Shoulder bursitis is inflammation of the fluid-filled sacs in the joint. Relief comes from rest, anti-inflammatories, and targeted physical therapy.
What are the most common symptoms of an inflamed shoulder bursa?
The shoulder is a complex joint. It encompasses the union of bones, muscles, ligaments and tendons. Inside the shoulder is also a bursa, a tiny sacs of fluid that help to reduce the friction between moving parts around the shoulder. Bursa serves as a cushion for the moving rotator cuff tendons. The shoulder bursa pain is caused by inflammation due to an injury, overuse, or a condition such as rheumatoid or osteo- arthritis.
What causes shoulder bursitis to develop?
This inflammation is called shoulder bursitis. The inflammation causes the bursa to swell and grow, leaving less room in the shoulder joint for the muscles and tendons, which results in pain with movement. You may feel pain around the outside and tip of the shoulder, and it may be painful to the touch or red or swollen.
Certain movements may be more painful than others. Patients in our office typically complain of pain when they lift their arm, reach up, open a door, or carry a heavy object. Many also report pain when lying on their side and shoulder pain at night.
Shoulder bursitis can happen to anyone, but those at a higher risk tend to be athletes, farmers, carpenters, gardeners, factory workers and others who perform a specific shoulder movement on a frequent basis.
Treating Shoulder Bursitis
The first step in caring for shoulder bursitis pain is simply to rest the shoulder and avoid the motions that cause pain as much as you can. Ice the area when painful and take over-the-counter pain relievers such as ibuprofen or naproxen. Stretching may also help if the bursitis is caused by muscle tightness or a strength imbalance. Some patients find that wearing a shoulder sling helps make sure they are resting their arm. Your doctor may also give you a localized corticosteroid injection to manage the pain and control the inflammation.
When should I see a shoulder specialist for treatment?
If the pain persists for months even after trying these conservative measures, you may need to consider surgery. However, a newer alternative to surgery would be to try regenerative medicine treatments using your own blood cells. This treatment works by activating the body’s natural healing process to reduce painful inflammation. It involves a relatively simple procedure that takes plasma-rich platelets (PRP) from your own blood and injects them into the shoulder joint after separating them in a centrifuge. The PRP cells can help the shoulder to heal faster.
How long does it take for shoulder bursitis to heal?
Mild shoulder bursitis typically heals within two to four weeks with rest, while chronic cases may require six to eight weeks of targeted therapy.
While traditional rest and ice are standard, the healing timeline depends heavily on the treatment approach:
- Standard Recovery: Involves 2–8 weeks of activity modification and anti-inflammatories.
- Regenerative Procedures: Our outpatient treatments focus on repairing the injured area rather than just blocking pain. Most patients report a significant improvement in pain and function within just a few weeks.
- Long-term Healing: Regardless of the method, the biological healing process continues for several months as tissues remodel and strengthen.
For active people in Cleveland, we prioritize regenerative options that aim to shorten this window and restore a full range of motion faster than traditional “wait and see” methods.
Learn more about regenerative treatments here.
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The Cleveland Shoulder Institute treats patients with all types of shoulder and elbow disorders resulting from traumatic injuries, arthritis, instabilities, rotator cuff, and sports-related injuries. Led by internationally recognized Orthopedic Surgeon Reuben Gobezie, MD, the institute provides both surgical and non-operative treatments.
Dr. Gobezie is one of the country’s top specialists in advanced arthroscopic and open surgical techniques to restore damaged joints, ligaments and bones. He is also one of the most experienced and highest volume shoulder surgeons in the country. A number of studies have shown that surgical volume, the number of surgeries a surgeon performs each year, is a strong predictor of patient outcome. The more surgeries that a doctor and his surgical team performs, the better the results for patients.
Dr. Gobezie is Founding Director of The Cleveland Shoulder Institute and Regen Orthopedics.