Shoulder Bursitis Treatment Kansas City, MO

Types of Shoulder Bursitis

• Chronic – Chronic shoulder bursitis can be caused by repeated accidents or episodes of acute bursitis. It’s the most common kind of bursitis in the shoulder. This ongoing inflammation can make your arms and shoulders weaker over time
• Acute – This kind comes on quickly, usually because of an accident or injury, and it hurts to touch or move the shoulder
• Infectious – In rare cases, infectious shoulder bursitis can be caused by bacterial illnesses like staph infections. The shoulder may be red or black and feel warm to the touch, and you might feel sick and have a fever with a lot of shoulder pain

Shoulder Bursitis Symptoms

Bursitis can cause shoulder pain that comes on quickly or slowly. You might feel a dull ache, a sharp pain, or just a little soreness.

Other signs of bursitis in the shoulder are:

• Shoulder pain or a feeling that the shoulder is swollen
• It hurts to move around
• Pain at night when sleeping on the bad side
• Sharp or biting pain when the shoulder is moved up and down

What Causes Shoulder Bursitis?

Most of the time, bursitis happens in the shoulder, but it can happen in any joint. Shoulder bursitis is often caused by overuse or doing the same arm movements over and over again.

When you do things overhead, bones and muscles rub against each other more. This constant rubbing can make bursae swell up and hurt.

Shoulder Bursitis Treatment

Shoulder bursitis is treated by relieving inflammation, pain, and other symptoms. Most people find relief from their symptoms with the following non-surgical treatments:

• For a couple of months, pain and stiffness can be eased with steroid injections into the bursa
• Exercises used in physical therapy to strengthen weak muscles and increase the range of motion
• Antibiotics can get rid of the bacteria that cause infectious bursitis
• Stop doing things that hurt the shoulder for a while
• Use ice packs to reduce swelling
• Pain relievers and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory meds like ibuprofen can help relieve pain and inflammation

If your shoulder pain gets worse or doesn’t get better with non-surgical treatments, your doctor may suggest shoulder surgery.

During surgery, your surgeon will remove:

• Tissue damage that pushes on the bursae and makes them sore
• Inflamed bursae, in order to make room for tendons and bones in the joint to move around more freely