Hip Pain

Hip Pain can manifest itself in many different ways.  It can feel like a sharp pain in the side of your leg, dull aching pain in your glutes and side of your leg, pinching pain in the leg and groin, and/or referred pain down the leg to the knee.  When hip pain occurs, some find it as a mild irritant to their activities of daily living and other describe it as an unbearable pain, especially while sitting or standing for long periods of time. At Harrisburg Joint & Muscle we have specific tests to diagnose and treat these different types of hip pain. 

Anatomy of the Hip Joint

The hip joint or femoroacetabular joint is a ball and socket joint. This type of joint has the most movement out of all of the joints in the body. This means that the hip joint has several muscles, tendons and ligaments surrounding it in order to stabilize the joint so it does not dislocate on simple movements like walking. When these structures are not working properly together to move the hip, imbalance occurs and this can change how you walk, stand (only leaning on one leg when standing), sleep (one sided side sleeping) and many more activities.  

Your hip joint is not to be confused with your sacroiliac joint (SI joint), which is at the base of your spine.  Both of these joints are attached to the pelvic bone and when not moving properly, many of their symptoms can be similar. It is for this reason that proper testing, examination and diagnosis is so important. You want to be treating the root cause of your pain in order to correct the problem, not just mask the pain. 

Diagnosis and Treatment of Hip Pain

At Harrisburg Joint and Muscle, our extensive history, orthopedic exams, neurological tests and evaluation of the area will determine exactly where your pain is coming from and how most effectively to treat it. Treatment of the hip at our office often includes active and passive stretching of the muscles, tendons and ligaments around the hip and adjustments of the hip and possibly low back, knee and ankle depending on the extent of the problem. Another form of treatment we use in office is Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization (IASTM) or Graston Technique on the hip joint. This technique breaks down and removes scar tissue, myofascial trigger points and pain in the area where it is performed (Bitra, M.S., 2019). 

Hip Problems we can Diagnose and Treat

Common dysfunctions of the hip we can diagnose and treat at Harrisburg Joint & Muscle include: 

• Hip bursitis
• Hip sprain and strain
• Runners hip
• Iliotibial (I.T.) band contracture/tightness
• Hip degeneration/arthritis
• Post- Hip replacement scar tissue treatment
• Piriformis syndrome
• Underuse atrophy of hip muscles (desk jobs) 
• Repetitive activity injuries (warehouse or construction jobs)

Don't let pain in your hip continue to make your activities of daily living difficult! Give us a call at 717-999-4347 and book an appointment for a proper evaluation, examination and diagnosis of your hip pain!

References: 

Bitra M, Sudhan SG., 2019. Instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization in the management of musculoskeletal pain: a literature review with implications for clinical practice guidelines. Journal of Clinical & Diagnostic Research 13(12), 1-5.