MCL Bursitis
The inflammation of this bursa, which usually occurs after excessive bending of the knee joint, causes bursitis, which is called mcl bursitis or medial collateral ligament bursitis.
One of the most common bursitis of the knee is called Pes Anserine bursitis, which is sometimes called intertendinous bursa of the knee.
The location of this bursa, which becomes inflamed in this disorder, is on the inner or medial side of the knee, and it is commonly irritated and inflamed due to excessive bending and straightening of the joint, causing the so-called MCL bursitis.
You will read the most common causes of this bursitis, the factors and its diagnosis and treatment below.
Knee bursitis
Small cushions that contain jelly-like substances called bursae are located around our knee, shoulder, elbow, and thigh joints.
The bursae are made in such a way that they facilitate the movements between the bone and the skin and prevent the friction of the tissues when moving near the joint and facilitate the sliding of the tissues.
Normally, the inner wall of these sacs has cells that secrete a small amount of fluid to create a normal volume inside the pillow-like sacs.
Any factor that irritates the cells, such as pressure or direct impact on the joint or excessive use of the joint, causes these cells to secrete too much and the bursa becomes swollen or larger and puts pressure on the adjacent nerves and causes you pain and discomfort.
We have 11 known bursae on each side of the knee.
Perhaps one of the most well-known knee bursae is Pes Anserine.
Reasons
The reasons that commonly cause this bursitis are:
- Direct blows to the place where this bursa is located
- The second cause is in runners and people who overuse the knee joint and bend and straighten it a lot
- The third cause is in people who have inflammation of the knee joint, for example, Knee Osteoarthritis
- Rheumatism or rheumatoid arthritis
- Lupus and joint psoriasis
- People with obesity and diabetes
- Also, people who did not do stretching and warming up before heavy sports.
Where is Pes Anserine bursitis located?
This cushion-like sac is placed between the upper and inner part of the tibia and the three tendons of the hamstring muscles on the back of the thigh.
The hamstring muscles are in the back and inside of our thighs and their responsibility is to bend the knee.
Bending and straightening the knee too much causes this bursa to be irritated and the cells of the wall produce too much fluid, which leads to swelling and increasing the size of this sac.
The inflamed bursa becomes swollen and causes pressure on the surrounding parts and causes symptoms.
Symptoms
A person with bursitis may experience some of the following symptoms.
These symptoms include:
1. The first sign is knee pain, which is usually more in the inner and lower part of the knee joint
2. The second sign is swelling on the inside or the medial part of the knee
3. The third sign is Increased pain during physical activity, especially when a person climbs an incline or stairs.
4. The fourth sign is a decrease in the range of motion of the knee joint.
Diagnosis
The first step to diagnose bursitis knee is to take a detailed history of the patient.
Obtaining the history of direct blows and sports injuries and asking about the occupation that the person is engaged in, the level of physical mobility and physical activities of the person, searching about the symptoms of underlying diseases and family history of the disease and the history of drugs used.
The next step is a detailed examination of the knee joint.
This part starts with a detailed observation to evaluate the swelling and redness of the knee skin:
- Touching the knee to find out if there is warmth or not.
- What is the degree of swelling and consistency when examining with hands.
- Also, some other examinations to evaluate the knee range of motion according to the patient's condition.
The doctor may feel he needs to use imaging such as plain x-rays.
Simple imaging is used to diagnose, confirm or reject stress fractures and previous knee injuries such as Osteochondritis Dissecan or osteochondroma that increase the risk of MCL bursitis of the knee.
Treatment
Most of the above-mentioned bursitis will improve with the following care support measures. Also in some cases, the doctor may use MRI to diagnose the above bursitis:
- The use common anti-inflammatory drugs that are available without a prescription, such as ibuprofen and naproxen, which help reduce your pain and inflammation.
- The next treatment option is the injection of corticosteroids by a specialist doctor in the inflamed bursa, which perfectly reduces inflammation and relieves pain.
- Resting: this means stopping physical and sports activities that cause bursitis or increasing joint pain and discomfort. resting is mandatory as long as the bursitis is in acute pain.
- The next step is to use a cold compress: local cooling of the painful joint, usually with ice packs applied to the area four times a day for 15 to 20 minutes each time, is necessary.
Final word
One of the small pillow-like sacs in the knee joint that facilitates the movements of the joint is the bursa, which is located on the inner or medial part of the knee and is called the MCL bursa.
This bursa is irritated and inflamed in athletes and people who bend and straighten their knees a lot and causes MCL bursitis.
In most cases, pain, discomfort, and swelling can be improved with supportive care measures such as rest and cold compresses, keeping the leg elevated, regular medications, and finally draining and injecting local corticosteroids by an orthopedic specialist.
In few cases, the patient may be resistant to the above treatments and have chronic bursitis, or the bursitis has become infected for some reason, that is, septic bursitis has occurred and has not responded to oral, intravenous, and aspiration antibiotic treatment.
Therefore, the affected person does not respond to non-surgical treatments and the doctor may go for surgery and remove the bursa.