Introduction
There is more than one cause that leads to hip pain. Sure, hip pain can be temporary, but it can turn into a long chronic condition. For instance, hip osteoarthritis is the most common condition that occurs when the cushions of your joints start to wear away.
Ultimately, it can cause bone damage, inflammation, and friction. Now, hip pain can be due to a variety of factors such as arthritis, fracture, hematoma, avascular necrosis, sprain, Gaucher’s disease, iliotibial band syndrome, muscle strain, or sciatica.
What is Osteoarthritis?
You cannot talk about hip pain without bringing osteoarthritis into the mix. After all, osteoarthritis is arguably the leading cause of hip pain among adults. Osteoarthritis can impact joints, hips, and knees. Osteoarthritis can also make your hip stiff and swollen.
The severe hip pain that stems from osteoarthritis can limit your physical movement and even make you limp. There are also osteoarthritis conditions where the leg becomes shorter and leads to a fixed bent position for the hip.
Most Commons Symptoms Associated with Hip
It is crucial to understand that symptoms related to hip pain come down to the cause. Often, hip pain is the cause of a disability. Not to mention symptoms of hip pain can be mild and severe.
Still, the most common symptoms for hip pain include:
Joint pain
Limping
Groin pain
Swelling on top of the hip
Hip tenderness
Painful to sleep on the hip
loss of hip motion
Diagnoses Hip Pain
Orthopedic specialists can diagnose your hip pain after physical examination and review of medical history. Typically, an orthopedic conducts physical examination maneuvers that involve external and internal rotation of the hip. It allows healthcare professionals to detect pain-infuriating positions.
Moreover, tenderness can bring out palpation on inflamed areas. Orthopedic specialists also use imaging methods such as CT scans, MRI scans, and X-rays to pinpoint hip pain causes.
Hip Pain: Different Criteria for Different Treatments
Your orthopedic specialist will recommend a suitable treatment on the basis of your current health, the seriousness of the symptoms, hip weight and motion limitations, and joint involvement. There are also individual factors that an orthopedic specialist takes into account prior to recommending treatment.
Remember, the objective of hip pain treatment options is to help individuals manage their pain and improve overall mobility. But the right treatment comes down to the person suffering from hip pain.
In most cases, orthopedic specialists recommend stretching and exercising as the first treatment. But prolonged hip pain can get worse over time. When it comes to osteoarthritis degenerative disease, your orthopedic expert may even ask you to undergo hip replacement surgery.
Get to Know the Hip Anatomy
Your hip is essentially a robust and stable joint with the ball-and-socket joint that creates movement for different kinds of joints throughout the body. Now, this hip joint is tied together by a combination of muscles that secure the bones through tendons that work like cords.
These tendons and muscles ultimately create a capsule-like joint to support the body’s movements. In fact, these tendons and muscles help move you’re joint and support the upper body and leg movement.
Best Treatment Options for Hip Pain
Treatment options for hip pain can improve mobility and reduce pain altogether. The most effective treatments to alleviate hip pain include:
Stretching and Exercising
The basic hip pain treatment involves exercises that allow patients to manage their pain symptoms. The exercises can include swimming, strength training, water aerobics, and yoga.
Physical Therapy
Individuals that suffer from hip pain like osteoarthritis can take advantage of physical therapy. In fact, regular sessions can significantly alleviate hip pain. Once the physical therapist evaluates the physical condition of a person, he will devise and personalize exercises that will improve the patient’s mobility.
The physical therapist also teaches individuals how to exercise at home in a safe manner. Physical therapists can also suggest more treatment options like hot/cold therapy, walkers, and braces.
Pain Medications
Individuals that suffer consistent pain symptoms related to hip pain take pain medication. Different types of pain medication can treat moderate to mild hip pain. For instance, people who have severe to moderate osteoarthritis may have to take medication on regular basis.
In this situation, orthopedic experts prescribe pain relievers. On the other hand, some individuals need medication to reduce symptoms or slow down the progression of arthritis. A common example of the drug includes corticosteroids.
Surgery
You’d be surprised how the quality of life can suffer when people experience severe hip stiffness or pain. In this situation, the best treatment option for these people is to undergo surgery. Major hip surgeries involve hip resurfacing and complete hip replacement.
But every surgical treatment option comes with its own risks and benefits. You should be able to count on your orthopedic doctor for guidance and support before making a treatment decision.
Stem Cell Therapy
Stem cell therapies have been in the discourse for a long time. In short, stem cell therapy refers to cells that can develop into different types of cells. As of now, researchers are assessing whether or not stem cell therapy can regenerate or replace damaged tissues in the human body.
Conclusion
With the advent of tech advancements, individuals who suffer from hip pain can undergo various treatments. In all hip pain treatment options, the objective of an orthopedic specialist is to slow down the progression of pain and help patients manage symptoms.
Although it depends on the severity of symptoms and individual cases, surgery is always the last course of action to minimize hip pain. For starters, lifestyle plays a crucial role when it comes to hip pain management. If you want to mitigate your hip pain, listen to your orthopedic expert start to manage weight, avoid stress, exercise, and stick to a healthy diet. Think of it as a first step to minimize hip pain and manage symptoms over time.
If you’ve started to experience progression of hip pain symptoms, reach out to your orthopedic specialist to review treatment options and get suitable management guidelines for the foreseeable future.
If you’re suffering from joint pain, make an appointment to see Dr. Hill. He accepts nearly all types of insurance and would be pleased to create a unique treatment plan to address your joint pain.
For information on orthopedic hip & knee health & surgery please visit www.drhill.com
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