There are injuries that are more common in the workplace due to repetitive activities, uncomfortable postures, or sudden movements. Among these, the Spanish Society of Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine (SERMEF) highlights in a recent study that the most frequent work-related conditions are musculoskeletal disorders such as tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, or bursitis.
“Among other conditions, tendonitis can occur, that is, inflammation of the tendons due to repetitive movements or excessive use of a particular body part; carpal tunnel syndrome, which involves the compression of the median nerve in the wrist, causing numbness, tingling, and weakness in the hand and arm; or bursitis, inflammation of the fluid-filled sacs, bursae, that cushion the joints, caused by repetitive movements or constant pressure on a joint,” as described by SERMEF.
What is bursitis
Diving deeper into bursitis, it is a painful disorder that affects the small fluid-filled sacs or bursae that provide cushioning to the bones, tendons, muscles around the joints. Bursitis occurs when these sacs become inflamed.
The areas where it most commonly occurs are in the shoulder, elbow, and hip, but it can also appear in the knee, heel, and base of the big toe. And it is related to a common work injury because it can develop when repetitive movements are done frequently.
Symptoms of bursitis
Some of the symptoms of bursitis are:
- Pain or stiffness in the joint.
- Pain when moving or pressing the joint.
- Swollen or red joint.
Other more severe symptoms include:
- Incapacitating pain in the joints.
- Inability to move the joint.
- Excessive swelling, redness, bruising, or rash in the area.
- Intense pain during exercise.
- Fever.
