How to Prevent Bursitis

The condition is a form of inflammation that happens around the bursa. The bursa is a tissue that acts as a cushion between tendon, muscle, or bone joints. Once the bursa is inflamed it causes a lot of pain around the affected area.

The swelling of the bursa is brought about by very many things that you should be able to prevent. It can be brought about by an infection in the joints, strenuous activities, or even too much pressure around the area. This can happen in areas such as shoulders, knee, hip, or elbow.
There are a number of steps that can be taken to prevent bursitis. Some of the steps vary depending on the area or the person involved. These may include:

Protection of the Joints

In most of the cases, bursitis originates from awkward use or exposure of your joints. This is mostly found in people performing strenuous activities such as carpentry. Use of pads whenever you are kneeling will prevent excessive pressure in your joints.

You can also protect your joints by wearing the right type of shoes. Sometimes the kind of shoes a person wears causes swelling of the joints especially when walking for long distances. Athletes, tennis players, and any other person who stays for a long time in shoes should look for a specialist to recommend the right footwear.

Avoid Heavy Loads

When you overwork your joints it causes swelling. For example, when you continuously lift very heavy loads on your shoulders you are likely to suffer bursitis. It will also cause bursitis of the hip in some cases. It is therefore advisable to look for an alternative way of lifting heavy loads.
It is also important to take a lot of care when lifting anything especially for older individuals.

Proper Diet

The kind of diet you have can also influence your chances of having bursitis. When your bones or joints are not strong enough they get inflamed easily. There are a number of foods a person can intake to ensure good development of the bursa.

Consumption of healthy fats from foods such as olive oil, seeds, and avocado will provide good lining of the bursa and reduce chances of inflammation. Foods rich in vitamin C are also advised.

Taking Breaks

This basically means resting. Lifting some materials or weightlifting continuously causes straining of the joints and the bursa which causes bursitis. It is thus important to take a break when working. This is especially true when it involves a lot of motion around the joints. This will give your bursa time to rest, reduce swelling and inflammation.

Avoiding Specific Foods

Everyone wants to avoid medical intervention for bursitis if possible and no one wants to suffer debilitating pain when it could have been avoided. One of the best methods to do so is to change the diet to prevent bursitis from becoming a chronic problem. The patient should be familiar with the different kinds of food that are to be avoided so that bursitis does not make a regular reappearance.

• Legumes. Legumes contain a specific kind of protein that must be avoided by everyone who suffers from inflamed joints. The human body is unable to digest this particular type of protein. When digestion is not done properly, the body immediately creates an inflammatory response. Even cooking these legumes does not make them easily digestible, which is usually not the case with other food groups. Legumes such as hummus, soy beans, peanuts, and other types of legumes belong to this category and must be shunned.
• Simple Carbohydrates. Patients who have bursitis can partake of a diet that includes high-fiber carbohydrates like those found in whole grains and vegetables, but they should be cautious when being offered starchy vegetables or refined wheat foods. Breads are created out of a process that takes away most of their nutritional value but make it readily available for stores because of their extended shelf-life. However, these very same foods can cause a marked spike in a person’s blood sugar because of their high glycemic index. This can lead to bursitis. The severely depleted nutritional value of these foods are unable to satiate a person’s hunger. This causes people to eat more than they should which leads to obesity. The extra weight puts the joints under extra stress which in-turn inflames the joints and causes bursitis.
• Added Sugars. Inflammation can also be the result of eating different foods that have added sugars such as soft drinks, candies, and cakes. Other than the obvious, there are other foods where the added sugars are hidden and so are not considered unhealthy when eating. Food that is processed will usually contain a preservative that is derived from some sugar. The different kinds will be mentioned in the list of ingredients such as sorbitol, corn syrup, cane sugar, maltodextrin, and beet sugar. To reduce inflammation, it would be ideal if added sugars are completely avoided and even natural sugars are kept to a minimum.
• Draining of Calcium. Whenever there is accumulation of calcium deposits especially in areas around the bursa it leads to swelling. To older people this can be the biggest problem. The lack of movement in older individuals results in larger accumulation of calcium around their tissues. Calcium can be drained by use of needles.

The Bottom Line

There are other simple steps that will keep you relatively safe from bursitis if followed properly. Exercising is one of these steps. Exercising helps in stretching and strengthening your muscles hence preventing swelling around the bursa. Warming up also is another method especially before you undertake strenuous activities. This will help in strengthening your muscles and prevent the joints from injuries.

You can also choose to maintain a simple weight for your body. In most cases, being overweight causes excess pressure on the bursa thus causing pain. This is more often around the hip and knees. You can prevent this by maintaining your weight.

The first step towards prevention of bursitis is accepting to take the necessary steps yourself.