Housemaid's Knee

[eash]

What are the causes and treatment of this?

[shaneystar]

Bursa is the Greek word for 'a wine skin'. When a bursa becomes inflamed it's known as bursitis. Prepatellar bursitis is commonly called 'housemaid's knee'. The bursa becomes tender and swollen, and movement of the joint may become restricted. If the bursa becomes infected it may become red, hot, and painful.


Prepatellar bursitis is usually caused by repeated friction between the skin and the patella. It can also be caused by injury, infection, or underlying inflammatory condition. However, often the cause is unknown.

The condition occurs in situations where someone is repeatedly on their knees. It used to be characteristic of housemaids who spent a lot of their working day on their knees cleaning - hence the name. Now it's more common among those who have to spend time on their kneees at work, such as carpet fitters.


People can reduce their risk of bursitis by avoiding repeated friction between the skin and the patella, for example by avoiding kneeling.

Treatment usually involves rest, cold and heat therapy, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Fluid may need to be aspirated from the bursa, and hydrocortisone may be injected. If the condition persists then surgical excision may be recommended

[atl]

well done shaneystar! my doctor could not have explained better.

however a good point to remember is that this is an industrial disease which needs to be recorded  NOW !     

[silly moo]

Rather depends on what actually caused it - if you kneel a lot at home it is not industrial.

[shaneystar]

Actually this is true sillymoo. My mother suffered from housemaid's knee as they called it then.She was born in 1904 and went into service when she left school as a housemaid!! Scrubbing floors on her knees.
Then years of kneeling on stone floors scrubbing boiler suits and so on for my dad and brothers.This no doubt contributed to the condition.
However I have had bursitus in both knees and have never scrubbed a boiler suit on a stone floor .Mine has developed into osteoarthritis over the years. The actual cause of it not really known . The underlying condition must be there in the first place and a job where you are constantly kneeling must only aggravate it.
There are several recognised industrial diseases which include musculoskelatal conditions .Whether bursitis is amongst them I don't know.But..I would think it is more an occupational disease.