If you are looking for information on treatment for hip pain, then you please read this article written by our Chiropractor and Physiotherapist, Alain Michelotti
So, tired of hearing your complaints about the nagging pain at the front of your thigh and knee, friends have finally persuaded you to consult a chiropractor.
You like walking and for the last few months, this has spoiled your outings with the ramblers’ group. You enjoy good health and did not think this pain was a good enough reason to bother your GP.
You know plenty of people who have had new hips and knees but you are pretty sure that in your case it is “only muscular”.
The day of the consultation comes and when your partner comes home in the evening you are asked what happened:
“Well”, you say, “I was asked a lot of questions, was examined and told that, despite feeling the pain in front of my thigh down to my knee, it was, in fact, my hip that was responsible for the pain. It was pretty obvious when the chiropractor compared the mobility of my two hips.
On one side I could move my hip fairly freely but on the other side it was quite restricted and painful. The chiropractor said that it needed to be confirmed by an X-ray and is going to write to my GP. He was very reassuring and said that it was almost certainly a mechanical problem and if so, there was plenty that could be done to help my condition”.
This scenario is relatively common: a gradual pain, most of the time developing over months or even years. The first thing the chiropractor has to decide is what the patient means by “it is my back”, “it is my hip”, “it is my knee”. The “hip” often refers to the buttock or even the back, and a pain in the knee can originate from the hip.
….despite feeling the pain in front my thigh down to my knee, it was in fact, my hip that was responsible for the pain.
Once the origin of the pain has been determined, in this case it would be the hip, additional investigation is necessary to rule out any pathology. Depending on the amount of wear and tear shown on the X-ray and the amount of disability experienced by the patient, the GP may decide to refer you to a consultant.
At the end of the day, hip degeneration is a fairly common problem, and surgery to replace the faulty joint will only be performed when the patient is in so much discomfort that his or her quality of life is seriously affected.
On the brighter side, plenty can be done to restore and maintain some mobility in the joint. Conservative measures can take the form of mobilisation, stretching and muscle strengthening exercises.
Advice designed to help you avoid irritating and overloading the joint is also an extremely beneficial way to alleviate the pain and reduce disability.
In some instances, when the wear and tear is not too advanced, these steps are even sufficient to delay surgery for many years. Then, if and when surgery becomes the only available option, thanks to these conservative measures which you will already have taken, the quality of the joint environment, particularly the musculature, will have been maintained to the maximum and post surgical recovery will be easier and quicker.
So, it really is worth having your nagging pain investigated – it could quite easily be alleviated and your walks will become enjoyable again. If you would like to know more about how Chiropractic or Physiotherapy as a treatment for hip pain, please contact clinic reception and ask to speak to one of our practitioners.
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