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Does Shoulder Bursitis Heal On Its Own?
When most people think about joint problems, they think about the lower half of the body. And, yes, your knees and hips play a big role in living a quality life. But your shoulders carry their fair share of the burden too.
If you’ve been dealing with pain, swelling, and tenderness in your shoulder, bursitis could be to blame. Count yourself lucky. As far as shoulder issues go, bursitis is a relatively easy one to treat.
Plus, you can get the care you need right here at Integrated Pain Solutions in Stamford, Connecticut. With her specialization in shoulder pain, Dr. Halina Snowball can figure out what’s going on with this critical joint. Then, she develops a treatment plan to help your shoulder heal, bringing you relief and restoring your shoulder’s functionality.
Could it be bursitis? And if so, will your shoulder issue heal on its own? Let’s find out.
Understanding shoulder bursitis
Throughout your body, you have small sacs of fluid called bursae. They essentially serve as slippery pads, offering cushioning wherever your body might experience friction.
It makes sense, then, that you have bursae in your shoulder. Your shoulder is a complicated network of different joints, muscles, tendons, and ligaments that all need to work together to give you the full range of motion you expect. The bursae play a key role in keeping everything running smoothly — literally.
Excess friction in the area can cause inflammation in the bursae, though, leading to bursitis. The symptoms of this shoulder condition include:
- Pain and/or achiness
- Tenderness when touched
- Swelling
- Localized warmth
- Stiffness
Your bursae can also get infected, which leads to redness and more heat in the area. Infected bursitis can also make you feel sick and feverish overall, so if your shoulder seems particularly angry and you have flu-like symptoms, see Dr. Snowball right away. Fast treatment prevents the infection from spreading to your blood.
When shoulder bursitis heals on its own — and when it doesn’t
As you can likely guess, infected bursitis requires medical intervention. Dr. Snowball can assess the fluid buildup in your shoulder to find out what type of antibiotic you need to treat the infection successfully.
Most cases of bursitis don’t get infected, though. In fact, for a lot of people, this condition heals on its own, provided you give your shoulder ample rest.
If your shoulder isn’t feeling better after a few weeks, pay us a visit. Dr. Snowball develops a plan to give your bursae what they need to address the inflammation. In many cases, that’s activity modification. It might even mean fully immobilizing your shoulder with a splint for a short time.
Physical therapy, injections, and anti-inflammatory medications may help too. The good news is, people very rarely need surgery to treat shoulder bursitis.
Dr. Snowball is here to help you find what works for your specific shoulder issues. To get started on the path to relief, call our office at 203-293-0549 or request an appointment online today.
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