Typically I get two complaints when it comes to hip pain. Either a patient will point to their “true” hip joint (where your leg attaches to your pelvis) or they will point to their Sacroiliac joints (on either side of the upper glut area, where your pelvis has attachments to the sacrum).

Let’s talk about “true” hip pain.

There are 2 major bursae that surround the trochanter that get irritated and inflamed. A bursa is a fluid filled sac. The most common one that gives people fits in the hip area is the trochanteric bursa.

The main symptom of trochanteric bursitis is pain at the point of the hip. The pain usually extends to the outside of the thigh. Pain initially is described as sharp and intense, if left untreated the pain may become more of an ache and spread across a larger area of the hip.

Most often the pain is worse at night, when lying on the affected hip, and when getting up from a chair after being seated for a while. (When you lie down all the fluid in your body levels out, which can cause swelling=pain.) It also may get worse with prolonged walking, stair climbing, or squatting. This is due to overuse and aggravation of the bursa.

Causes of Trochanteric Pain

• Overuse. This occurs when running, stair climbing, bicycling, or standing for long periods of time.
• Spine issues. This includes scoliosis, arthritis of the lumbar spine, and other spine problems.
• Hip injury. An injury when you fall onto your hip, bump your hip, or lie on one side of your body for an extended period of time.
• Leg-length inequality. When one leg is shorter than the other, it affects the way you walk, and can lead to irritation of a hip bursa (low back, upper back essentially your whole body!!).
• Snapping Hip Syndrome. When there are muscles that are tight around the hip joint due to an imbalance or tendon strain, it can show up as hip pain. These types of issues will be accompanied with a clicking or snapping noise. 

Treatment

Get checked by a chiropractor!!! While at your appointment the chiropractor will examine the hip joint and lower back to make sure it is hip pain and not referred pain from your low back. There are several orthopedic tests they will put you through to determine the cause. If you come to my office, I will (most likely) use high volt and ultrasound along with cold laser to the area that is causing issues.

Cold laser produces an impulse of light that penetrates the skin. You can not feel anything while actually getting the cold laser done, but it helps with healing. It produces ATP (the food source) for cells, to aide in healing, along with producing endorphins (the feel good hormone). Cold laser is excellent on chronic conditions, bursitis, tendonitis, muscle strains and pains, along with wound healing and a whole list of other things!

Next, checking leg lengths is important to take the stress off of your hips, which can be corrected by the chiropractic adjustment. If there is a scoliosis present then a need for a shoe lift will be discussed.

If you have any questions about where your pain is coming from or how to treat it, see a chiropractor!

~Dr. Lacey~
Carder Chiropractic Clinic, INC
El Reno, OK 73036