Elbow Bursitis (Olecranon)

There's a small fluid-filled cushion called a bursa sitting directly over the bony point at the back of your elbow (the olecranon). It can fill up and swell when it gets irritated — most often from leaning on your elbow at a desk, getting bumped, or from gout, pseudogout, rheumatoid arthritis, or an infection working its way in. The classic look is a soft, bulging knot at the tip of the elbow you can squish with your finger. It usually doesn't hurt unless it's infected or actively inflamed. If it's infected (septic bursitis), it needs antibiotics — a different problem from the everyday irritation kind.

• Soft, golf-ball-sized swelling at the elbow tip — a squishy lump right over the bony point you can press in with your finger.
• Pain only if infected or actively inflamed — a simple fluid collection is usually painless; if the skin is hot and tender, infection is the concern.
• Full range of motion preserved — you can still bend and straighten your elbow because the bursa sits outside the joint itself.
• Warmth and redness over the swelling — if the skin turns red and feels warm, that points toward septic (infected) bursitis and needs prompt evaluation.

Soft, visible swelling right on the point of your elbow. You can usually still bend and straighten your arm fine, because the bursa sits outside the joint itself. To figure out which kind you have, your provider draws a small amount of fluid from the swelling with a needle (aspiration) and sends it to the lab. The lab counts cells, looks for crystals, and runs a culture — that tells us whether it's an infection, a gout flare, or just inflammation.

1. Corticosteroid injection

   If aspiration alone doesn't quiet things down, a steroid shot into the bursa can help — but only when infection and crystals (gout) have been ruled out.

2. Antibiotics

   Septic (infected) bursitis is treated with antibiotics — by IV in the hospital if it's serious, or by mouth if it's milder and the bug is sensitive to oral options.

Surgery (bursectomy — removing the bursa entirely) is reserved for two stubborn cases: an infected bursa that won't clear with antibiotics and drainage, or a chronic one that keeps refilling no matter how many times it's drained or injected.

External patient-education references and related OSI pages for additional background:

• Britannica — Bursitis
• Britannica — Joint (anatomy)
• AAOS OrthoInfo — patient education library
• OSI glossary — orthopedic terminology in plain language