Stop Guessing About Your Joint Pain and Start Healing

When a joint suddenly becomes stiff, swollen, and intensely painful, it can bring your active lifestyle to a grinding halt. Whether you are struggling to lift your arm, climb a flight of stairs, or comfortably swing a golf club, two of the most common culprits are Tendonitis and Bursitis.

Because these two conditions often occur in the exact same joints—specifically the shoulders, elbows, hips, and knees—they are frequently confused. However, they affect entirely different structures within your body.

At Accent on Health Chiropractic, we do not believe in a one-size-fits-all approach to joint pain. Dr. David Bohn utilizes advanced diagnostics to pinpoint exactly which structures are damaged, allowing us to deploy targeted, non-surgical therapies that accelerate your cellular healing.

Here is everything you need to know about the difference between Bursitis and Tendonitis, and how we treat them.

What is the Difference?

While both conditions involve severe inflammation and localized pain, the easiest way to understand the difference is to look at the anatomy involved.

Tendonitis (The Ropes)

Tendons are the thick, cord-like fibrous tissues that connect your muscles to your bones. They act like pulley ropes, allowing your muscles to move your skeleton.

• The Problem: Tendonitis is the inflammation, irritation, or micro-tearing of a tendon.

• The Cause: It is almost always caused by repetitive stress or overuse (e.g., swinging a tennis racket, painting a ceiling, running on uneven pavement).

• The Symptoms: Sharp pain exactly where the tendon attaches to the bone, which gets significantly worse when you actively move or flex the associated muscle.

• Common Types: Tennis elbow, Achilles tendonitis, jumper's knee, and rotator cuff tendonitis.

Bursitis (The Cushions)

Bursae are small, fluid-filled sacs located throughout your body. They act as slippery cushions between bones, tendons, and skin, preventing severe friction when you move.

• The Problem: Bursitis is the inflammation and swelling of a bursa sac.

• The Cause: It is often caused by direct trauma, prolonged pressure, or a sudden impact (e.g., falling on your knee, resting your elbows on a hard desk all day).

• The Symptoms: A dull, constant ache that is tender to the touch. The joint may look visibly swollen, red, or warm. Unlike tendonitis, a swollen bursa often hurts even when you are completely at rest.

• Common Types: Student's elbow (olecranon bursitis), housemaid's knee (prepatellar bursitis), and hip (trochanteric) bursitis.

The Accent on Health Diagnostic Approach

A standard visual exam often cannot determine whether you are suffering from inflamed tendons, a swollen bursa, or both. Furthermore, standard medical exams frequently miss the underlying mechanical issues that caused the repetitive stress in the first place.

We utilize High-Resolution Digital X-Rays alongside Digital Radiographic Mensuration Analysis (DRMA) to look deeper. By evaluating the precise structural integrity of your joints and spine, we can identify hidden misalignments, uneven joint spacing, and structural stress that forced your tendons or bursae to become overworked.

Advanced, Non-Surgical Treatment Protocols

Once we have accurately diagnosed the specific tissues involved, we utilize a synergistic blend of the industry's most advanced regenerative technologies to heal the injury rapidly, without the need for invasive surgeries or temporary cortisone shots.

• High-Intensity Laser Therapy: Whether targeting a fluid-filled bursa or a frayed tendon, Class 4 therapeutic laser energy penetrates deep into the joint to rapidly flush out localized inflammation, reduce swelling, and stimulate accelerated cellular repair.

• PiezoWave Shockwave Therapy: For chronic tendonitis that has developed stubborn scar tissue or calcification, PiezoWave delivers acoustic sound waves that mechanically break down the deep adhesions, effectively "rebooting" the healing process in older injuries.

• Precision Chiropractic Adjustments: We correct the underlying biomechanical faults. By restoring proper alignment to the spine and extremities, we instantly reduce the structural stress and abnormal friction that caused the tendon or bursa to become inflamed in the first place.

• Targeted Dry Needling: Quickly releases the tight, guarding muscle spasms that are pulling excessively on an inflamed tendon.