Trochanteric bursitis
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What is Trochanteric Bursitis?
It is a condition in the most prominent area of the hip that causes pain due to inflammation of the bursae around the greater trochanter and is felt on the side of the hip.
It is a common syndrome that mostly affects adult women and some men around the age of 50 and 70. It may also be due to tendinopathy of the hip abductor muscles that are responsible for stabilizing the hip during walking.
What are the causes of this condition?
Trochanteric bursitis can be caused by alterations or imbalance in the patient’s walking, running, and jumping mechanics. In other words, the main cause of inflammation of the bursae and overload of the upper hip muscles can be due to dysmetries in the foot, knee and hip that cause overexertion when walking.
Problems in these areas such as arthritis, osteoarthritis, pain, trauma, flat feet, plantar fasciitis, bunions, differences in the size or direction of the legs and other conditions can cause, in the long term, inflammation of the bursae. Obesity and/or overuse of the joint can also become a cause by overloading the muscles that aid the mechanical process of walking.
What symptoms does it have?
The main symptom is pain on the side of the hip, this pain occurs at times of the daily routine that affect the patient, such as climbing stairs, walking and running, in some cases it appears when getting up from a chair or standing for a long time.
This condition begins to limit the patient through increasingly intense pain that sometimes appears during the night or even when lying on the affected side. There are occasions when pain is perceived when the leg is extended and flexed and when the affected area is touched on the skin.
How is the diagnosis made?
Through a physical and clinical examination, the orthopedic doctor can indicate the veracity of the condition. In the physical examination, the aim is to find the origin of the pain through palpation, the patient can also be asked to make certain movements and indicate the exact place of the pain.
To finish with the confirmation of the diagnosis, an X-ray is requested to rule out any other pathologies of the hip such as arthritis or osteoarthritis.
It is recommended that these diagnoses be made by an experienced orthopedic doctor who will help you know the reason for your pain and also recommend effective, safe, and personalized treatment.
Effective treatments for this pathology
Each treatment is specific to the severity of each case, for this reason it is important to visit an expert doctor who will help you get the best option to regain painless mobility of your joint.
In most cases they are recommended.
- Physical therapy movements to strengthen and stretch the muscles and tendons of the joint, this includes, hamstrings, lower lumbarum and glutes.
- Place ice on the affected area.
- Patient-specific anti-inflammatory medications based on their medical history.
- To create awareness in the patient about the management of their mobility, creating recommendations for daily application such as avoiding crossing the legs when sitting, distributing the weight on both legs when standing, not lying on the affected area, minimizing the climb of stairs and mountains or flexing the hip to a limit.
- It may also be recommended to wear suitable footwear that restores the unevenness of the gait and to use external elements to better stabilize the joint such as the cane.
- Local injection or injections that cause immediate relief in aggravated cases and that have an effectiveness time that varies between three and six months.
It can be said that most patients find relief with these recommendations and treatments, since the idea is to eliminate the pain caused by inflammation of the bursae.
Additional recommendations:
People who are at higher risk of suffering from this pathology are those who have an unevenness, dysmetria or other pathologies in the knees, ankles and/or foot. Therefore, treating these underlying diagnoses early is a good way to prevent the bursa from becoming inflamed.
Avoid obesity and create a consistent routine of stretching exercises that help strengthen the hip and lumbar muscles.
Eliminate exercises and movements that cause damage to the joint after the age of 45 and older to avoid any painful suffering.
