How to Avoid Common Mistakes Hip Pain Sufferers Make

Hip pain and disability are unfortunately common amongst our community. Most people are unaware what options are available to them especially when they are suffering chronic hip pain. We are going to shed light on your hip anatomy and hip pain solutions so you can see exactly where your hip pain may be coming from, and teach you how to avoid common mistakes hip pain sufferers make. Read on...

Where is Your Hip? … The Real Anatomy

Where do you think your hips are? At your waist level? Near your groin? Or maybe at the bottom of your spine? If this is where you think your hips are, or you are simply unsure of where they are located, you’re not alone. Most people honestly don’t know where the proper hip joint is.

So, to be clear, the hip IS NOT the Pelvic joint (SI or Sacro-iliac joint), the hip IS NOT at your waist (known as the iliac crests) and the hip IS NOT your tailbone (known as the coccyx). Our hip joint IS comprised of 3 bones: The top of the femur, the long thigh bone, called the femoral head, ‘the ball’. (The femoral neck attaches the femoral head to the rest of the thigh bone).

Then the two of the pelvic bones, called the ilium and ischium. These bones fuse together to form the round cup for the femoral head to sit in, called the acetabular fossa, or ‘the socket’.

To help you find your hip, simply slide your hands into your pockets. Take note of where you first touch the side of your thigh as you begin to slide your hands in, and this will be close to your hip.

Stability for your hip joint comes from many thick, dense ligaments that attach the ball to the socket. These ligaments come together to form what is known as the hip capsule. Then surrounding the hip capsule there are large muscles that attach to the hip and span across it. Muscles such as the piriformis, the gluteals, tensor fascia Latae, adductors, obturators and the iliotibial band, which is technically a ligament, to name a few.

The hip is made for mobility and bears a lot of weight, unfortunately because so many forces are transferred across this joint it’s also primed to deteriorate if it's not looked after. Direct, indirect and cumulative traumas can all add to the hip becoming a real pain in the side of the butt. You might be surprised how much cumulative stress you put your hips under daily. Things like jogging, playing sport on concrete or hard surfaces, jumping out of vehicles, or standing uneven for hours at a time. Lots of little things can certainly add up to big things in your hips over time.

Can the pelvis effect the hip?

The ball of the hip sits inside the pelvic bone. When the pelvis is out of alignment it will change how the hip moves and performs. Yes, pelvic alignment and function has a huge bearing on the health of your hip joint.

Can a Short Leg Cause Hip, Pelvic or Low Back Pain?

The short answer is yes. The longer answer is, well, have a read:

If you have broken your thigh, leg, ankle or foot bones, often they will re-set so that the leg is shorter on that side. If you have had surgery to assist with any fractures then sometimes on the surgery side that leg can be longer due to any hardware, such as screws or plates, used in the surgery. If you have had hip dysplasia as a child or have had other hip problems this can also leave you with a shorter lower limb on one side too. This asymmetry will contribute to a dysfunctional gait (walking stride) and can accelerate or even cause hip problems. This is called a structural short leg.

If you have a pelvic rotation or asymmetrical pull of tissues around the pelvis or your pelvis is out of alignment this can contribute to a functional short leg which will also affect the ball within the socket and can cause or contribute to hip pain.

House of Chiropractic and Hip pain

We love that our Albury patients are enjoying hip pain relief and finding solutions to long term hip problems. So many people are told to expect hip problems, or worsening of their hips as they age. For us, this makes sense if the cause of the hip pain remains. If we correct the cause, the misalignment, then pain is lessened or gone, deterioration can be slowed, and often stopped.

Obviously not everyone’s hip pain is from them being out of alignment, and if this is the case, we refer them to the appropriate practitioner.

Unfortunately, though, ignoring hip pain or problems, won’t fix anything. You need to take action, sooner rather than later. The mistake most people with hip pain make, is they ignore it. Maybe they take some pain medication, which initially dulls the pain. However, gradually the problem continues to worsen, often without you even knowing, and then when the big shebang hits... you are in a CRISIS, and you can hardly walk let alone work. Then your options maybe few and far between. Don't make this mistake.

Addressing hip pain sooner will give you great gains now and your future self will thank you too. Call us on 02 6009 0999 at House of Chiropractic in Albury if you’d like to book an appointment to find out if we can help your hip too.