Hip Pain
Many patients come fairly regularly describing pain in and around the hip joints. There can be many causes of hip pain, some of which can be treated by an osteopath. Pain can come from a tight, strained, or overused muscle in the hip or from the joint itself. Hip pain can sometimes be the result from an injury, it can be referred from the back, or can be related to the way you move, stand, and/or use your hip.
Does any of the following sound familiar?
Osteoarthritis (wear and tear) - This is as a result from a narrowing of the space within the joint and damage to the cartilage. It is important to remember that this wear and tear isn't always an 'age-thing'. This condition can happen much earlier on in life as a result of accidents, or intense and repetitive activities such as those found in sports like football or dancing. They may favour one leg more than the other when landing from a jump or from kicking a ball. The pain that you may experience can go into the groin or down the legs towards the knee. Whilst osteopathy treatment cannot cure the arthritis, it can often help ease the symptoms and prevent the progression of the wear and tear by massage of the hip muscles, stretching the hip joint to improve mobility, and by addressing secondary issues or problems within the back, knees or ankles. Exercises or other advice may be given to help to return back to your normal well. On occasion, a GP referral for MRI or X-Ray scans may be required.
Bursitis - This is the inflammation and swelling of the bursa, a fluid filled sac that is found between the bones and muscles and tendons around a joint, as a result of too much friction. Normally, these sacs allow the muscles to glide over the bones to allow the joints to move as freely as possible. However, injury and repetitive movements can irritate these sacs, such as physical activities that require a lot of repetition, such as running, or if a lot of pressure is placed up on it. The symptoms of this are often aggravated when lying on the painful side and are generally worse in the mornings. On occasions, you may see redness on the side of the hip. Using an ice pack will help to reduce the inflammation and the pain around the area. By seeing an osteopath, we will be able to treat any tight muscles using soft tissue techniques, address any other issues in other joints, and advise on an exercise and stretching regime to reduces the tensions over the bursa.
Groin Strain - This is often related to activities such as running or breast stroke, where muscles such as the adductors and psoas become strained and irritated. Treating strains are important to prevent the build up of scar tissue and chronic shortening of the muscle which can lead to further issue within the hip such as wear and tears.
Snapping Hip (Dancer's Hip) - This is a condition in which you experience a clicking or snapping sensation around the hip, especially when flexing or extending the hip. An audible click or pop is not uncommon in this condition. This is caused when the Ilio-tibial Band (ITB) or the Psoas muscle flicks over a boney prominence within the hip, as a result of these muscles being too tight or dysfunctional. Whilst this isn't an issue in itself, sometimes the snapping sensation can be uncomfortable and can lead to other conditions such as bursitis.
Pubic Symphysis Disorder (PSD/SPD) - This is characterised as pain and tenderness where the pelvic bones meet in the middle of the pubic area. This is a very common condition that pregnant and breastfeeding women experience due to the hormone Relaxin which is released. It can also be present in sports people, particularly runners, dancers, and football players. Osteopathic treatment will aim to improve the mobility of the hips, sacro-illiac joints, the back, and legs to reduce the tension and stress going through the pubic symphysis.
Does any of the following sound familiar?
- Buttock, groin, or inner thigh pain? Especially when moving and weight bearing?
- A painful click or clicking sensation in the groin?
- Worsening pain when going up stairs, getting in and out of the car, vacuuming, or just walking?
- Tenderness over the hips on either side of your low back?
- Tightness in the hips when stretching?
- Struggling to lie on one side because of a deep pain near the hip against the bed?
- Pain in the hip region during or since pregnancy?
- A stiff hip that doesn't seem to move as much as the other?
- Toying with the idea of a hip operation?
Osteoarthritis (wear and tear) - This is as a result from a narrowing of the space within the joint and damage to the cartilage. It is important to remember that this wear and tear isn't always an 'age-thing'. This condition can happen much earlier on in life as a result of accidents, or intense and repetitive activities such as those found in sports like football or dancing. They may favour one leg more than the other when landing from a jump or from kicking a ball. The pain that you may experience can go into the groin or down the legs towards the knee. Whilst osteopathy treatment cannot cure the arthritis, it can often help ease the symptoms and prevent the progression of the wear and tear by massage of the hip muscles, stretching the hip joint to improve mobility, and by addressing secondary issues or problems within the back, knees or ankles. Exercises or other advice may be given to help to return back to your normal well. On occasion, a GP referral for MRI or X-Ray scans may be required.
Bursitis - This is the inflammation and swelling of the bursa, a fluid filled sac that is found between the bones and muscles and tendons around a joint, as a result of too much friction. Normally, these sacs allow the muscles to glide over the bones to allow the joints to move as freely as possible. However, injury and repetitive movements can irritate these sacs, such as physical activities that require a lot of repetition, such as running, or if a lot of pressure is placed up on it. The symptoms of this are often aggravated when lying on the painful side and are generally worse in the mornings. On occasions, you may see redness on the side of the hip. Using an ice pack will help to reduce the inflammation and the pain around the area. By seeing an osteopath, we will be able to treat any tight muscles using soft tissue techniques, address any other issues in other joints, and advise on an exercise and stretching regime to reduces the tensions over the bursa.
Groin Strain - This is often related to activities such as running or breast stroke, where muscles such as the adductors and psoas become strained and irritated. Treating strains are important to prevent the build up of scar tissue and chronic shortening of the muscle which can lead to further issue within the hip such as wear and tears.
Snapping Hip (Dancer's Hip) - This is a condition in which you experience a clicking or snapping sensation around the hip, especially when flexing or extending the hip. An audible click or pop is not uncommon in this condition. This is caused when the Ilio-tibial Band (ITB) or the Psoas muscle flicks over a boney prominence within the hip, as a result of these muscles being too tight or dysfunctional. Whilst this isn't an issue in itself, sometimes the snapping sensation can be uncomfortable and can lead to other conditions such as bursitis.
Pubic Symphysis Disorder (PSD/SPD) - This is characterised as pain and tenderness where the pelvic bones meet in the middle of the pubic area. This is a very common condition that pregnant and breastfeeding women experience due to the hormone Relaxin which is released. It can also be present in sports people, particularly runners, dancers, and football players. Osteopathic treatment will aim to improve the mobility of the hips, sacro-illiac joints, the back, and legs to reduce the tension and stress going through the pubic symphysis.
Common Conditions Treated
- Muscular tensions
- Osteoarthritis
- Bursitis
- Joint pain
- Sporting injuries
How an Osteopath Can Help
- Osteopaths can use a wide range of gentle manipulations depending on your age, fitness and diagnosis to reduce muscular tension in the hip and improve movement in hip joint. We may gently massage the soft tissues or rhythmically “rock” the joints to release tension and sometimes we may gently manipulate the neck to move the joints and you may hear a “click”.
- Treatment is different in every individual and sometimes it might involve treating other areas in the back and shoulders as well as the knees and ankle.
- We may offer advice on your posture at work or in the car and give advice on exercise and stretching to help keep your hip joint and muscles relaxed.
- X-rays, scans and other tests are sometimes required to make a diagnosis and your osteopath may refer to your GP or a specialist for any additional investigations or treatment.