Other Soft Tissue Pain Conditions

Abstract

This article was a cross sectional study conducted in the Loire Valley area of west central France. The subjects were randomly selected from workers undergoing the mandatory annual health examination between April 2002 and April 2005. Eighty-three occupational physicians participated in the study. All were trained by the investigators to perform a standardized physical examination, and criteria for the diagnosis of knee bursitis were applied. The criteria were pain and/or tenderness in the anterior face of the knee on the day of the examination or hurting at least four days in the preceding week and swelling or pressure induced pain in the pre-infra patellar bursa. The study population comprised 3710 workers, and 58% were men. The mean age was 38.7 10.3 years. Two percent of the workers refused to participate in this study and another five percent thought there was not enough time to complete the questionnaire or the physical examination. In the remaining study population, 21 cases of new bursitis were diagnosed in 15 workers [12 men] and 40% were bilateral. The overall prevalence of unior bilateral cases of knee bursitis was 0.4%. The highest prevalence in men was observed in the young [20–29 years] and middle aged [30–39 years] workers. Knee bursitis was most prevalent in the construction sector and in the food and meat processing industries. Blue-collar workers were more often affected than other occupation categories. Those blue-collar skilled workers such as painters, floor layers, plumbers and builders, were more likely to have knee bursitis. Truck drivers are also higher up on the list, below the skilled crafts blue-collar workers. Overall, the prevalence of unior bilateral cases of knee bursitis was fairly low: 0.6% in men and 0.2% in women.