14 Home Remedies For Bursitis Symptom Treatment

updated: 06/21/2019

Shoulder pain is a common symptom of many different diseases, including bursitis. If not treated at the root, these shoulder pain not only makes the patient fatigue, but also seriously affect the quality of their life. Pain relievers temporarily soothe the pain but cannot cure the pain thoroughly. Accurate diagnosis and correct treatment is the best solution to cure the root cause.

Are you worrying about the shoulder pain caused by bursitis? You do not know how to get rid of this problem? Don’t worry, the following article will help you. In this article, we will provide you with home remedies for bursitis in shoulder. These remedies are very simple and effective, and they can be done right at your home. However, before that, let’s get to know some basic information about this problem.

What Is Bursitis?

Bursitis occurs due to injury in the bursa of the shoulder. Bursa is the fluid-filled sacs found in the joints. The bursa is a small bag filled with oily fluid, located between the bones, ligaments and muscles. They serve as pads, which help the joints move easily. A bursa lying between the bones and the opposite face (e.g. skin) is like a small water ball with only a few drops of liquid in it. When you have bursitis, the bursa will become inflamed and irritated. It usually lasts only a few days to a week, but it can also last for months or even years, making it difficult for people to experience movement.

Bursitis occurs when the synovial fluid is inflamed. It usually occurs near the joint making repeated repetitive movements. This problem is usually caused by repetitive movements or by injury. These effects stimulate the bursa, which in turn causes inflammation. Other conditions, such as arthritis, gout or inflammation, are also responsible for bursitis. The most common sites that are often inflamed are the elbows, shoulders and hips. But there may also be inflammation of the heel, knee and root of the toe.

Bursitis usually occurs in joints that require frequent movement. It tends to recur after treatment, unless the cause is prevented. In addition to inflammation of the ligaments or arthritis, bursitis is also a common osteoarthritis, especially for athletes or those who usually do heavy work.

The symptoms of this problem are almost similar to arthritis or inflammation of the ligaments with swelling, redness, and pain in the joints. Therefore, in order to diagnose the disease, you need expert examination and testing ^[1] [2].

What Are Common Causes Of Bursitis?

Excessive movement and direct injury to the joints are common causes of bursitis. Joint injuries can happen when you play sports (weightlifting, volleyball, football, badminton …), lift heavy objects, or when you do many manual works (such as scouring the floor …). In addition, conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, gout, thyroid disease, and diabetes may also be responsible for the inflammation of the bursa. The elderly are very susceptible to bursitis because in older people, their bones become aging and lose their strength, becoming weakened. In addition, there are many factors that facilitate the inflammation of the bursa such as sitting for many hours repeatedly for a long time on a hard (months, years), or affecting the elbow joint for a long time (occupational disease).

Daily diet affects the arthritis system very seriously, many people have thoughts: eating problems do not affect the bone, but in fact it is an important factor to protect the joints. Proper daily diet helps strengthen joints, restores joint cartilage protection, lubricates and nourishes joints. The loss of nutrients in the joints also affects the regeneration of bone cells faster. Lead to early degeneration can take place. You also know that early deterioration makes the person vulnerable to bursitis.

Irregular exercise can also cause bursitis. This will accelerate the progression of osteoarthritis. Irregular exercise leads to a series of dangerous diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and obesity, especially osteoarthritis such as arthritis and neck pain ^[3] [4]

What Are Common Symptoms Of Bursitis?

In general, bursa of the joints can be inflamed, but the bursa of the shoulder joint, hip, knee joint, elbow joint, ankle, and toe are more likely to be contracted than other joints. Symptoms of synovial inflammation include fairly swollen, hot, red, painful and stiff joints that make it difficult for the patient to move ^[5].

The pain will increase when the patient move or when they touch the bursa in the joints. In addition, patients may see bruises or rashes in the arthritic joints. They may also have a fever (acute arthritis). Some cases of severe disease will be more complicated (high fever, severe swelling …). Then, the patient will suffer very severe pain.

In addition to the symptoms listed above, along with a history of illness (gout, diabetes, thyroid disease, etc.), you need an X-ray and ultrasound joints to know the condition of joints and bursa. It is best to have a computerized tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), as well as a blood test ^[6].

Who Is At High Risk Of This Problem?

Anyone can get bursitis. Sports athletes (weightlifting, volleyball, football, badminton …), patients with gout, diabetes, kidney,…, and those who have to do more hard work have a higher risk of disease than others.

When To See A Doctor?

Doctors usually can diagnose bursitis based on a medical history of the patient and a physical examination. If further testing is needed, it is possible to experience:

• Image inspection: Radiology may not positively diagnose bursitis, but may help eliminate other causes of this discomfort. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or ultrasound can be used if bursitis can be easily diagnosed.
• Test: Your doctor may perform blood tests or fluid analysis from the inflamed bursa to determine the cause of inflammation and joint pain.

Bursitis is not a serious disease but if not properly treated, it can also be severe. You should contact your doctor immediately if:

• The pain lasts more than a week without improving
• Excessive swelling, redness, bruising or rash in the affected area
• Sudden pain, especially when exercising
• Have symptoms of fever

The above is the basic information about bursitis which can give you a general overview about this problem. As we continue to emphasize in other articles that no matter what disease you have, the treatment of the disease still needs to be done as soon as possible. Here, we will help you do that. With the home remedies for bursitis that we present below, it's likely that your condition will improve over time. It is time to find out what the best natural home remedies for bursitis symptom treatment are. Take a look at TrueRemedies.com!

Top 14 Natural Home Remedies For Bursitis Treatment

1. Change Some Habits

Among home remedies for bursitis, changing some habits is one of the most effective. For the prevention or treatment of bursitis, in labor and daily living, we should do the followings:

• Do not carry heavy objects to prevent pressure on the bursa at the shoulder joint.
• Use knee pads when kneeling to relieve pressure on the bursa at the knee joints.
• When standing up or sitting down, remember to stretch your knees to avoid increasing pressure on the hip bursa.
• Take reasonable breaks when you have to work for a long time.
• Avoid sitting for too long, especially on hard surfaces. Help bursas at the buttock and hip joints not to be under pressure by walking lightly.
• Avoid weight gain and obesity to reduce pressure on joints.
• Exercise regularly. Strengthening the muscles can help protect the affected joints.
• Start your body before doing strenuous exercise or playing sports to protect your joints.

2. Do Not Abuse Painkillers

This is another must-try home treatment in this list of home remedies for bursitis. One common problem that I want to give all of you is the abuse of painkiller medication to reduce the pain caused by bursitis. Painkillers only fool the sensation immediately but cannot cure the disease. After a while, the body gets used to the painkiller medication and the condition will become worse.

Nowadays, many people suffer from arthritis pain but they only focus on finding ways to relieve pain, and often ignore the reason for the pain and find the ways to treat such pain thoroughly. Therefore, patients feel pain relief after taking the drug, but the disease is progressively worse, making the condition gradually becomes dangerous and difficult to treat.

Many studies in the world have shown that the use of painkiller medication only has the effect of relieving pain in an instant, while bursitis still continues to occur. This even speeds up the inflammation process of the bursa. Not only that, the patient also faces countless side effects of the drug.

Some drugs that are abused will cause many side effects such as gastrointestinal bleeding, liver damage, and kidney failure. This affects the cartilage function that causes joint damage later.

In many cases patients with bursitis use drugs that contain corticosteroids 4-6 tablets per day, they take 2 tablets in the morning, in the afternoon, and even in the evening. At the same time, the medical community advises that if possible, patients should avoid taking the painkillers or use the lowest dose (but still be effective)and take a single dose in the morning to limit the adverse effects of anti-inflammatory or painkiller medication on the patient.

Patients who take anti-inflammatory or painkiller drugs for a number of days may have an increased risk of dying from a stroke or myocardial infarction than those who are less likely to use these drugs. So instead of taking painkiller medicine, you should recover your joint and bursa health in a safer way, which is to add essential nutrients as recommended by the specialist.

3. Cold Compress

This remedy is one of little – known home remedies for bursitis treatment that we want to mention in this article. In case of pain caused by bursitis, depending on the severity of the lesions, during the first 24-72 hours, the lesion area should be completely fixed to perform measures such as cold compress ^[7].

Cold compress on the trauma area is used as a stand-alone method. This remedy is in the process of treating ordinary traumas and treating sports injuries. This method is simple but the results that it brings will make you surprised. Cold compress works to increase the size of the muscle fibers, make the blood vessels shrink, reduce blood flow in the lesions leading to reduced edema and pain. Cold compress relieves muscle spasms to improve circulation and, as a result, reduces metabolic disorders in the injured area.

For maximum effectiveness, the cold compress should be taken in the first few minutes after injury. In the first 48-72 hours, the ice cream should be taken regularly. Each session lasts from 15-20 minutes, the time between the two sessions is about 120-180 minutes (in the first 24 hours, you should be conducted more often, the break between the two session is about 30-60 minutes). Depending on the severity of the injury, this remedy may be applied until the seventh day after the injury with a decreased frequency.

Note that in the first 72 hours after injury, do not use any method or substance (including hot water bath), do not massage the trauma area, and do not drink alcohol. All of this will make the bursitis problem more severe.

4. Eat Some Specific Foods

This is the next treatment in this list of home remedies for bursitis. The condition of bursitis always makes the patient have many difficulties in daily activities. To alleviate this condition, the patient needs to have a reasonable diet to supplement the body with the necessary nutrients. In addition, proper diet also plays an important role in improving the condition and the treatment of bursitis.

Here are the foods that patients with bursitis should enhance their consumption:

• Green Tea

For older people, especially for those with osteoarthritis, drinking green tea is a daily routine. Patients suffering from bursitis should drink green tea and other herbal teas because these types of tea have the effect of helping our bodies to be purified. In addition, they also make our body more resistant to inflammation. You can drink these teas every day. If you do not like drinking green tea, you can just drink 1 cup a day, besides, you also need to add enough water for the body.

• Meats

Patients with bursitis should eat meat, especially fish that are rich in omega 3 and omega 6 such as salmon, tuna, and mackerel. They also should eat other types of meat such as pork, and chicken. The nutrients that these meats provide are very good for bursitis patients. However, you should not eat too much meat, just eat a sufficient amount to get enough nutrients every day.

• Eggs

Eggs are considered a very good food for bursitis patients. Eggs are also widely used in everyday meals, as it is convenient and easy to cook. Boiled eggs are especially good for people with bursitis.

• Vegetables

People with bursitis should eat lots of vegetables as they are good for bursitis. Not only that, they also help increase our resistance against many diseases. People with bursitis should eat a lot of vegetables with dark green leafy vegetables such as broccoli and orange varieties such as pumpkin. However, do not eat vegetables like tomatoes and potatoes because they are not good for the bursitis patient. Besides, spices such as onions and garlic are good for them, so you should usually use them to process the foods.

• Fruits

Many people like to eat fruit because they are good for health. However, not all fruits are good for patients with bursitis, especially those with high sugar content such as bananas, peaches, oranges, pineapples, pears, and watermelons. Patients should eat fruits rich in vitamin C such as grapefruit, lemon, kiwi and berries.

5. Limit Consumption Of Certain Foods

Besides eating more some of foods mentioned above, you also need to reduce your intake of some of the following foods so as not to aggravate your condition:

• Salt

Salt is a spice that should not be used in dishes intended for patients with bursitis because it is very toxic and makes the disease more and more severe. Therefore, bursitis patients should not eat salty foods. If you want to use salt, you should use just sufficient amount to taste. In addition, patients should not use fast food such as cakes and candy.

• Coffee

This is a popular drink of many men. Drinking coffee has become a habit for many people when they are tired. With coffee, they can stay awake and work better. However, for people with bursitis, coffee consumption should be limited because caffeine in coffee is not good for them.

• Soda

Bursitis patients should not drink soda water as it will make the pain worse. Although this is a favorite drink of some people, especially young people, it is not for people with osteoarthritis.

• Flour

For people with bursitis, foods made from wheat flour are a toxic substance as it will aggravate the symptoms of arthritis if they use it for a long time.

• Milk

Milk and dairy products such as cheese are also the foods that should not be used by people with bursitis.

6. Apple Cider Vinegar

This sounds strange when it comes to home remedies for bursitis treatment, but it works. According to Naturalnews, apple cider vinegar is rich in potassium. As you know, without the potassium, the joint becomes hard and inflammatory, making the joints bursa very easy to inflammation. High levels of potassium in apple cider vinegar help remove toxins to maintain flexibility and elasticity of joints.

Apple cider vinegar also contains other nutrients that help the body reduce the risk of bursitis, such as sulfur, iron, phosphorus, copper, sodium, fluoride, and silicon. It is also rich in enzymes that promote the uptake of essential nutrients for healthy joints. Apple cider vinegar also contains rich antioxidants and natural acids (malic acid, acetic acid, and lactic acid). Antioxidants block the harmful effects of free radicals, preventing osteoarthritis. Natural acids help balance the acid levels in the digestive system to improve digestion and prevent bacterial growth.

To apply this remedy, please follow these steps below:

• Prepare one teaspoon of fresh apple cider vinegar, one teaspoon of honey, and a glass of warm water
• Mix them together
• Drink this mixture 2-3 times a day, preferably before eating

You can do this remedy often because apart from helping to reduce pain caused by bursitis, apple cider vinegar is good for overall health.

7. Ginger

This is one of the little-known home remedies for bursitis treatment. Ginger is one of the most popular spices. On the other hand, the ingredients of ginger also make it a very useful remedy for patients with bursitis. Ginger is used to relieve the pain caused by bursitis. Ginger is anti-inflammatory and you can use it to treat osteoarthritis. Chemical components in ginger help inhibit the biosynthesis of inflammatory prostaglandins.

To apply this remedy, please follow these steps below:

• Prepare 1 fresh ginger and a glass of water
• Give 2-3 slices of fresh ginger to water and boil for about 10 minutes to have ginger tea
• Then let it cool and drink

You can add a few drops of lemon or honey for easy drinking. Drink this tea 1-2 times a day to get the best results. Do not use high-dose ginger tea for several days for people with diabetes or heart disease, and pregnant women.

8. Turmeric

The next one in this of home remedies for bursitis treatment is using turmeric. Turmeric has a very high content of curcumin. Curcumin with a particularly high content (1200mg – 4800mg) acts as an analgesic and natural anti-inflammatory. Curcumin inhibits cyclooxygenase, lipooxygenase, NO and proinflammatory cytokines such as IL1, IL6, IL8, so curcumin has anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant activity. This is what patients with bursitis need.

To apply this remedy, please follow these steps below:

• Prepare one teaspoon of turmeric powder and a glass of warm milk
• Put turmeric powder into warm milk, stir well
• Drink this milk at night before you go to bed

Drinking this milk can help you quickly reduce pain caused by bursitis. It also helps you get a good night's sleep.

9. Lemon Shells

This is one of the little-known home remedies for bursitis. Lemon shells are something people often throw away after squeezing lemons for juice. However, research has shown that they are useful for treating bursitis. We have heard of lemons as a fruit with many uses, which is called one of the most desirable ingredients. Rich in antioxidants and vitamin C, lemons are used to treat a number of health-related problems such as common colds, indigestion, or bacterial infections. In addition to Vitamin C, lemon peels also contain substances such as citric acid, formic acid, and pectin. They act as anti-inflammatory agents that help to reduce the pain caused by bursitis.

To apply this remedy, please follow these steps below:

• Prepare a few lemons
• Remove a thin layer of lemon peel to have lemon peel powder
• Apply all of the lemon peel powder over the affected area, and then use gauze to fix them
• After 2-3 hours, you can remove them

Apply this remedy whenever you feel the pain caused by bursitis is abusing you. Sure this effect that this simple remedy brings you will make you surprised.

10. Garlic

Using garlic is the last remedy in this list of home remedies for bursitis. Scientific studies have shown that garlic works very well in the treatment of bursitis. That's because garlic contains antioxidants and anti-inflammatory substances.

Diallyl disulfide present in garlic can help prevent damage to the bursa of the joint. In addition, it also contains substances such as selenium to help our body prevent bursitis effectively. For these reasons, regularly add garlic to your dishes to add flavor to them, while preventing bursitis or supporting the treatment of this disease.

11. Stretch And Move The Area

It may seem counterintuitive when it comes to home remedies for bursitis, but it is necessary to stretch and move the area to keep the joints limber, maintain mobility. This helps to accelerate the healing process in most cases. Initially, you should let your bursitis pain subside a little bit, yet then you had better stay active in order to lessen stiffness, inflammation and pain once you can get moving again.

In accordance with the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, if you exercise and stretch gently the area on your own or with the help of a physical therapist, then it can speed up the healing time.

It is particularly helpful when combined this tip with other home remedies for bursitis like massage therapy, heating, cold compress, essential rubs, or rolling therapy ^[8].

You need to regularly do strengthening exercises for your core, legs and lower back. Make sure that you always warm up and stretch prior to exercising. Heat any areas that are more likely to pain.

It is the best to have consultations of a physical therapist about the proper stretching and exercise regime which will slowly strengthen your affected muscles and prevent the recurrence.

12. Essential Oils

In regard to home remedies for bursitis, essential oils work wonderfully. Many essential oils have great natural properties of relieving inflammation and easing pain. Some good essential oils are peppermint, lavender, ginger and wintergreen essential oil, but there are still a lot of essential oils to choose from. Some of little known but effective essential oils which have traditionally been used for bursitis are:

• German chamomile: you can dilute it 3% in hazelnut or jojoba oil (15 drops / tablespoon) prior to applying it to your impacted areas.
• Helichrysum: you can dilute it 2% in a penetrating carier oil (10 drops / tablespoon) prior to applying it your impacted areas.
• Castor oil: According to Dr. David Kiefer, the herbalism expert for “1000 Cures for 200 Ailments”, he recommends the external use of castor oil to relieve symptoms of bursitis. This oil has ricinoleic acid which possesses anti-inflammatory properties, making it a good choice among home remedies for bursitis. It could ese swelling, alleviate pain and improve the mobility in the affected joints. Just simply soak a piece of cloth in your castor oil, then place it over your affected joints before covering it with plastic in order to hold it still. Apply a heating pad and cover with a towel then. After 30 minutes, remove it and rinse it off with water. To get the best results, repeat this treatment daily for 1 week or more.

13. Ginger

Thanks to outstanding anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties, ginger can relieve the inflammation and pain accompanied by bursitis. Also, it could improve circulation while promoting healing time.

What you have to do is:

• Grate up fresh ginger pieces and use some cheesecloth to wrap and tie in.
• Place that cheesecloth into hot water for 30 seconds
• After letting it cool down, apply it on your affected areas and leave it there for 20 minutes or so
• Repeat this treatment a few times per day for better results

14. Herbs

There are some types of herbs which are considered natural home remedies for bursitis, namely boswellia, white willow bark, etc.

For boswellia, which is a tree used in the traditional Indian medicine, you can take 450-1200mg of boswellia extract divided into 2-3 doses during the day. This herb has boswellic acids which can reduce inflammations and pain in the joints.

For white willow bark, it has highly effective anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties, not to mention salicin – the precursor to the major ingredient in salicylic acid, aspirin. Despite it works in a relatively similar way, it does not irritate your stomach as the aspirin does.

The above-mentioned home remedies for bursitis are claimed to be able to reduce the symptoms of heavy or prolonged periods. Give some of them a try to see how effective they are. If you have any contributing ideas about our article of “Top 14 Effective Home Remedies For Bursitis Treatment” introduced in Home Remedies Category, do not hesitate to drop your words below this post. We will answer as soon as we could.

• Aging-Associated Diseases
• Inflammations
• Joints
• Pain