What is hip pain?
Your hip, the largest joint in your body, is known as a ball-and-socket joint. This is because the top of your thigh is shaped like a ball and sits inside a hollow socket in your pelvis. The shape of your hip joint provides significant stability, strength, and mobility.
Muscles and tendons cover your hip joint to help support your leg and upper body movement. Inside these muscles and tendons is the synovium, which lubricates your joints with synovial fluid and keeps your cartilage healthy.
Due to such support, hip joint dislocation is unlikely but not impossible. Rather, because you use your hips to walk, run, sit, and stand, hip pain commonly results from wear-and-tear as you age.
At Eric Whitehouse DC, Dr. Whitehouse offers chiropractic services to treat your hip pain naturally. Contact him if you experience sudden or ongoing hip pain to find its source and improve your quality of life.
What causes hip pain?
As the meeting point between your thighs and pelvis, your hips bear a lot of weight, making it vulnerable to injury. Common causes of hip pain include:
Injury
Falling in older age or a high-impact accident can cause a fracture in the hip bone, as well as bruising and swelling in your muscles, ligaments, and tendons surrounding your hip bone.
Arthritis
Although arthritis can affect you in many ways, osteoarthritis most commonly leads to hip pain. This is a wear-and-tear condition that can develop as you age, causing pain, stiffness, and loss of function in your hips and other joints.
Repetitive use
Participating in activities that involve frequent bending and twisting may increase your chances of developing hip pain. These movements can result in a tear in the labrum, which cushions and helps hold your hip joint in place.
Hip pain may also occur due to infection or cancer. Diseases like bone disease and childhood hip disease can also cause hip pain.
How is hip pain treated?
When you visit Eric Whitehouse DC to treat your hip pain, Dr. Whitehouse asks you about your medical history and hip pain to determine when it started and what may be causing it.
After determining the source of your hip pain, he may perform a physical exam to test your hips’ strength and range of motion. As a specialist in chiropractic, he also creates a treatment plan for you that includes chiropractic adjustments, massage, therapeutic exercises, and stretching.
You must regularly practice the recommended exercise and stretching techniques to maintain your progress and avoid further hip pain.
To receive hip pain treatment today, call Eric Whitehouse DC or use the online booking tool to schedule an appointment.
