ADAPTING EXERCISE for Bursitis

By Susie Black - get free updates of new articles here 

This article series is designed to offer hints and tips for adapting your Pilates moves to suit common aches and pains. To be clear, this is a series on making long term issues more bearable so you can continue to stay fit - not a series on causes, prevention or treatment.

Today's article is about Bursitis.  A bursa is a fluid-filled sac between tendon, muscle and/or bone that aims to reduce friction between these structures by acting as a lubricant. It also assists with shock absorption. Bursitis can affect any joint, but it's most common in the shoulders, hips, elbows or knees and any of these can become inflamed when subjected to sudden or repetitive loads. Below is an image displaying two bursae sites at the hip. An inflammation in these could cause pain in side-lying or exacerbate pain in a hip which twangs or snaps on movement.

Pain Points and how to adapt

You'll know when you have an inflamed bursa. It's hot, swollen and painful to touch. Inflammation of the bursae is usually temporary but may be irritated other conditions. This makes it doubly important to stay fit and well aligned to prevent further strain. The big message when adapting exercise for bursitis is to keep weight off the affected area. When the bursa is inflamed we should avoid putting load on that point. This may mean avoiding side-lying, kneeling or leaning on the elbow joints, depending on the affected areas. We can recreate many side-lying exercises from standing, kneeling can often be modified to moves on your front and we can support the elbow area from the underside of the ribs with padding like the wedge shown below during class.

In the case of severe pain from bursitis, it may be necessary to rest for a few weeks to allow the inflammation to settle which makes prevention of strain a priority. Once the pain has subsided I can help guide you during class to avoid over-strain. At this time, you should expect to be asked to create moves which look very different to the rest of the group but will work the same areas so your session is fully balanced.

Building Knowledge.

Forewarned is forearmed so if you'd like a deeper delve into Bursitis, the NHS website is a trusted source of support. If this is a recurring issue for you then Exercise Therapy can help by assisting with your muscle alignment while supporting you to listen effectively to your pain threshold and increase your activity safely.