Hip Pain

Hip Pain Q&A

What is hip pain?

Hip pain is a common problem that can affect people of all ages. It can be caused by a variety of factors, including overuse, injury, and underlying medical conditions. The pain can be sharp, dull, or aching, and it may be worse when you use your hip or when you walk, run, or climb stairs.

What are some of the conditions that can cause hip pain?

Some of the most common conditions that can cause hip pain include:

• Osteoarthritis: In older adults osteoarthritis (hip arthritis) is the most common source of hip pain. There is always a way to slow the progression of this incurable disease, which causes cartilage loss and joint degeneration. This condition causes inflammation of the joints. It can affect any joint in the body and can cause pain, stiffness, swelling, and loss of range of motion.
• Inflammatory Disease: Hip pain can be caused by inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, or inflammation of the spine (ankylosing spondylitis).
• Hip Bursitis: Bursitis is a condition that causes inflammation of a bursa, the small fluid-filled sac outside the hip joint. Bursitis is often the result of minor injury, trauma or overuse. Hip bursitis can cause pain, swelling, and redness.
• Labral tear: The labrum tear involves a tear in the ring of cartilage that surrounds the hip joint, which can cause pain, clicking, and popping in the hip.
• Hip impingement: Hip impingement is a condition that occurs when the ball of the hip rubs against and pinches the cup of the hip. This causes damage to the labrum cartilage and can result in arthritis, stiffness, and pain.
• Trochanteric bursitis: Trochanteric bursitis causes inflammation of a bursa located on the outside of the hip. When the bursa becomes irritated and inflamed, it can cause hip pain.
• Hip Flexor Strain: This is a condition that occurs when there is injury to the muscles where your thighs meet your hips, or your hip flexors. Symptoms may include difficulty walking, cramping, and sharp pain.
• Referred Pain: Referred pain is caused when pain from another area of the body directly causes hip pain. Sciatica often indirectly causes hip pain.

What are some of the causes of hip pain?

The most common cause of hip pain is overuse. This can happen when you repeatedly use your hip in a certain way, such as when running or playing sports. Other causes of hip pain include:

• Injury: Hip pain can be caused by an injury, such as a fall, a sports injury, or a direct blow. Injuries and bursitis often cause inflammation. Within the hip joint there is very limited space for the femoral head to move in the socket of the acetabulum. When inflammation is triggered, this space is filled with fluid or blood, causing pain. Inflammation of the area outside of the hip is also known as bursitis.
• Overuse Injury
• Trauma
• Underlying medical conditions: Hip pain can also be caused by underlying medical conditions, such as arthritis, bursitis, or labral tear.
• Age: Hip pain is more common in adults and older people. This is due to the wear down of the cartilage in the hip joint over time, which causes pain and stiffness.
• Gender: Because women have wider hips, hip pain is more common in women than in men.

How is hip pain diagnosed?

Dr. Gailes takes a variety of different factors into consideration when diagnosing hip pain and pinpointing the exact root cause in each patient. Based on the patient's age group, their daily activities, and an examination of their gait, it is easy for our chiropractor to identify the likely causes of hip pain and dysfunction becore even doing a chiropractic adjustment assessment. As a results-driven practicioner Dr. Gailes prefers to analytically identify the most likely situation before even approaching a physical exam. In adolescant, prebubescent patients with hip pain Dr. Gailes takes a more gentle approach to treatment beause the cause is most likely based on congenital development or fracture. In young, skeletally mature patients, a hip pain diagnosis is usually based on musculotendinous strain, ligamentous sprain, contusion, or bursitis. In older patients, degenerative osteoarthritis or fractures are the most likely cause. There are also several ways of evaluating the patient's look, feel, ad=nd range of hip motion that we use to diagnose the cause and source of hip pain.

The following are several types of gait we observe during hip pain diagnosis:

• Trendelenburg gait - There is excessive drop of the contralateral side of pelvis while walking. This indicates osteoarthritis-driven factors or a slipped capital femoral epiphysis.
• Waddling gait - Indicates congenital hip disorders, spinal muscle dystrophy, or myopathy.
• Antalgic gait - This is a limp adopted by the patient to avoid pain in the leg from injury.
• Spastic gait - patient walks in crisscross maner due to brain injury, stroke, or - polyneuropathy.
• Steppage gait - This distinct gait indicates more serious causes such as multiple sclerosis, peripheral neuropathy, or spinal cord injury.

How can I prevent hip pain?

There are a few things you can do to help prevent hip pain, including:

• Stay active: Exercise to strengthen hip joints and muscles.
• Warm up before exercising: Warming up can help to prevent injuries during exercise.
• Stretch after exercising: Stretching can reduce muscle soreness and stiffness.
• Use proper technique: Using proper technique during exercising can help with injury prevention.
• Avoid activities that cause pain

What are specific chiropractic techniques used to treat hip pain?

At Indian Harbor Chiropractic we know that misalignments of the spine, or vertebral subluxations, can contribute to hip pain. Chiropractic manipulations of the spine during adjustments can restore movement to the joints or parts of the spine that have an alignment issue. We use a variety of techniques to adjust the spine and improve alignment including:

Chiropractic Adjustment

Chiropractic adjustments can realign your spine or other parts of the body, reduce tension, and alleviate discomfort due to hip pain symptoms. We also use stretching techniques, axial manipulation of the hip, and kinetic chain treatment ( manipulative therapy to the spine, knee, ankle, or foot when appropriate).

Spinal manipulation therapy (SMT)

Spinal manipulation is a technique where Dr. Gailes will apply a controlled thrust to a joint of the spine. This motion moves the joint more than it would on its own. SMT is actually a collection of techniques which include massage or mobilization of soft tissue, adjustment of spinal subluxations, trigger point therapy, cross-friction massage, active release therapy, and mechanical traction on an area of the spine or on an extremity.

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS)

TENS sends electrical pulses through the skin to start your body's own painkillers. The electrical pulses can release endorphins and other substances to stop pain signals in the brain. TENS can reduce pain. Tens also works on muscles and causes muscle contractions by stimulating α-motor neurons. It is highly effective in improving muscle function, strengthening muscles, and improving joint range of motion.

Massage Therapy

Dr. Gailes may use massage therapy with a variety of techniques to manipulate the soft tissues of the body, including the muscles, tendons, and ligaments. This can help to reduce muscle tension, improve range of motion, and promote circulation.

Class IV Laser therapy

Dr. Gailes is currently the only chiropractor in Greenwich, CT offering Class IV Laser Therapy. Dr. Gailes uses chiropractic adjustments and laser therapy to treat a variety of musculoskeletal conditions and speed up recovery times for all types of injuries. Laser therapy will reduce pain by over 50% in three to four treatments and can complement chiropractic adjustments or be used as an independent form of treatment.

Begin with chiropractic care today

For complete hip pain relief call the Indian Harbor Chiropractic office or schedule an appointment online today.
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