What is the Difference Between Bursitis and Tendonitis

The key difference between bursitis and tendonitis is that bursitis causes painful swelling in a small fluid-filled sac called bursa, which cushions spaces around the bones, while tendonitis causes inflammation of the tendons.

Bursitis and tendonitis are two medical conditions that cause painful inflammation. They can be caused by physical injuries. Both these conditions predominantly affect the bones. Moreover, these conditions can be treated through over-the-counter pain relievers and physical therapy.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Bursitis 
3. What is Tendonitis
4. Similarities – Bursitis and Tendonitis
5. Bursitis vs Tendonitis in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Bursitis vs Tendonitis

What is Bursitis?

Bursitis is the painful swelling in a small fluid-filled sac called the bursa, which cushions spaces around the bones and other tissues. Bursitis can be caused by repetitive motions like throwing a baseball or lifting heavy boxes at work and spending more time in one position that puts pressure on a particular part of the body, like kneeling. Less commonly, bursitis can also be caused by injuries and infections. The risk factors for bursitis may include athletes, people who do physical labor, musicians, and people with certain medical conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, and thyroid disease. Moreover, the most common symptoms of bursitis include pain while moving the affected part of the body, a limited range of motion, swelling, discoloration or redness on the skin, a feeling of warmth or heat, fever, and chills.

Bursitis can be diagnosed through physical examination, X-ray, ultrasound, MRI, blood test, and aspiration. Furthermore, treatment options for bursitis include elevating the injured area, taking over counter pain relievers (ibuprofen, naproxen, and acetaminophen), applying ice on the area, applying heat on the area, wearing a splint, sling or brace, antibiotics, physical therapy, occupational therapy, corticosteroid injections and surgeries to reset the bursa.

What is Tendonitis?

Tendonitis is a medical condition that causes inflammation of the tendons. Tendonitis is often caused by repetitive, minor impact on the affected area of the body or a sudden serious injury. The risk factors for this condition include people who do repetitive activities such as gardening, woodworking, shoveling, painting, scrubbing, throwing, and pitching, poor posture, and certain diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, gout, blood or kidney disease, and certain medications (fluoroquinolone and statins). The symptoms of tendonitis may include pain at the site of the tendon and surrounding area, gradual build-up pain, and sudden or severe pain if calcium deposits are present.

Tendonitis can be diagnosed through physical examination, ultrasound, and MRI. Furthermore, treatment options for tendonitis may include avoiding activities that aggravate the problem, resting the injured area, icing the area, taking over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medicines, corticosteroid medicines, physical therapy, and surgery.

What are the Similarities Between Bursitis and Tendonitis?

• Bursitis and tendonitis are two medical conditions that cause painful inflammation.
• These conditions can be caused by physical injuries.
• Both these conditions predominantly affect the bones.
• These conditions can be treated through over-the-counter pain relievers and physical therapy.

What is the Difference Between Bursitis and Tendonitis?

Bursitis is a medical condition that causes painful swelling in a small fluid-filled sac called the bursa, which cushions spaces around the bones, while tendonitis is a medical condition that causes inflammation of the tendons. Thus, this is the key difference between bursitis and tendonitis. Furthermore, bursitis is caused by repetitive motions like throwing a baseball or lifting heavy boxes at work, spending more time in one position that puts pressure on a particular part of the body, like kneeling, injuries, and infections. On the other hand, tendonitis is caused by repetitive, minor impact on the affected area of the body or a sudden serious injury.

The below infographic presents the differences between bursitis and tendonitis in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.

Summary – Bursitis vs Tendonitis

Bursitis and tendonitis are two medical conditions that cause painful inflammation. They mainly affect the bones. Bursitis causes painful swelling in the bursa. Bursa cushions spaces around the bones. Tendonitis is a medical condition that causes inflammation of the tendons. So, this summarizes the difference between bursitis and tendonitis.

Reference:

1. “Bursitis: Types, Treatment & Prevention.” Cleveland Clinic.
2. “Tendinitis: Symptoms, Causes, Tests and Treatment.” Cleveland Clinic.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Tendon inflammation – Tendonitis — Smart-Servier” By Laboratoires Servier – Smart Servier website (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Prepatellar bursitis” By Atropos235 – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia