Questions
&Answers
about . . .
Bursitis and
Tendinitis
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
National Institutes of Health
Public Health Service • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
For Your Information
This publication contains information about medications
used to treat the health condition discussed here. When
this booklet was printed, we included the most up-to-date
(accurate) information available. Occasionally, new infor
mation on medication is released.
For updates and for any questions about any medications
you are taking, please contact the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration at 1–888–INFO–FDA (1–888–463–6332,
a toll-free call) or visit their Web site at www.fda.gov.
This booklet is not copyrighted. Readers are encouraged
to duplicate and distribute as many copies as needed.
Additional copies of this booklet are available from
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal
and Skin Diseases
NIAMS/National Institutes of Health
1 AMS Circle
Bethesda, MD 20892–3675
You can also find this booklet on the NIAMS Web site at
www.niams.nih.gov.
Bursitis and Tendinitis
Table of Contents
What Is Bursitis and What Is Tendinitis? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
What Causes These Conditions? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
What Parts of the Body Are Affected? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Tennis Elbow and Golfer’s Elbow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Shoulder Tendinitis, Bursitis, and
Impingement Syndrome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Knee Tendinitis or Jumper’s Knee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Achilles Tendinitis
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
How Are These Conditions Diagnosed? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
What Kind of Health Care Professional Treats These
Conditions? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
How Are Bursitis and Tendinitis Treated? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Can Bursitis and Ten