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"Itis" in medical lingo means "ouch." When tendons get sore and inflamed you have a case of tendinitis.
Bursitis makes you say "ouch" as well. Although, this inflammation that causes painful movement, usually in the shoulders or hips, occurs in the bursae. The bursae are the little fluid filled sacs that cushion the joints between your bones and the tendons and muscles and allow them to move smoothly. They even lubricate these areas. Overuse can cause them to become painful.
The discomfort, and as it progresses, the debilitation of arthritis comes with the breakdown of cartilage which causes the bones to rub against each other, causing stiffness, pain and loss of movement in the joint. Of the three, lions and tigers and bears, that attack your joints and cause you to yelp in pain when moving a certain way, arthritis is the most degenerative. The other two, bursitis and tendinitis, can usually be recovered from in a few weeks.
Treatment:
- Avoid the temptation to apply heat. If you do, apply it briefly, but then switch to ice. A cold compress will help with the swelling and inflammation.
- Ibuprofen is a great pain reliever and is the one to use for most "itis" where swelling is involved. Unlike acetaminophen (Tylenol) it is an anti-inflammatory, so it will reduce the swelling.
- There is an incredible product, at topical, roll-on ointment called Jointritis …A bit pricey, and possibly hard to find, it has worked wonders for me when I get joint pain from overuse. Check it out at Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Joint-Ritis-Natural-Relieving-Ointment-Strength/dp/B000PKYD8U
Prevention:
The best way to prevent these painful health conditions is to live a healthy lifestyle. You know the drill…exercise and diet. Working out not only builds muscle, but will also build bone. High bone density works well to stave off arthritis, and strong muscles help to alleviate the pressure and stress on the joints that will bring about bursitis and tendinitis. Having enough vitamin D is also a requirement for healthy bone mass. Glucosamine is a supplement that I like to take to keep the joints and cartilage healthy and working well.
But here is the thing: Go into it slowly! Tendinitis and bursitis is caused by overuse of the joints. Overuse is a very relative term. If you have been physically inactive all month, and then, all of a sudden get a wind of motivation and tackle all those projects that require lots of elbow grease (the lubricant produced by the bursae) you are likely to have these problems even if you are at a healthy weight and pretty much physically fit. Try to get in a habit of stretching before any exercise. It doesn’t take long. You can feel and hear it working for your joints. You know that "popping" sound that you hear and feel in your shoulders when you make big circles with your arms? That is the bursae squeezing fluid from one part of the sack to the other. As you limber up…the popping subsides. You are giving the joints what they need.
Stretch, exercise…Repeat
The following video (below) will show you some very basic stretches and exercises that you can do to keep the lions, tigers and bears at bay. It doesn’t take a lot. This will also be the first Factoid where I include some video according to some really good advice from Ray in the discussion about Factoidz promotion If you don’t see it right now, I will come back to post it. I plan to update a bunch of my factoids, especially on fitness training, with short video clips, demonstrating…A video is worth two thousand words!
Sources:
Wikipedia
MayoClinic.com
Arthritis.org
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