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Today I would like to take a moment to discuss 3 Common Causes of Hip Pain. And once you're searching for hip pain relief, should you be doing hip exercises, hip stretches, hip treatments or something else?
Let's get straight in to it... there are several structures within the hip region that can give rise to hip pain. This list includes capsules, ligaments, tendons, bone and joint surfaces. Single incidences causing hip pain include tripping or falling, getting your foot caught in a pothole and twisting, or injury during sport can give rise to hip malalignment and pain.
-Lying And Sleeping With A Painful Hip In The Wrong Position ]f fv no where! Very commonly, the refor this is the joint being in a poor position for a long period of time...think of it as poor hip posture. As a result, the structures (mentioned in the first paragraph) around the hip adapt to the new position and become less adaptable when we place take it out of that position. Like during running, walking, jumping or deep squatting. From there the hip joint is gets weaker and irritated and a hip pain cycle begins.
So what causes this poor hip positioning? And how can you get hip pain relief.
Well here are 3 common reasons I identified at our Wyckoff, Nj clinic (see if one relates to you):
1.) Inactivity
Our bodies were designed for running, jumping, climbing and walking, but we spend little time doing so. Many of us sit at work all day, then get home, eat and sit on the couch some more causing hip pain! Even people who are avid exercisers may sit during most of the day except for the 30-60 minutes of exercise they do.
It's no wonder most people develop hip pain during their 40s and 50s, this is the stage in our lives when we gradually do less exercise plus our metabolism changes and we tend to put on weight.
Luckily the research shows that regularly exercising, and STANDING UP AND WALKING DURING THE DAY can reverse these effects! It can increase nutrition within our hips and knees and keep muscles flexible and strong. Doing specific hip pain exercises can help even more!
2.) Postural Stresses
There are specific hip positions that contribute to excess stress on the joint structures. Typically it is a combination of 3 factors:
-Standing Still For A Prolonged Period Of Time
-Lying And Sleeping With A Painful Hip In The Wrong Position
-Performing Repetitive Tasks With Our Hips Bent
When these postures are maintained long enough they cause overstretching of the hip. Then when you take it out of that position and into the opposite direction, it hurts!! That's why you may be able to do something like sitting pain-free but standing hurts! Or maybe you can jog no problem but cycling hurts. It means you hip has adaptively shortened to one position, and it must be reversed to get relief. If you want hip pain relief, you need to get out of that hip posture!
3.) Being Overweight
There is a clear link here, if your BMI (Body Mass Index) is over 25, there is an association with hip pain and associated loss of function. It causes exponentially increased loading on the hip and decreased normal hip mobility and range of motion.
Want to find out your BMI? Divide your weight in pounds (lb) by height in inches (in) squared and multiplying by a conversion factor of 703.
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There you have the 3 common causes of hip pain. As mentioned, all of these causes are related to joint positioning which absolutely must be addressed. And guess what, while you are out of position, certain key stability muscles will get weaker. So once you fix hip joint positioning and get back in hip alignment, those hip muscles must be assessed and targeted to hold everything back in place. Doing the right hip stretches, hip exercises and hip treatments will stop the problem from coming back! The good news is, there are easy fixes but as I always say, you must first identify the root cause of the problem.
Have questions about your specific condition?
Give us a call and we'd love to help you out: 201-485-6114
HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR SPECIFIC HIP PROBLEM?
A FREE 30-min Discovery Session is a chance for you to speak with a hip specialist physical therapist, tell them everything that's been going on with you, and determine for yourself if we're the best people to help you. It's a completely free, no-obligation appointment that will give you all the information you need to make the BEST decision for YOUR health - whether that's working with us or not! This can be done Virtually or In Our Clinic!
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