Prepatellar Bursitis Healing Could Be Sped Up

Housemaid’s Knee, or prepatellar bursitis, is rather painful, yet common in professions such as carpet layers and gardeners.

How do you recognize it? Look for the telltale redness on the front of the knee acknowledging the swollen bursa just over the kneecap, along with painful movement of the knee and limited range of motion. Usually, someone with prepatellar bursitis walks stiffly.

Kneeling for extended periods of time is what most frequently causes it. But if you’re a gardener or plumber, your profession will demand this extended kneeling.

The bottom line is that too much repetition or high force on the bursa (found between your skin and kneecap) results in irritation and inflammation. The inflammation of the bursa is always called bursitis; the prepatellar part of the term refers to the location of the pain and inflammation.

Prepatellar bursitis can also be a result of rheumatoid arthritis, or from deposits of crystals, as seen in patients with a condition called pseudogout. The bad news is that prepatellar bursa can also become infected with bacteria (septic bursitis), although this doesn’t happen too often.

A bursa is a very thin sac that contains the body’s own natural lubricating fluid. This slippery little sac allows different bodily tissues, like muscles, tendons and skin to slide over bony surfaces without friction. Some people call prepatellar bursitis “water on the knee.” Because the bursa is located over the top of the kneecap, the term, “water on the knee” is really reserved for a condition where there’s fluid within the knee joint.

Septic bursitis is much more serious, requiring fairly urgent medical evaluation and treatment. Aseptic (uninfected) prepatellar bursitis can be treated very nicely with naturopathic remedies such as the following.

R&R (Yeah, Rest & RELAXATION!)

I’m teasing a bit with the emphasis on relaxation because Americans seem to have lost the ability to know how to truly relax. As noted above, force from repetition or a blow is what triggered the inflammation on your prepatellar bursa – getting up and walking, jogging, twisting, pacing. All bring more repetitive and/or traumatic force onto the knee area, stressing the musculoskeletal structure of the joint and challenging healing.

So sit and lie down a lot if you’re dealing with prepatellar bursitis. The more you don’t relax and rest the knee, the more you traumatize the injury and prolong the healing process.

If you truly wish to heal quickly, choose to lie down in a comfortable position frequently. This is the most effective means of resting the knee because it minimizes swelling and bleeding as well as protects your knee from further damage from pressure. If you have to be up on your feet much, consider utilizing a protective brace or tape to support the joint and reduce weight impact. Even crutches are great, if you’re willing – using them correctly can really cut down on trauma on your bursa.

Ice (The I of RICE)

If you haven’t heard of the “RICE” treatment plan, this list is following that neatly. “R” signifies rest; and “I” is for the ice. Unless you have circulation problems or are uniquely sensitive to cold, icing the knee is a key component of a natural plan to combat prepatellar bursitis.

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