Prepatellar Bursitis Causes

Frequent Pressure on the Bursa

Repetitive pressure on the prepatellar bursa is the main cause of prepatellar bursitis. Although the bursae in your knee function as cushions to protect the tendons and other soft tissue, frequent kneeling during your work or activities often creates more stress than the bursa can handle. The excess pressure causes the bursa to become irritated and inflamed, leading to swelling and thickening of the bursa lining. When kneeling on hard surfaces, knee pads are recommended to treat or prevent prepatellar bursitis.

Excess Stress

Without exercise or activity, muscles weaken and you begin to lack the proper muscle support. This can cause excess load on the knees and hips or your weight may be distributed unevenly within your knee joint. Uneven distribution of weight will put extra stress on some areas compared to others leading to abnormal wear and tear on the stressed areas.

In addition, if you are overweight, the knee joints have to work harder to carry a greater load causing more stress on the tendons, ligaments, muscles, bones, and bursae in the knees. The excess stress can lead to irritation and inflammation of any of the soft tissue over time, including the prepatella bursa.

Overuse Injury (Chronic)

Excessive friction, or rubbing, on the prepatella bursa can aggravate it over time. If your work or exercise routine requires frequent climbing, running, jumping, or hiking you may be at higher risk of prepatella bursitis. This risk increases if there is anything that many cause abnormal wear and tear within the joint.

Acute Trauma

A direct blow to the prepatella bursa during athletics or when falling on the knee can result in bursitis. In such cases, blood may leak into the bursa causing irritation, inflammation, swelling and pain.

Infection (Septic Bursitis)

The closer the bursa is to the surface of the skin, the more likely the chance of infection from specific bacteria that are commonly found on the surface of the skin. This bacterial infection is known as septic bursitis and common bacteria that create this infection are known as Staphylococcus Epidermis (or Staphylococcus Aureus).

This bacteria can affect the bursa if the knee is cut or scraped, allowing it to get under the skin. Septic Bursitis occurs most commonly in men (85% of all cases occur in men).

Knee Osteoarthritis

If you suffer from osteoarthritis in your knees, as your knees experience wear and tear there is a release of destructive enzymes. These enzymes break down the cartilage to the point where the bones of the knee joint rub together and develop sclerosis (a hardening of tissue) as well as tiny fractures, cysts and bone spurs. The excess wear and tear can cause abnormal pressure on the bursa leading to irritation and inflammation.

Prepatellar Bursitis Treatments

Relieving the pain of your sore knee and the symptoms of bursitis initially focuses on keeping the pressure off the bursa. If your bursitis is caused by an infection (septic bursitis), the doctor will drain the bursa sac with a needle and prescribe antibiotics to treat the infection. For non-infectious bursitis, the preliminary treatment starts with non-operative options such as ultrasound thereapy and cold therapy.

The most important factor in healing prepatellar bursitis is resting your knee. This can be difficult when you have to carry on with daily activities, but resting whenever you can is recommended. During your recovery you will probably have to modify or avoid the activities that stress your bursa until your pain and inflammation settle.

Treatments should involve decreasing swelling, relieving stress on the knee, treating scar tissue, and then restoring strength and movement in your leg and knee. Blood Flow Stimulation Therapy^™ (BFST^®) is recommended once inflammation has been calmed to heal the prepatellar bursa and tendon faster and reduce the risk of bursitis returning.

Freezie Wrap^® Cold Therapy

To decrease inflammation and relieve the pain of prepatellar bursitis doctor's recommend cold therapy.

Applying cold to your inflamed bursa will help decrease the swelling and redness around it. Cold therapy will also help to numb the pain in your knee and help to control the inflammation. In addition, the deep cooling effect provided by the Knee Freezie Wrap^® reduces tissue damage.

The Knee Freezie Wrap^® uses a supercharged cooling gel pack, that chills in the fridge, not in the freezer like ice or other freezer packs, giving you deep cold therapy without the risk of 'cold burns' or cryoburn.

Cooling your inflamed prepatellar bursa as needed throughout the day will reduce pain and tissue damage. The Knee Freezie Wrap^® can be used to apply cold in a safe, convenient and effective way - and the gel pack is reusable. The gel pack sits gently over the inflamed bursa to reduce swelling and redness.

The wrap is soft and adjustable so it fits your body properly, without irritating the bursa, and allows you to adjust the compression. This is important when treating an inflamed bursa because too much pressure can cause you further pain. You control how much pressure the bursa receives so you can benefit from the compression to hold the cold where you need it, without increasing your pain.

Applying cold to your tender bursa and knee is the first step in treating your bursitis. Then begin ultrasound therapy to continue the healing process.

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Ultrasound Therapy

Ultrasound has been used by physical therapists and chiropractors for years to treat bursitis. By applying ultrasound therapy to your sore knee you can reduce the inflammation caused by the fluid that has built up in your bursa.

In addition, ultrasound therapy will treat any other soft tissue conditions that you may be experiencing in your knee such as, osteoarthritis pain, Hoffa's Syndrome and more. By treating yourself with ultrasound everyday, you are able to rid yourself of bursitis inflammation and pain; this is best accomplished with a personal, therapeutic ultrasound device.

Scar tissue develops with bursitis as your damaged tissue heals. This tough, inflexible tissue is naturally produced instead of forming brand new healthy tissue. Scar tissue adheres to your bursa sac, tendons, ligaments, and nerves causing pain and preventing them from moving properly (this limits your range of motion, flexibility and strength). However, ultrasound therapy can treat scar tissue. The more diligent you are with your treatment and rehabilitation, the faster you will see successful results.

Ultrasound therapy is a great therapeutic option to decrease inflammation, pain and scar tissue experienced with prepatellar bursitis and other soft tissue injuries. The treatment is easy, painless, and requires 10 minutes of your time. It is based on a form of deep thermal therapy which is generated through high frequency sound waves that reach into the cells of the tissue. These sound waves help to reduce the fluid build up in the bursa, heal any tissue damaged through trauma, and reduce scar tissue.

Enhance Your Ultrasound Treatments With Phonophoresis

When using an ultrasound unit, proper conductive ultrasound gel is required. Without it, the sound waves will not transfer into the tissue making the treatment ineffective. Although you will receive all the benefits of ultrasound therapy with standard ultrasound gel, medicated ultrasound gel can multiply the benefits without any extra time or effort. All you have to do is use medicated gel instead of standard ultrasound gel during your treatments.

Our exclusive MendMeShop^® Lavender Infusion Gel is specially formulated with Natural Bulgarian Lavender, Peppermint, Eucalyptus, and Menthol. These ingredients have been used for centuries to reduce inflammation and improve circulation to speed healing. Now they are available in this incredible ultrasound gel to give you 2 therapies in 1 treatment. You get the benefit of the regenerating sound waves from the ultrasound device itself AND the added bonus of the therapeutic ingredients inside the gel being delivered straight to your bursa where it is most effective to reduce inflammation and pain. And that's not all - our Lavender Infusion Ultrasound Gel is free of the potentially harmful ingredients of paraben, DEA, or dyes.

1 FREE bottle of MendMeShop^® Lavender Infusion Ultrasound Gel comes with every MendMeShop^® Ultrasound Therapy Unit. If you have skin sensitivities or are sensitive to scents, you have the option of using our Non-Fragrant Ultrasound Gel with your MendMeShop^® Ultrasound Therapy Unit. This gel is formulated without medicinal ingredients so there is no risk of irritation AND just like our Lavender Infusion Gel, it does not contain paraben, DEA, or dyes!

Click here to learn more about Ultrasound Therapy

Inferno Wrap^® Blood Flow Stimulation Therapy^™

Once the inflammation of your bursitis has been reduced with cold therapy and ultrasound treatments it is time to improve blood flow and improve the elasticity of your surrounding soft tissue. Your body needs a fresh supply of blood to improve the health of your tissue and get your knee bursae and tendons back to normal.

Unfortunately, when you are suffering from bursitis it can be painful to even walk or lift your leg. When you limit movement in your knee joint the blood flow is reduced, starving your tissue of the necessary oxygen and nutrients.

The trick is to find a way to increase blood flow without causing pain and/or further inflaming the bursae. This is where Blood Flow Stimulation Therapy^™, or BFST^®, becomes a powerful tool.

BFST^® compliments your body's natural healing process by promoting blood flow while you give your knee the rest it needs.

The Knee Inferno Wrap^® uses a patented process to generate the same energy that is part of the sun's spectrum of light, the same energy that is necessary to all living things for optimum health. The energy emitted from the Energy Web^® stimulates blood flow to your knee, more than your body would ever be able to generate on it's own, giving your body the boost it needs to continue the reconditioning process. The healing energy reaches deep into your prepatellar bursa and tendon to speed tissue repair, whisk away the toxins and dead cells, and rejuvenate your tissues for improved elasticity.

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With these 3 easy therapies, cold therapy, ultrasound and BFST^®, you will notice significantly reduced pain and an incredible improvement in your knee pain and range of motion.

We recommend that you consult your doctor and/or physiotherapist before using any of our outstanding products, to make sure they're right for you and your condition.

Anti-Inflammatory Medications

NSAIDs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, can be used if required to help manage your pain. However, these aren't recommended for long term use, as they can cause gastrointestinal difficulties and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. The use of cold therapy, ultrasound and BFST^® in conjunction with NSAIDs can greatly improve the effect of this medication and can help to heal quicker.

During your recovery, you may have to modify and/or eliminate any activities that cause pain or discomfort in your knee joint until your pain and inflammation settle, and you gain more mobility and strength. The more diligent you are with your rehabilitation, the faster you will see successful results.

Please be aware that this information is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider before starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

Or email us at service@AidMyBursa.com