Hip Pain and Chiropractic

Our hips perform many functions for our body; they keep us upright, allow us to bear weight, walk smoothly, run, jump, and kick. Since the hips are engaged in nearly every way we move, pain in this area can affect everyday life. While hip pain can be the result of injury or osteoarthritis, it can also be due to other health conditions. Our Cumming chiropractors can help you identify the source of your hip pain and develop a tailored treatment plan for condition.
 
Common Causes of Hip Pain:
 
Overuse Injuries
Constant use and wearing of the soft tissue lining of the hip joint can cause arthritis and inflammation. This can also place stress on the hip and cause inflammation of the muscles, tendons, and ligaments surrounding the hip. This type of pain can develop gradually overtime.
 
Trauma
Much more obvious than overuse injuries, fractures and dislocations of the hip or pelvis are easier to detect since they usually are result of direct trauma and can be seen on X-ray. Even if no bones actually break, the ligaments and muscles in the hip area can be strained, sprained, or bruised with direct trauma. These injuries can still cause significant pain.

Overuse Injuries
Heavy wear and tear on the cartilage surrounding the hip joint can cause arthritis and inflammation. Routine daily activities that place stress on the hip can also cause inflammation of the muscles, tendons, and ligaments surrounding the hip. This type of pain can develop gradually overtime.

Inflammation
Hip pain can come from within the hip joint itself or from the structures and ligaments surrounding the joint. The hip itself has limited space to move in its socket. If for any reason the hip or joint becomes injured it will cause inflammation in this space. This space then can become filled with fluid or blood, causing pain. There are also sacs outside of the joint called bursa, if these inflame pain usually occurs.

Osteoarthritis and Inflammatory Diseases
No matter the age of a person, if an injury to the hip bone occurs it can begin a process of degeneration. This degeneration is called osteoarthritis and it is the most common cause of hip pain. It involves a cycle of progressive cartilage loss and joint degeneration. While degeneration and changes to the bone can not be reversed it can be slowed down and prevented from getting worse.  Other inflammatory diseases can also cause hip pain like rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, or inflammation of the spine.
 
Referred Pain and Other Sources of Hip Pain                                       
Often what patients describe as “hip pain” may actually derive from a different part of the body. Some patients that experience pain in the lower back and hips may actually be suffering from dysfunction of the sacroiliac joints, or the joints that connect the sacrum to the iliac bones. Pain in the groin and hip can also be a result of a hernia, when the abdominal wall is torn or weakened.
One of the more common types of referred pain is sciatica, or inflammation or irritation of the sciatic nerve. This can result from conditions like disc herniation, spinal degeneration, narrowing of the spine due to osteoarthritis, or Piriformis syndrome. Irritation of the nerve root can cause pain the in low-back, buttocks, hips, as well as radiating leg pain.
 
How Chiropractic Can Help Hip Pain
After performing a careful physical examination and evaluating your personal history, our Cumming chiropractors can work to determine the source of your hip pain. We create a personalized treatment plan that could include chiropractic adjustments, decompression, cold laser, exercise therapy, posture advice, stretching, massage, coordination with other health practitioners, and more. Treatments will aim to reduce inflammation, relax any existing muscle spasms, strengthen weakened muscles, and improve the mobility of the joint. Depending on the cause of your hip pain, chiropractic adjustments could help.

Multiple studies have found that chiropractic adjustments are effective in relieving sciatica, a common cause of pain in the hip and lower back.  In a study comparing the efficacy of chiropractic to surgery for sciatica, 60% of chiropractic patients with severe sciatica had substantially improved symptoms that enabled them to avoid surgery. Cases studies have also suggested that chiropractic can relieve pain associated with sacroiliac joint dysfunction and Piriformis syndrome, which both frequently result in hip pain.
 
Some patients with hip osteoarthritis have also benefited from chiropractic care. In one study, 83% of these types of patients improved within nine visits to a chiropractor. Natural treatments of hip pain can allow patients to avoid the costs and risks of surgery and drugs.  
 
So if you or someone you know suffers from hip pain then get in touch with the Cumming Chiropractors at Thrive Health Systems In Alpharetta GA. We are located on Atlanta Hwy. You can begin your journey back to health and create an amazing year for yourself by calling us at 770-667-0099. Let’s make it your healthiest year ever!