Bursitis, anyone?

[Victor]

How often have you suffered from the painful swelling of bursitis in your knee, how long does it take to recover, and what's the best treatment you can suggest?

[JEC]

Pre-patellar bursitis is common. One way of treating it is:

1) Ice after fencing or exercise.
2) Short term use of high-dose of NSAIDs.
3) Strenghting both sides of the quadriceps. If you do weight lifts extending the knee to reach about 0 (to -5) degrees, you will notice that most of the heavy motion is made with the lateral side of the quad. The last 30 degrees is made with the medial side. The importance is that muscle tone in both sides keeps the patella in the middle. Most athletes try to put as much weight and do repetitions of extending the knee. The last 30 degrees is harder, so often, people lift more weight than possible, cheating, and do not complete the full extension. You need to reduce the load and do repetitions of latter movement independently to strenghten that side of the quad. That would keep the patella in the middle reducing the chances of inflammation.

If it doesn't improve consult your physician.

[Victor]

Thanks for the input.

[Wizardly]

What about exercises for bursitis in the hip?