Hip pain comes from a variety of sources and causes a variable amount of disability for those who experience the condition. Fortunately, many people with hip discomfort can get some pain relief with safe, gentle, and effective chiropractic care. This article will discuss the causes of hip pain, some natural and alternative methods of hip pain relief, and how chiropractic doctors are trained to assess and treat conditions related to hip pain.
During my 35 years of chiropractic practice, I have seen many patients who experience hip pain. There is no single cause for those who suffer from this disease. Different patients experience hip pain from different causes.
Some people have hip pain because the hip has arthritic degeneration. This simply means that the hip joint, which is a ball and socket joint, has worn down and is now bone on bone. When I treat such a patient, I initially assess what could be done to help. First, I always check that the pelvis is well aligned and that the pelvic joints have normal movement. If the pelvis is misaligned and moving incorrectly, I will perform chiropractic adjustments to correct the alignment and movement. I also like to use a soft tissue technique where I apply gentle, sustained pressure to the muscles and fascia to aid in the repair of these injured tissues. While these methods cannot correct arthritis, they can help reduce inflammation and irritation of the hip joint and help patients get great relief from hip discomfort.
There are other patients who come to me with what they call hip pain but point to the area where the back pocket of their pants or trousers is. This is not the true hip joint, but rather an area of the pelvis called the sacroiliac joint. The sacroiliac joint is located on both sides of the lower back. It is not located in the center of the back, but rather on the sides. The sacroiliac joint is a sliding joint. It slides from side to side as we walk. If it is misaligned and not moving properly, it responds very well to a chiropractic adjustment. People with this problem usually respond very well to their chiropractic care.
Sometimes the hip joint itself can be injured due to trauma or repetitive stress. If this is the case, we can help repair the inflamed and irritated tissues with muscle electrostimulation and ice application. At the appropriate time, gentle chiropractic manipulations of the joint help restore alignment and motion.
Chiropractic doctors are trained to evaluate and treat conditions of the hip. It is important to look at the entire patient and not just the actual hip joint, which would limit all possible causes and the various treatment opportunities available. Chiropractic care is a drug-free, non-surgical, safe, effective and gentle approach for patients to obtain pain relief.
