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New Choices in Natural Healing: Bursitis and Tendinitis

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Bursitis and Tendinitis

The exercise program is going great, and it’s time to turn things up a notch. Just take it slowly. Packing 50 more pounds on the barbell, pushing an extra 30 minutes on the stair-climber or adding ten laps to your daily walk can bring on a case of the “itises”—bursitis and tendinitis, that is.

Bursitis occurs when you irritate the bursae, which are fluid-filled sacs that reduce friction in your joints. Tendinitis is an inflammation of the tendons, which connect your muscles to your bones. If you lift something that’s too heavy or repeat an awkward motion over and over, you’ll get a painful reminder in the form of sore, swollen joints.

Tendinitis and bursitis can improve with a little rest, but unless you change your exercise habits, they could turn into chronic conditions. The natural remedies in this chapter—used in conjunction with medical care and with your doctor’s approval—may help relieve the symptoms of bursitis and tendinitis, according to some health professionals.

See Your Medical Doctor When...

Your pain is getting worse and interferes with your ability to do whatever it is you want to do.
Your pain has lasted a long time.
Your joints are tender, warm and red and you suspect an infection.

Food Therapy

“Barley green is a good anti-inflammatory agent, so I’d suggest sprinkling some on a salad,” says Julian Whitaker, M.D., founder and president of the Whitaker Wellness Center in Newport Beach, California. You can buy barley green in most health food stores, he says.

“Also, eat a lot of pineapple when bursitis bothers you,” he adds. “Pineapple is rich in bromelain, a natural anti-inflammatory that speeds healing.”

Homeopathy

“If your joint is stiff and painful when you first move it and better the more you use it, and if it is better in warmth and worse in cold, then you might consider taking a 6C or 12C dose of Rhus toxicodendron every three to four hours until you feel relief,” says Mitchell Fleisher, M.D., a family practice physician and homeopath in Colleen, Virginia. If the joint pain is worse with the least motion or touch, better with resting and applied pressure and better in cold and worse in warmth, then he suggests trying a similar dosage of Bryonia.

Rhus toxicodendron and Bryonia can be purchased in many health food stores. To purchase homeopathic remedies by mail, refer to the resource list on page 637.

Hydrotherapy

Cold treatments usually work best against the intense pain of bursitis or tendinitis, says John Abruzzo, M.D., professor of medicine and director of the Rheumatology and Osteoporosis Center at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. He recommends that you use a cold, wet compress or an ice pack wrapped in a plastic bag and placed over a towel on the skin. You should feel relief within 10 to 20 minutes, says Dr. Abruzzo. He suggests repeating the treatment every four hours as needed for pain relief. He also adds this word of caution: Never use cold treatments for more than 20 minutes at a time, because they can damage the skin.

Juice Therapy

Black cherry juice is a popular folk remedy for arthritis that may also relieve bursitis and tendinitis, says Eve Campanelli, Ph.D., a holistic family practitioner in Beverly Hills, California. Dr. Campanelli recommends drinking two eight-ounce glasses a day, either fresh or from concentrate. (To make it fresh, she suggests a half-and-half mixture of four ounces of black cherry juice and four ounces of water.) Discontinue the treatment once the pain clears up, she says.

For more information on juicing techniques, see page 93.

Massage

Gently stroking the muscles near the affected joint can ease both bursitis and tendinitis, says Vincent Iuppo, N.D., a massage therapist, a naturopathic physician and director of the Morris Institute of Natural Therapeutics, a holistic health education center in Denville, New Jersey.

Here’s the massage that Dr. Iuppo recommends: Lubricate your hands with vegetable oil or massage oil. (Scented oils can make the massage more pleasurable, Dr. Iuppo says.) Place your hands on the “belly” of the muscle you want to massage (the belly is the thickest part of the muscle). Use the effleurage stroke (page 570) to warm up the muscle for several minutes, then switch to the friction stroke (page 570) for another five minutes or so. Do not massage directly on the joint, because that could cause more pain and inflammation, says Dr. Iuppo. He suggests massaging the area for 10 to 15 minutes every day until the pain clears up or to help prevent flare-ups.

Reflexology

When working on your hands or feet, focus on the reflex that matches the part of the body where the pain is flaring up, says St. Petersburg, Florida, reflexologist Dwight Byers, author of Better Health with Foot Reflexology. For example, Dr. Byers says to work on the shoulder reflex if you have bursitis in your shoulder.

To help you locate reflex points, consult the hand and foot reflex charts beginning on page 582. For instructions on how to work the points, see “Your Reflexology Session” on page 110.

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