Knee Bursitis Treatment Adelaide: Regain Mobility, Reduce Pain

Knee bursitis symptoms can sometimes come and go, making an accurate diagnosis tricky. That’s where a physiotherapist at City Physiotherapy comes in! Our physiotherapists can effectively diagnose and treat knee bursitis through a comprehensive physical examination.

This examination involves several steps:

• Pain assessment: We’ll gently press on different areas of your knee to see if any spots are particularly tender.
• Movement evaluation: We’ll observe the range of motion in your knee and leg, comparing it to your unaffected side.
• Strength & flexibility tests: We’ll assess your knee strength and flexibility to identify any limitations.
• Medical history review: We’ll discuss your medical history to understand any potential causes.

How can a physiotherapist help treat knee bursitis?

Our City Physio Adelaide therapists create personalised plans to address your specific needs. These plans focus on reducing pain and inflammation with manual therapy techniques, promoting healing and faster recovery. 

Physiotherapy exercises will also help restore your mobility and flexibility, allowing you to move freely again. Additionally, we’ll incorporate targeted exercises to strengthen the muscles supporting your knee joint, improving stability and preventing future flare-ups. 

Finally, our physiotherapists will equip you with self-management strategies like activity modification and stretching routines, empowering you to manage your bursitis in the long term.

Dry needling for knee bursitis relief

Knee bursitis pain and stiffness can be frustrating, but there’s good news! Dry needling, a physiotherapy technique, could offer significant relief. During dry needling, thin needles are inserted into tight muscles (trigger points) located around your knee, into the knee joint or irritated bursae (fat pads that act as shock absorbers) around the knee. This approach works in two ways to improve your condition. 

Firstly, dry needling stimulates the body’s natural healing mechanisms, promoting relaxation in the tight muscles and ultimately leading to pain relief. Secondly, relaxed muscles allow for a better range of motion and flexibility in your knee, translating to easier movement with less discomfort. Inserting the needles into the bursa or the knee joint reduces inflammation, eases pain sensitivity and assists with healing.

For more severe cases of knee bursitis, we can also refer you directly for an ultrasound scan or request a steroid injection without the need to see a GP.

If you’re interested in exploring dry needling as part of your knee bursitis treatment plan, consider talking to your physiotherapist at City Physiotherapy Adelaide. They can assess your individual needs and determine if dry needling is the right approach for you.

Manual therapy for knee bursitis relief

Manual therapy is a powerful tool used by our physiotherapists to address knee bursitis. These techniques help in several ways. Manual therapy can alleviate pressure on the swollen bursa, preventing further damage to the knee joint and reducing the severity of your symptoms. 

Techniques like joint mobilisations and soft tissue mobilisations are used to achieve this. Additionally, our physiotherapists will incorporate stretching exercises tailored specifically for you.  Overall, manual therapy aims to achieve multiple benefits: pain reduction, restored mobility, improved functionality in your daily activities, enhanced knee strength and flexibility, and increased range of motion.

Remedial massage for knee bursitis relief

Remedial massage can be a valuable tool for managing knee bursitis pain, particularly the soreness in muscles surrounding the knee joint. However, it’s important to target the right areas. While massage can’t directly address the inflamed bursa itself, it can be very useful for relieving referred pain often felt in the thigh or calf due to knee bursitis. Tight muscles can contribute to this referred pain, and massage helps relax them, providing overall pain relief.

It is important to remember that direct massage on the swollen bursa itself should be avoided. The inflammatory fluid is trapped within the bursa and massaging it can irritate the inflamed synovial lining.

If you’re interested in exploring remedial massage as part of your knee bursitis treatment plan, discuss it with your physiotherapist at City Physio Adelaide. They can assess your specific needs and recommend the most appropriate massage techniques for your situation.

Personalised exercise programs

Exercise plays a crucial role in managing knee bursitis. Our physiotherapists at City Physio Adelaide design personalised exercise programs tailored to your specific needs.

These programs target several key areas to promote healing and prevent future flare-ups. Strengthening exercises focus on the muscles surrounding your knee and leg, improving stability and reducing stress on the bursa. Stretching exercises are incorporated to improve flexibility and reduce tightness that can contribute to pain. 

Additionally, specific exercises target knee stability, muscular alignment, and range of motion, ultimately enhancing your overall mobility and allowing you to move freely without discomfort. By incorporating these elements, a personalised exercise program from City Physio Adelaide can significantly aid your recovery from knee bursitis and help you get back to enjoying your activities pain-free.

What is knee bursitis?

Bursae (bur-say) are fluid-filled sacs that act as natural cushions and gliding surfaces within the body. They work to reduce friction between tissues, facilitating smooth movement around joints. These bursae are strategically located near tendons, especially around larger joints like the shoulders, elbows, hips, and knees.

Sometimes, these bursae can get inflamed, which leads to a condition called bursitis.

Knee bursitis is when one or more of the bursae around your knee joint become irritated and swollen. This can cause some serious pain and make it tough to move your knee around like you normally do. The good news is that catching it early can help prevent it from getting worse and get you back to your daily activities quickly.

There are actually five main bursae around your knee that are most prone to getting inflamed. 

What causes knee bursitis?

Knee bursitis is a condition that can be a real pain, limiting your movement and flexibility. The good news is, understanding the cause of your bursitis is key to effective management and preventing it from getting worse. Different activities and conditions can irritate different bursae around your knee, so next we’ll explore the most common culprits.

Repetitive impact and friction

Activities that involve frequent kneeling, squatting, jumping, kicking, or rapid changes in direction can put stress on the bursae. These repetitive movements can irritate the bursae over time, causing inflammation and pain. Activities like volleyball, martial arts, soccer, and basketball are prime examples because they involve a lot of repetitive pressure or rubbing on the bursae.

Muscle tightness

Tight muscles around the knee can compress the bursae, leading to discomfort and inflammation. Poor posture, muscle imbalances, and inadequate stretching can contribute to tight muscles and increase your risk of bursitis.

Knee injuries

A sudden impact on the knee from a fall, tackle, or accident can cause inflammation in the bursae. This is known as acute bursitis. The force of the impact can damage tissues around the knee joint, including the bursae. This damage triggers an inflammatory response, leading to pain, swelling, and difficulty moving the knee.

Pre-existing conditions

Conditions like arthritis or injuries that cause swelling in the knee joint can also lead to bursitis. Excess fluid can seep into the bursa, causing it to become inflamed. Knee swelling from arthritis is a common cause of semimembranosus bursitis, located behind the knee.

What are the symptoms of knee bursitis?

Knee bursitis symptoms can vary depending on the affected bursa and the underlying cause.  Generally, symptoms develop gradually due to friction and irritation. However, a sudden blow to the knee can cause a rapid onset of acute bursitis.

Here are the most common signs to watch out for:

• Localised knee pain: Pain is usually a dull ache that worsens with movement and might linger even at rest. The specific location of pain depends on which bursa is inflamed.

• Knee swelling: You might notice swelling around the affected area, which can fluctuate in size depending on activity and inflammation severity.

• Knee stiffness: Bursitis can cause stiffness, making it difficult to bend or straighten your knee. This stiffness is mainly due to pain and swelling limiting your flexibility and range of motion.

What are the different types of knee bursitis?

While all bursae located throughout the knee can potentially become inflamed, the five most common types of knee bursitis include:

Pes anserine bursitis

Pes anserine bursitis strikes on the inner side of your knee, about two inches below the joint. This bursa sits between three tendons and your inner knee ligament. It’s a common culprit for runners and swimmers because of all the repetitive motions they do. These activities can overuse the tendons around the bursa, leading to inflammation.

Infrapatellar bursitis

This painful type of bursitis affects the fluid sacs right below your kneecap. There are actually two of them: a deep one cushioning the patellar tendon against your shin bone, and a superficial one between the tendon and your skin. The repetitive kneeling you might do for work (think plumbers, carpenters, or carpet layers) can really irritate these bursae, leading to inflammation.

Prepatellar bursitis

This type of bursitis targets the fluid sac right at the front of your kneecap, cushioning it from bumps and blows. Prepatellar bursitis often arises from activities, such as gardening that involve kneeling for extended periods with pressure on the kneecap itself.

Suprapatellar bursitis

Located between the quadriceps, tendon, and the femur, suprapatellar bursitis facilitates the smooth movement of the quadriceps tendon over the femur during knee bending and straightening. This bursa helps your quadriceps tendon glide smoothly as you bend and straighten your knee. Activities that involve a lot of jumping and repetitive stress on the knee, like long jump, high jump, and skipping rope, can irritate this bursa and lead to inflammation.

Semimembranosus bursitis

Most commonly caused by arthritis, the semimembranosus bursa is located at the back of the knee, nestled between two hamstring muscles. It’s a common culprit for knee pain, especially for people with conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. These arthritic conditions can cause fluid to build up in the bursa, making it swell and become tender. This swelling can sometimes form a noticeable lump behind the knee and cause significant discomfort.

City Physiotherapy Adelaide: knee bursitis treatment

If you’re experiencing knee bursitis pain, City Physiotherapy Adelaide can help. Our dedicated team of physiotherapists will create a personalised treatment plan to address your specific needs and get you back to the activities you love. Our physiotherapy approach focuses on reducing pain, improving mobility, and preventing future flare-ups.

Take control of your knee bursitis today! Schedule an appointment with City Physio Adelaide and rediscover comfort and freedom of movement.

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