Get Hip to Hip Pain

By Sara Butler

When I think of hip pain, it conjures up images of the “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” commercials from the 1990s. Now that I’m older, I understand that’s not what hip pain is about -- not at all. It doesn’t just strike people who are leaning toward their senior years, it can strike anyone at any time. That’s why it’s a good idea to learn how to deal with hip pain naturally should it ever happen to you. Here are some tips from the chiropractors at The Joint Chiropractic to help prevent you from becoming the inspiration for an updated medical alert device commercial.

The Common Causes of Hip Pain

When you experience pain in the inside area of your hip or in your groin, then that’s likely something related to your hip joint itself. There are a variety of conditions that can cause this type of pain and the first step to treating it is to figure out the cause.

The most common causes of hip pain can be traced back to:

• Sprains
• Strains
• Osteoporosis
• Arthritis
• Inguinal hernia
• Hip fracture
• Hip dislocation
• Inflammation of the hip joint called bursitis
• Pinched nerves
• An infection in the bone
• Tendinitis
• Inflammation of the membrane in the joints called synovitis

If you’re experiencing pain in your upper thigh, the outside of your hip, or on the outer edge of your buttocks, then it’s likely a condition not related to the hip joint itself but the soft tissues and muscles surrounding it. Getting to the chiropractor for a definitive diagnosis is the first step in the right direction.

How Chiropractic Can Help

The various causes of hip pain usually have one very important thing in common: inflammation. Inflammation in your hip joint can be treated with the help of a chiropractor. The hands-on chiropractic adjustments they perform help to reduce inflammation, improve hip joint mobility, and even help to relieve those painful muscle spasms. More importantly, chiropractic adjustments look to eliminate joint dysfunctions and restrictions that keep your body from doing what it was made to do -- heal itself.

What You Can Do at Home

You can’t spend 24/7 at the chiropractor’s office. Well, you probably could, but my guess is that at some point the police would be called and that won’t be very helpful to your hip pain. What is helpful are a few basic moves and a lifestyle change that can help you find relief if you incorporate them into your daily life at home.

The first thing you can do at home is to start thinking about how you sleep. Some sleeping positions put a lot of stress and strain on the hips at night that can aggravate symptoms and make hip pain worse. If you sleep on your side or your back, you should use pillows to help take off some of the pressure.

When sleeping on your side, place a pillow between your knees. When sleeping on your back, tuck a pillow under your knees. If you sleep on your stomach, find a way to switch to sleeping on your side or your back. If you don’t, then hip pain will be the least of your problems because both your hips and your neck will hurt!

Another at-home remedy you can try is stretching. The butterfly stretch and pigeon pose are great tools to have in your hip pain arsenal. Simply adding them to your daily routine can reduce tightness and help relieve any discomfort you’re experiencing.

Finally, you need to use ice and heat. Ice is often helpful to finding natural relief during a particularly painful episode while moist heat is great for reducing pain and getting your muscles ready for a good stretch. You can apply an ice pack or a frozen bag of vegetables to your hip for up to 15 minutes each hour, and a hot shower might be just the thing you need to help make your daily stretching routine more effective.

Hip pain happens, but there are some things you can do to make it better. So turn off that episode of The Golden Girls and see the chiropractors at The Joint Chiropractic to help you figure out the cause of your hip pain to get you on the road to recovery! You’ll want to do it while you can still get up.

The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material contained on this page are for informational purposes only. The purpose of this post is to promote broad consumer understanding and knowledge of various health topics, including but not limited to the benefits of chiropractic care, exercise and nutrition. It is not intended to provide or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your chiropractor, physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen, and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this page.