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There are many causes of hip pain, and your chiropractor will do a careful evaluation
and case history and examine your entire musculo-skeletal system to understand what's causing the hip
pain. The hip is unique in that it's a weight-bearing joint that is transferring weight from the
spine through the spinal cord, then into the pelvis, and then out into each hip socket
into the legs. And so there can be an imbalance of the way the weight is transferred at several
different joints that can create hip pain.
Your chiropractor will examine you to determine exactly where your hip pain is and what's
causing it. It's important to evaluate the lumbar spine, the pelvic bones and joints,
as well as the hip socket itself to understand what is affected and what needs to be corrected
in order to resolve the symptoms. The chiropractor will pay particular attention to the alignment
of the lumbar spine and the sacroiliac joints, which are the major weight-bearing joints
in the body. In fact, many people think they have hip pain, but it's actually sacroiliac
strain that's in the back area by your sacrum causing pain that feels like hip pain.
But you can also have pain in the ball-and-socket joint itself in your hip, and that is a very
common problem. And it can actually be caused by arthritis or other kinds of injuries that
have degraded the cartilage in the joint space and allowed the bones to touch each other,
which could be very painful. At the end stage of that kind of hip degeneration, patients
often require a hip replacement. But I love to work with patients way before they get
to that phase. In fact, the name of the game with hip replacement is to prolong or avoid
hip replacement as long as possible, because you can only have so many hip replacements
in your lifetime.
Chiropractic is a perfect technique for helping people get out of pain and also preventing
the degeneration of the condition so that they can perhaps even avoid surgery together.
Traditional chiropractic adjusting involves a very specific thrust applies to either the
vertebral spine in the lumbar area or the pelvis or the hip itself to restore normal
range of motion and reduce nerve interference. There are also very effective non-force techniques
in this area that use the weight of the body to restore normal alignment of the pelvis
and hips.
You chiropractor may also choose to use other therapies like trigger-point therapy, massage
therapy, or myofascial release. There are many exercises your chiropractor may recommend
to stretch or strengthen the area surrounding your hip to allow your body to heal more completely.
It's important to treat hip pain as early as possible, because it really affects your
lifestyle. It affects your ability to sit, sleep, and walk comfortably. And when you
can't do those things, you're life becomes limited very quickly. So get yourself checked
out. Get evaluated and treated. You'll be glad you did.