Hip pain can make your life much more difficult. Even doing ordinary tasks can be more difficult when your hip hurts and is stiff. Hip pain can also linger and be an issue for weeks or even months if you don’t deal with it. There are a number of things that cause pain in the hips, including misuse and injury. If you’re dealing with hip pain, you need to see a professional about it. Getting it diagnosed is the first step to finding a solution to your pain, which can include taking medication, doing certain exercises, and seeing a chiropractor.
What Causes Hip Pain?
Hip pain can be caused by a number of different things. The joint the body’s biggest ball-and-socket joint, and it’s very durable. That doesn’t mean that it can’t be damaged, though. Over time, your hip joint may naturally start to wear down. The tendons and muscles get overused, and the bone can wear away.
One of the causes of hip pain is arthritis. Both rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis commonly cause pain in the hip because they cause the joint to become inflamed. Over time, this hip pain can get worse. It also makes it hard to move because arthritis makes the joint stiffen up. In general, anything that can put strain on the tendon, muscle, or joint of the hip can lead to pain, but there are some specific conditions that also affect the hip.
Falling and fracturing your hip is another major source of hip pain. As you age, the bones start to become more brittle, making it more likely that you will break a hip if you fall on it. Sometimes, these breaks don’t heal quite right, leading to pain for the rest of your life.
Ailments That Can Lead to Hip Pain
Tendinitis can cause the tendons in the hip to become irritated or inflamed. This, in turn, leads to hip pain when you try to move. If you have a job that requires repetitive movements that put stress on your hips, you’re likely to develop this condition.
Another condition repetitive motions can cause is bursitis. This condition involves the formation of bursae, liquid sacs that can form between the tendons, muscles, and bones. They cause hip pain when they become inflamed.
If you tear the labrum, which is a cartilage ring that sits around the hip socket, it can cause severe pain. This ring helps hold the thighbone and the socket together. A labral tear is something a number of athletes have to deal with.
Then there’s avascular necrosis or osteonecrosis. This condition occurs when the hip bone doesn’t receive the correct amount of blood. This actually causes some of the tissue to die. There are a few things that can lead to avascular necrosis, including using steroids for a long period of time and dislocating your hip.
Finally, those who are dealing with cancer may experience some hip pain if the cancer has begun affecting the bone. When this occurs, you usually experience pain in a number of areas, not just your hip.
Dealing with Hip Pain
If your pain has been caused by overuse of the joint or by repetitive motions, usually rest will help. You can also take some over-the-counter medication to help. Unfortunately, you do have to be careful here. Too much rest can cause the joint to stiffen up. That will actually cause you more pain once you start moving around again. Try to keep your hip as loose as you can by making small movements while you rest.
If arthritis is the base cause of your pain, taking some anti-inflammatory medication will help. Because arthritis is often a long-term condition, you do need to talk to your doctor about taking medication long-term. Some over-the-counter medications can have bad side effects if you take them for long periods of time, especially if you’re taking high doses. If you’re using prescription medication, there’s also the risk of becoming addicted.
Putting ice on your hip can help relieve some of the hip pain. Ice the area for 15 to 20 minutes several times a day. You can also put heat on it by taking a warm shower. This will help loosen the muscles so that you can stretch and exercise without hurting yourself.
Actions That Can Help with Hip Pain
Swimming can help relieve hip pain caused by a number of sources, including arthritis. That’s because swimming lets you exercise without putting a lot of weight on your hips. Other low-impact exercises can also help you deal with pain.
If you’ve had an injury that has led to hip pain, you may need physical therapy. Here, you’ll work with an expert in order to learn how to walk again or how to learn what not to do while walking. By correctly moving the hip joint over and over during therapy, you teach the body how it should move. This will help you walk correctly after you finish therapy.
Visiting a chiropractor is another great way to deal with this type of pain. A chiropractor can realign your joints, relieving pain caused by pressure or pinched areas. They may make a number of chiropractic adjustments to your hips and back to help relieve tension. They can also help you learn how to exercise safely and what kind of stretches you can do to help your hips.
Should You Have Surgery for Your Hip Pain?
There are some conditions that do require surgery. A broken or fractured hip, for example, requires surgery to repair. However, not all causes of pain in the hips require surgery. Overuse, stress, sprains, and strains don’t necessarily require such a procedure. In some cases, it won’t help at all, plus you have to deal with recovery time. It’s better off to try more natural methods first.
What’s the Best Way of Dealing with Hip Pain?
If your hip pain is fairly minor and doesn’t recur, rest and using some ice and heat will often help. Changing the motions you do while at work will also help. Seeing a chiropractor for an adjustment can also provide relief without worrying about surgery or taking pills. Often, having a chiropractic adjustment followed by rest and doing the correct exercises is all you really need to deal with long-term hip pain.
