Hip Pain
The hip joint is where your femur (thigh bone) sits in a nook called the acetabulum in your ilium bone! Many people mistake the sacroiliac joint for their hip.
Individuals with hip pain often have great difficulty walking, sometimes worse after sitting for a period of time and then as you try to to get moving again the hip is painful. We often hear complaints of pain down the outside or back of the leg that can look like sciatica. Those with hip pain will usually have difficulty and pain with internal rotation of the femur as well as external rotation.
Causes
Hip pain has many causes, but perhaps one of the most common is degeneration of either the head of the femur bone, or the cartilage inside the acetabulum. This can be caused by years of running, a congenitally shallow hip joint, or blunt trauma. Other causes are a tear in the acetabulum, hip flexor strain, very commonly poor hip hinge coordination, very tight hip muscles including the gluteal muscles and the illiotibial band. Impingement syndromes, abnormal gait patterns, as well as poor foot and knee biomechanics can contribute to stress and strain being transferred to the hip causing pain.
Treatments
The treatments for hip pain are dependent on the cause of the pain. Commonly we see simple mechanical issues complicated by multi- joint faulty biomechanics that lead to pain and immobility. When these faulty mechanics are corrected the pain and limitation is decreased or eliminated.
In extreme cases of degeneration hip replacement surgery may be necessary. Sometimes arthroscopic surgery is needed if there are free floating fragments of cartilage in the joint.
To get your hip analyzed and to see if you can avoid surgery, please call to schedule your appointment.