
- Goose - the posterior articular bag and the knee fossa are involved in the inflammatory process. The disease appears with increased loads on the knee in people with extra pounds, especially often in women.
Depending on the type of inflammatory fluid that forms in the area of the damaged bursa, the pathology is divided by doctors into several types:
- purulent - occurs due to the attachment of a secondary infection;
- serous - appears against the background of other diseases;
- hemorrhagic - characterized by the presence of clots in the fluid.
By the nature of the course, bursitis can be:
- subacute;
- sharp
- recurrent;
- chronic.
The latter form of the disease can develop completely asymptomatically against the background of arthrosis or arthritis. The acute form of bursitis arises due to mechanical damage and is accompanied by severe, unbearable pain during extension and bending of the knee.
Symptoms of the disease
Photos with symptoms of bursitis of the knee joint allow you to visually determine the presence of pathology. As you can see, visually defect manifests itself only as redness and swelling. But the internal symptoms can vary significantly.
You can see the external manifestations of the disease in the proposed photos. Symptoms and treatment of bursitis of the knee joint are interrelated concepts. Therapy begins with the elimination of external and internal signs.
In chronic disease, pronounced signs are practically absent. Minor pain can overtake a person only after physical exertion or prolonged walking. But during the period of exacerbation, the clinical picture suddenly changes: the volume of exudate in the inflamed bag increases, swelling, redness occurs.
Gradually, the synovial membrane of the bag becomes dense, cysts form inside, as a result of which it becomes difficult for a person to bend and bend the knee. With this form, bursitis does not require surgical intervention.
How is it different from synovitis? Remember: with bursitis, only the damaged area swells, while the swelling itself can be very slight and not cause much discomfort. But with synovitis, the symptoms are more pronounced: the entire joint swells up to the soft tissues. The swelling rapidly increases in size, although it does not cause severe pain. Bursitis and synovitis of the knee joint are very similar pathologies and it is very difficult to distinguish them to a simple person. But the specialist can easily identify the differences.
In the acute form, other symptoms of bursitis of the knee joint appear (pictured). In this case, treatment should be immediate, because the clinical picture intensifies significantly.
The patient is faced with such manifestations of the disease:
- pain in an inflamed place, worse at night;
- painful swelling;
- fever.
Pain can be given to the area of the foot, lower leg and even the hip joint. In such a situation, treatment should be started as early as possible. After all, due to untimely therapy, the pathology can go into a chronic form.
With a subacute course, the disease is characterized by the appearance of reverse symptoms. This clinical picture appears during treatment.
Against the background of serous and purulent bursitis, symptoms of intoxication may additionally occur:
- severe weakness;
- nausea;
- chills;
- migraine;
- bad feeling;
- fever;
- lack of appetite.
In this case, the patient needs urgent treatment.
The photo shows the symptoms of knee bursitis - if they are found, you should immediately consult a doctor.
Diagnostics
In this case, the orthopedist, traumatologist and therapist are involved in determining the diagnosis. To begin with, a specialist collects all the necessary medical history and examines the patient.
Then the doctor prescribes a complex of examinations to the patient, which includes:
- roentgenography;
- blood analysis;
- ultrasonography;
- MRI
To determine the form of bursitis, a specialist can prescribe a puncture to the patient.
For accurate confirmation of the alleged diagnosis and differential diagnosis of bursitis of the knee joint with synovitis, osteomyelitis and arthrosis, CT arthrography of the damaged area is recommended. Such a study provides a complete clinical picture of the disease, in contrast to conventional ultrasound and x-rays.
Sometimes, to detect bursitis, the doctor sends the patient to other narrow specialists - an immunologist or endocrinologist. After conducting all examinations, the doctor selects the appropriate treatment tactics.
What is dangerous pathology
During the diagnosis, doctors always determine the type of bursitis in order to understand what a person should expect in the future and how to prevent the development of dangerous complications.
- With the serous form of the disease, patients suffer from swelling and pain, but there is no risk of damage to nearby tissues. The best solution in this situation will be medication.
- Purulent bursitis of the knee joint provokes general malaise and fever. The inflammatory process in this case is fraught with rupture of the bursa with subsequent infection of the entire joint. Without antibiotics, it is impossible to cope with such a disease.
- With the calcareous form, deviations in metabolic processes lead to saturation of the synovial fluid with calcium. Deposits will gradually cause inflammation and will interfere with movement. If the medications are ineffective, lime formations will have to be eliminated through small incisions, that is, surgically.
How to cure knee bursitis
Therapy for patients with such a diagnosis necessarily involves the implementation of several recommendations:
- minimal mobility and complete rest;
- the use of ointments that stop the manifestations of inflammation and pain;
- glucosamine;
- the use of compresses.
In addition, sometimes patients are allowed to use alternative means. But this can only be done after agreeing on the recipes with your doctor.
Drug therapy
With inflammation of the bursa, the doctor may prescribe drugs for oral administration, namely:
- Ketoprofen;
- Ibuprofen
- Diclofenac.
If the patient has a convulsive syndrome, Diazepam or Baclofen may be prescribed.
If a person feels severe pain that cannot be tolerated, injections of corticosteroids help relieve the condition. Penicillin preparations are used for effective antibacterial treatment.
With drug treatment of bursitis of the knee joint, steroid hormones are very much in demand, which are injected directly into the joint bag. Such drugs effectively eliminate the inflammatory process.
Effective ointments
What is knee bursitis? This is an inflammatory pathology that affects the knee. This disease is usually treatable without surgery. At the same time, ointments that can be found in any pharmacy perfectly help:
- "Camphor ointment";
- Fastum
- Alizatron;
- "Vishnevsky ointment";
- Voltaren;
- "Indovazin";
- Diclofenac
- "Ichthyol ointment."
It is only important to know that such ointments cannot be used during exacerbations of the disease.
Alternative medicine
Treatment of bursitis of the knee joint with folk remedies is allowed only after passing the entire diagnosis. The doctor must determine the exact diagnosis and choose the optimal treatment tactics. With it, you also need to discuss folk recipes that you are going to use.
Some drugs are actually able to quickly stop pain and relieve swelling. The most effective for this disease are: Kalanchoe, St. John's wort, cabbage, propolis, yarrow and burdock.
In addition, with the diagnosis of "bursitis of the knee composition" it is equally important to change your diet. You need to add as many foods rich in vitamins E, A, C and zinc as possible to the menu.
For the treatment of bursitis of the knee joint with folk remedies, herbal medicines intended for oral administration are used.
- A spoonful of poplar buds, pour a glass of boiling water, let the liquid brew. Wait for the product to cool. Take the medicine should be a tablespoon 3 times a day.
- Spoon a burdock with a glass of boiling water and let it brew. Strain the product through gauze or a sieve, after which start taking 50 ml 3 times a day before meals.
- A spoonful of hypericum pour 0.5 liters of vodka and leave for 2 weeks. Then pass the product through cheesecloth and take 30 ml three times a day. Before use, you can add a little water to the medicine.
- Pour half a spoonful of willow bark with a glass of boiling water and leave for half an hour. Take this medicine three times a day for 15 ml.
- Melt the package of butter in a microwave or in a water bath, add 10-15 g of propolis to it and mix thoroughly. Take this remedy should be 10 ml 3 times during the day.
Using compresses
What are the symptoms of this disease? For the most part, this is soreness, swelling and redness - you can see the characteristic signs in the photo proposed in the article. Treatment of bursitis of the knee joint begins with the elimination of these unpleasant symptoms. In this case, special compresses come to the rescue.
- Burdock. The course of treatment involves 20 procedures. Arranging sessions is best in the evenings. In the acute form of the disease, the use of compresses is prohibited. Half a spoonful of burdock, pour a glass of boiling water, put on the stove and cook for 10 minutes. Cool the finished product and pass through a sieve. Moisten the cheesecloth in the prepared broth and place it on the affected areas. Wrap the knee with a film and something warm, for example, a scarf. It will be possible to remove the compress after 2 hours.
- Kalanchoe. The course of treatment is a week. Send a few leaves of the plant for a couple of days in the refrigerator. Then take them out and gently beat off with a hammer or spoon. Immediately after that, apply leaves to painful places, wrap gauze over the knee on top. After 3-4 hours, remove the compress.
- Cabbage. The therapeutic course should last a week. To make such a compress is very simple: beat off a few cabbage leaves with a hammer and attach to a damaged place. Secure with gauze or bandage. After the leaves are completely dry, change them.
- Potatoes. Cut the peeled root crop into thin slices and place them on the inflamed joint. Wrap the knee with foil and a warm scarf. It is advisable to do such compresses every day in the evenings.
- Golden mustache. Squeeze a little juice from a fresh plant, add water to it in proportions 1: 1. Moisten gauze in the prepared solution and wrap around the knee. Secure the compress with a bandage. Such sessions with bursitis are recommended to be done every day for a month.
- Propolis. Mix a glass of vodka with a spoon of propolis, leave the product for a week to insist. Arrange therapeutic sessions preferably within a week.
- Sugar. Heat a little refined sugar in a pan, but so that it does not dissolve. Pour the hot sand into a fabric bag and fix the heating pad on the damaged knee with a bandage or scarf. Leave this compress overnight. Repeating the procedure is recommended every day.
Relapse prevention
Treatment of bursitis can not do without preventive measures.
To prevent the recurrence of the disease, doctors advise you to follow a few simple rules:
- do not stop the prescribed therapy earlier than necessary;
- avoid severe hypothermia of the injured leg;
- constantly monitor physical activity;
- engage in therapeutic exercises;
- stick to the doctor’s recommendations.
Conclusion
Bursitis of the knee joint is a disease that can lead to a lot of unpleasant consequences - abscess, osteomyelitis, scar formation. So you can’t delay his treatment.
In the early stages, doctors prefer to resort to gentle treatment methods. Most often, for successful treatment, the use of special ointments, painkillers and healing compresses is sufficient. Surgery for bursitis of the knee joint is used only in advanced severe cases.