Bursitis most commonly affects the wrist, hand, knee, shoulder, ankle, elbow, and hip joints. Essentially, bursitis can occur wherever bursae sacs exist in the body. Bursae sacs are covered with synovial cells that release a lubricating fluid known as synovial fluid. It's one of the slickest substances on the planet and it occurs naturally in the human body. When this fluid becomes infected, you have bursitis.

When this fluid gets infected, the bursae sacs often swell which typically restricts a person's movement around the infected area. If a person has bursitis of the elbow, for instance, she might have a problem straightening her arm. Bursitis can also arise because of other diseases like osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis. Regardless of how bursitis pops up, it's important to know the symptoms associated with this painful disorder.

Bursitis Symptoms to Watch for

If you have pain in a specific joint, even if it's mild, you could have arthritis of that joint or bursitis. Actually, joint pain could be a number of different things, bursitis certainly being one of them. If a specific joint is in pain and you experience swelling around that joint, it's looking more and more like bursitis. If the skin is a little discolored around the swollen area, again, bursitis is a likely candidate.

Bursitis often flares up at night, especially bursitis of the shoulder. If you experience all the above-mentioned symptoms and you get a fever, you probably have bursitis. If that's the case, don't worry too much. Bursitis is a manageable disease that can be treated with natural products, antibiotics, and/or steroids. The important thing is to catch it early and rest the affected area.