Hip Pain

What is hip pain?

Hip pain is discomfort in or around one or both of your hip joints.

The hip joints are where the thigh bones and pelvis meet. These bones work together to support your weight and help you keep your balance. However, they experience daily wear-and-tear. Over time, this can result in swelling and stiffness, affecting your mobility and quality of life.

Most hip pain improves with rest and activity changes. If your pain continues for more than a week, contact Performance Therapy Institute.

What causes hip pain?

Hip pain occurs for various reasons, including:

• Osteoarthritis (OA)
• Rheumatoid arthritis (RA)
• Bursitis
• Repetitive strain injuries (RSI)
• Sports injuries
• Traumatic injuries like car accidents and falls
• Fractures (broken bones)
• Hip labral tears
• Iliotibial syndrome
• Hip impingement
• Muscle strains
• Tendinitis

Sometimes, hip pain occurs because of a structural condition like developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). DDH affects how the bones in your hip joint fit together, causing abnormal hip movement.

How is hip pain diagnosed?

Your Performance Therapy Institute provider reviews your medical records and asks about your symptoms, including when the pain started, where it’s at, and if activities like walking or sitting for extended periods make it worse.

Your provider then completes an exam. They check your affected hip for bruising, redness, and swelling, gently press on it and the surrounding skin to identify sensitive places, and assess your hip’s range of motion.

If your provider suspects an underlying injury, like a broken bone or a labral tear, they order diagnostic imaging (X-rays, a CT scan, or an MRI). These screens will confirm where and how severe the damage is and guide treatment.

How is hip pain treated?

The Performance Therapy Institute team takes an integrative, holistic approach to hip pain treatment. They could suggest:

• Manual therapies, including massage and joint mobilization, to relieve pain
• Therapeutic exercises to improve balance, flexibility, and strength
• Ice packs to ease pain and reduce or eliminate swelling
• Laser therapy
• Electrical stimulation
• Gait retraining to improve mobility
• Patient education so that you can manage the pain at home

Most cases of hip pain benefit from several treatments at once. Your provider monitors your symptoms at regular checkups and adjusts your care as needed to speed healing and prevent setbacks.

Call the nearest Performance Therapy Institute office today to schedule hip pain treatment, or book your appointment online.