Use Intermountain Connect Care®
Learn More.
A bursa [BER-sah] is a small fluid-filled sac that cushions your tendons, bones, and ligaments as they move against each other. Bursitis [ber-SAHY-tis] is when a bursa becomes irritated or inflamed. This usually happens with injury or joint overuse.
Repetitive motion, such as running or joint stress, such as kneeling on a hard floor, can cause or worsen knee bursitis.
Knee bursitis most often occurs in the bursa over the kneecap or on the inner side of the knee, below the joint.
Knee bursitis can be very painful. Other common symptoms include:
The first sign of trouble with knee bursitis is pain. The bursa that is found over the kneecap can sometimes become infected. See your doctor as soon as possible if you have any of the following symptoms, in addition to pain and swelling in the knee:
Symptoms of knee bursitis usually begin slowly and get worse as time passes.
Knee bursitis happens when the bursa fills with extra fluid and becomes inflamed. This inflammation puts pressure on the nearby tissue and causes discomfort.
Knee bursitis can be caused by joint overuse (at work or during recreation), by injury, like a sharp blow to the knee, or when a joint is put under pressure for a long time.
Knee bursitis can also be caused by:
You are also more likely to get bursitis at an older age, or if your occupation or hobbies involve frequent repetitive motion.
To diagnose bursitis, your doctor will usually perform a physical exam and may take a sample of the fluid inside the bursa to make sure it is not infected. This is called aspiration [as-per-AY-shuhn].
Imaging tests may be recommended to confirm or rule out knee bursitis.
Often, knee bursitis will get better all by itself as long as it is not caused by an infection. To treat your knee bursitis, you will need to rest the affected joint and protect it from any further harm. Most people feel better within a few weeks with proper treatment. However, you may still experience recurrent flare-ups of bursitis in the affected area.
Typical measures to relieve knee bursitis pain include:
If these measures do not help, your doctor may recommend:
Although some types of bursitis cannot be prevented, there are certain things you can do to help reduce your risk of developing bursitis, including: