Hip Pain Treatment In Portland, ME
The hip joint itself is complex. Its ball and socket design offers excellent range of motion but makes it susceptible to injury. As a result, we often treat hip pain in our office. The muscles around the joint, such as the gluteal muscles and hip flexor group, play a significant role in the health of the hip joint, and a balance between them is crucial. When a hip becomes painful, a variety of factors may have played a part. These include arthritic change, injuries related to athletics, or weakness in the gluteal muscles, to name a few. In many cases, when the hip is injured or weak, it can also affect the health of the lower back or knees.
While there are various treatments for hip injuries, our approach is to understand WHY your hip became painful and address that underlying issue. Once we discover the cause of your hip pain, we will create a treatment plan for you using all-natural therapies.
How We Treat Hip Pain in Portland, ME
Comprehensive History and Examination
The first step is to determine the underlying cause of your hip pain. We will perform a comprehensive examination of your hip and attain a complete history of your general health. Our exam includes a combination of orthopedic tests, functional movement tests, and range of motion tests to determine the cause of your problem. It’s important to remember that if you don’t discover the underlying cause of your specific hip pain, you may not receive the correct treatment.
Specific Chiropractic Care for Hip Pain
Once your care plan is determined, it’s time to begin treatment for your hip! As chiropractors, one of our goals is to improve joint mobility. This is true for every joint, including the hip. In many cases of hip pain, people develop reduced mobility in the joint, contributing to stiffness and discomfort. Delivering a chiropractic adjustment to the hip joint can help restore motion and improve the hip joint’s functionality.
Myofascial Techniques
As many surrounding muscles control the hip joint, we must also address the muscles themselves in treatment. With both chronic and acute hip injuries, the muscles can develop adhesions, spasms, or imbalances between muscle groups. For the hip to regain its normal function, we provide a variety of muscle therapies to help normalize the tissue. Myofascial techniques serve as a great supplement to hip adjustments and help correct many of the problems people typically suffer from.
Custom Therapeutic Exercise Plan
In order to support the treatments in our office, we will also take you through a personalized exercise plan to help you regain proper hip function. These exercises focus on maintaining mobility and flexibility, as well as developing more strength in the key muscles around the hips and core. Learning and developing a program of effective exercises will help you with your issue today and prevent a recurrence of hip problems in the future.
Common Causes of Hip Pain in Portland, ME
Hip Osteoarthritis
Hip osteoarthritis (degenerative joint disease) is a condition where the cartilage in the hip joint wears down, causing pain, stiffness, and reduced mobility. It's primarily caused by aging, joint wear and tear, genetics, or previous hip injuries.
While you cannot reverse the changes in an arthritic joint, we have many therapy options to improve the function of the hip joint and reduce pain. Chiropractic care can help manage hip osteoarthritis through chiropractic adjustments, manual techniques, and exercises to improve joint function and alleviate pain.
Hip Labral Tear
The labrum is a pad of cartilage surrounding the hip joint, which lies between the ball and socket. A hip labral tear is an injury to the cartilage surrounding the hip joint, typically caused by trauma, repetitive movements, structural abnormalities, or aging. Athletes and individuals with certain hip conditions are at higher risk.
While we can’t remove the tear itself, chiropractic care can help manage pain, improve hip function, and offer rehabilitation exercises.
Hip Bursitis
A bursa is a small, fluid-filled sac that cushions and reduces friction between bones, tendons, and muscles in and around joints. Hip bursitis is inflammation of the bursa near the hip joint, often causing pain and tenderness on the outer side of the hip. Common causes include overuse, repetitive movements, or trauma.
Chiropractic care for hip bursitis can help reduce pain and improve hip joint mobility through manual adjustments, muscle strengthening, and posture guidance. Often, bursitis is a symptom of another problem, so finding the root cause is our priority before beginning treatment.
Tendinitis
Tendinitis is inflammation or irritation of a tendon. Symptoms include localized pain, swelling, tenderness, stiffness, and weakness. It's often caused by overuse, aging, poor ergonomics, trauma, or underlying medical conditions. In the case of hip tendinitis, the pain is usually located in the front or back of the hip, depending on the tendon involved. The first step is determining which tendon is injured and creating a treatment plan to help it heal.
As chiropractors, we will focus on a number of potential therapies to help you overcome this condition. Chiropractic treatment may involve various modalities, including soft tissue manipulation, ultrasound therapy, electric stimulation, and therapeutic exercises.
Hip Muscle or Tendon Strain
A muscle strain occurs when muscle fibers are stretched or torn beyond their usual limits. A muscle strain often feels like a sharp or dull pain in the affected area. The pain can range from mild to severe, depending on the extent of the strain. Common causes include overexertion, sudden movements, muscle fatigue, poor flexibility, age, and inadequate conditioning.
Treatment involves rest, ice, compression, elevation (RICE), and, in severe cases, medical evaluation. Chiropractic care can help by realigning joints, relieving pain, and offering rehabilitation exercises to promote healing and reduce the risk of future strains.
Check Out Our Locations Near You
Portland
15 Sewall Street
Portland, ME 04102
Phone:
207-347-2205
South Portland (inside Momentum Gym)
125 John Roberts Rd, Unit #16
South Portland, ME 04106
Phone
207-536-4610
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I see a chiropractor for my hip pain?
Yes! We see many hip injury cases at our office and combine a series of natural therapies to help improve your functionality and heal effectively. You will receive a well-rounded treatment for your hip issues, from chiropractic adjustments and modalities to customized rehab programs.
What is the fastest way to relieve his pain?
The fastest way to correct your hip problem is to have an accurate diagnosis and discover the underlying cause of your pain. This is our philosophy and why we take a thorough history and exam of your problem before beginning any care. Creating the CORRECT type of treatment for your specific issue will help you feel better faster.
What can a chiropractor do for hip osteoarthritis?
In short, keep your hip as strong, mobile, and functional as possible. While you can’t reverse the arthritic change in your joint, you must also consider how it will age from today forward. Our combination of treatments will help you maximize the function of your hip and keep it in the best shape it can be.
How do I know if my pain is serious?
Finding out the severity of your hip pain is important. Pain that has not resolved within a week or two indicates you may have more going on. Having additional symptoms like weakness, numbness/tingling, or fever are indicators that you have a more serious condition. If your problem has not been resolved and you are experiencing a progressive worsening of symptoms, we recommend seeking care as soon as possible.
How do I loosen my hip flexors?
You can do a couple of simple stretches to help loosen up your hip flexors. These include stretching your psoas and quad muscles regularly to help them progressively relax. Another option is to sit less and consider buying a sit-stand desk for work.