The hip is a stable joint, reinforced by strong ligaments, and several powerful groups of muscles. It is much easier to harm the shoulder, knee, and ankle than to injure the hip. Even so, hip problems can be highly disabling.
Daily activities such as walking down stairs, and turning in bed can be uncomfortable or painful for patients with a hip problem. The hip links to the lower extremity kinetic chain, transferring ground-reaction forces from the legs to the trunk.
Some hip problems are due to trauma, while many other conditions are due to overuse or misuse. Muscle imbalance impairs the normal joint function, limiting the functional range of motion. Degenerative and pathological hip conditions can be challenging to diagnose. Many times, patients who complain of pain and discomfort in the lower back, the buttocks, or the legs can be traced to a hip condition. And conditions such as hernia or aneurysm, without an obvious hip connection, may also prompt pain in the hip or groin.
Often, hip disease manifests as pain in the groin radiating all around the thigh and the knee. In such cases, the real challenge is ensure that the hip and thigh pain is a pathology of the hip as opposed to intra-abdominal or retroperitoneal pain. The majority of hip conditions are related to biomechanical issues. For example, when a patient strains a knee, and has knee or ankle problems, the gait is affected, causing hip pain. A change in gait may include carrying a baby or small child on the hip. People may also complain of hip pain when they are sitting differently. Basically, asymmetry of motion can cause a hip problem.
Doctors of Chiropractic see many hip conditions develop over a period of time, such as trochanteric bursitis, recurrent muscle strains, piriformis syndrome, and chronic degenerative changes in the hip joint (degenerative joint disease). Chiropractors have thorough knowledge of hip joint function, its involved muscles, and the adequate exercise regimen to help patients with hip problems.
Hip Treatments
Gentle stretching of specific muscle groups can be performed even right after an injury. Gradual movements of the joint should also be employed in order to prevent the formation of adhesions. In addition, vigorous exercise of the contralateral leg muscles helps create a neurological stimulus in the injured muscles that offsets atrophy. In the case of an acute injury with muscle swelling, however, an initial period of rest may be needed.
Piriformis syndrome and trochanteric bursitis may benefit from specific stretching exercises. Piriformis syndrome develops when the piriformis muscle inflames the sciatic nerve, causing hip aches down the back of the leg. Treatment should include gentle stretches of the piriformis muscle.
Trochanteric bursitis brings pain to the lateral part of the hip. Localized pain in this area indicates the need for stretches to lengthen this segment of connective tissue.
Weakened or injured muscles can be strengthened with the use of isotonic resistance exercises from a machine, elastic tubing, weights, or the body's own weight.
Since biomechanical alignment issues are linked with chronic hip complaints, patients must be screened for leg-length discrepancies and pronations. The failure to address these factors may cause recurring hip complaints, or symptoms in other locations. The lower extremities must be properly aligned to ensure the hip joints work smoothly.
Causes
In patients in their sixties and older, with preexisting conditions such as knee replacements, hip pain can result from age-related degenerative conditions. Osteoarthritis of the hip joint is one such degenerative condition that is commonly reported. Osteoarthritis of the hip joint may also occur after many years of improper biomechanics and dysfunction.
Here follows hip problems that originate within and around the hip:
- Overuse injuries, repetitive motion, or gait conditions
- Serious injuries, such as fractures
- Avascular necrosis
- Joint or bone infections near the hip. These are followed by fever, redness, and/or swelling
Contact a Chiropractic Doctor
A chiropractic doctor will evaluate the patient's medical history, ask about past exercise and movement that, in some cases, may point to a fracture or pathology. Chiropractic care will correct the subluxations and biomechanical faults of the pelvis and seek the right course of treatment to prevent and treat hip conditions.
No comments:
Post a Comment