Suffering from Bursitis Knee Symptoms? Learn How Pain Management Improves Your Condition

Your new spring and summer gardening hobby is making your house the most attractive on the block. The flower beds are perfectly groomed and mulched, your edging is sharp and crisp, and nary a weed is found on your expertly manicured lawn. The only downside is all of this kneeling and maintenance is leaving your knee feeling hot, swollen, and painful. While you normally look forward to spending time outside, this recent knee pain is making you consider hiring a landscaping company to cover your slack. What is the cause of your knee pain, and what can be done to fix it?

Due to the repeated kneeling required to weed and garden, you may have bursitis knee symptoms. What is bursitis? Bursitis is a condition where the fluid-filled sacs called bursae in your knee become inflamed. This condition commonly occurs over your kneecap or your inner knee. How can you find relief? Contact Pain Treatment Specialists and schedule a consultation with one of their Harvard-trained knee pain specialists. During your appointment, you’ll receive the proper diagnosis and treatment plan for your knee pain, which includes the use of minimally invasive knee pain treatments. Our pain specialists only utilize conservative treatments for knee pain, and do not recommend surgery unless it is medically necessary. Instead of calling a landscaping company to complete tasks you enjoy, call Pain Treatment Specialists and find out how you can get back to your happy place.

During your consultation with Pain Treatment Specialists, you’ll be asked to describe the type of knee pain you’re experiencing. This helps your knee pain specialist determine the cause of your pain and provide an accurate diagnosis. Some common bursitis knee symptoms include:

• Inner knee bone pain
• Your knee hurts and feels warm
• Swelling on the outside of the knee
• Sharp pain in the knee when kneeling
• Knee pain on the interior side
• Swelling on the outside of the knee
• Top inner knee pain

You may have some of these symptoms if you’re suffering from bursitis. Your knee pain doctor will also examine your range of motion, complete a gentle physical examination, and may ask to see your gait. If needed, additional images are ordered to pinpoint the exact cause of your knee pain. Bursitis is also known as “plumber’s knee” because one of the primary causes of this condition is prolonged kneeling. Professions or hobbies that require a lot of kneeling (like gardening!) inflame your knee’s bursa and create this painful condition.

Contact the team at Pain Treatment Specialists and understand the root cause of your knee pain, as well as the best treatment options.

Many people avoid treating their knee pain and swelling because they fear that surgery is the only option for pain relief. However, there are several minimally invasive treatments that are effective for knee bursitis pain that reduce inflammation and warmth.

Corticosteroid injections deliver powerful anti-inflammatory relief to your bursa. Your knee pain specialist uses a needle and injects a corticosteroid into your affected bursa, which greatly reduces pain and swelling. The only side effect to this minimally invasive treatment is soreness at the site of injection. You’ll be up and moving later the same day and can return to work and other activities as soon as you feel up to it.

Physical therapy is often used in conjunction with pain medicine to provide long-lasting pain relief and also preventative tools. Your physical therapist is trained in exercise science, and knows which movements and stretches relieve the pain and swelling caused by bursitis. Additional heat and cold therapies may be used to manage your pain. You’ll also learn how to avoid future occurrences of bursitis by creating healthy kneeling habits during your PT sessions.

Being mindful of how much you’re kneeling is one way to curb future occurrences of knee bursitis pain. When you’re gardening, use knee pads or a cushion when you’re on the ground to soften the surface beneath you. Set a timer on your phone and take breaks every 15-20 minutes to get up and walk around before you become too engrossed in a task and forget to move. If you begin to feel knee pain, stop your task and begin the RICE process. RICE stands for:

• REST: rest your knee from the activity that was causing pain. Stay away from this activity for a couple of days to give your knee a break.
• ICE: ice your knee in 20-minute intervals to reduce swelling. You can alternate with heat therapy or hot showers if that feels good.
• COMPRESS: use a bandage or brace to compress your knee for additional support. This also helps bring down swelling.
• ELEVATE: use a pillow or chair to elevate your knee whenever possible. If you can tolerate sleeping on your back, use a pillow to prop up your knee overnight.

You can also use over-the-counter pain medicines such as ibuprofen or aspirin to reduce your knee pain and swelling.

Don’t let your new passion for gardening get derailed by bursitis knee pain! Schedule an appointment at Pain Treatment Specialists and maintain your home’s newfound curb appeal.