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Bursitis – Diagnosis and Treatments

Bursitis is an excruciating internal swelling that happens in a small, fluid-filled sac known as the bursa. The bursa is located in almost every part of your body; however, bursitis mostly happens in the joints area, areas in the body where bones would rub on the muscle, the skin or the tendons. The common areas of the body where bursitis would occur include knees, feet, elbows, shoulders, buttocks, and hips. Bursitis mainly occurs when there is overuse of these common areas or constant repetitive motion of the joint that could cause pressure in the region. Excess pressure is what causes the swelling.

Diagnosis

The diagnosis of bursitis is carried out by your health care provider or your doctor. They would, first of all, ask you questions about the pain, where exactly it is felt, and some other necessary information you can provide about it and then do a physical exam. This may be enough for them to rule out what the possible cause of it may be and make their prescription or know the next step to take. Suppose the physical exam brings out a result that shows that the bursitis is not a minor problem and that it has either been infected or has resulted in another bursitis flare-up. In that case, the doctor may then recommend some other diagnostic test.

Some other diagnostic tests that could be performed to rule out bursitis include:

Aspiration/ Fluid test

A fluid test is also a form of laboratory test the doctor can take if bursitis persists. The fluid is gotten from the inflamed bursa and taken to the laboratory to be tested on. Just like the blood test, fluid is also taken to check if bursitis has been infected.

It is significant other different possibilities of injuries that could seem like bursitis is ruled out before making a diagnosis for bursitis. Injuries like muscle injuries, joint injuries, and internal bleeding need to be ruled out.