Approximately 7% of adults experience hip pain on any given day. Hip pain can range from mild to severe and often interferes with work, hobbies, and activities of daily living. The hip is the body’s largest ball and socket joint, intricately connecting several muscle groups, including the IT band, psoas, hamstrings, and glutes. These muscle groups work together to coordinate movement and maintain the health of the hip joint.
Due to the complicated interaction between the hip joint and multiple muscle groups, a misalignment in the spine or hips can cause the entire body to compensate. This can have a cascading effect, resulting in low back pain, sciatic pain, and even knee pain.
When considering options for treating hip pain, it is crucial to discover whether your hip pain is caused by a misalignment of the spine or hip joint. If your hip pain results from a misalignment, it won’t fully resolve without correcting it. Chiropractors are the only trained medical professionals specializing in correcting misalignments of the spine and other joints.
Book Your First Hip Pain Exam
Exam includes in-depth whole-body analysis with provider, posture pictures and insight nervous system scans (provided if necessary). Consultation & plan of action will help you understand your care options.
How Our Hip Pain Treatment Plan Works
1. Be Heard
And Understood
Quality time with a health professional, so you can be truly heard and understood, isn’t all that common. We understand that. This is why, on your first visit​, you will meet with one of our doctors and share your health concerns and struggles so we can understand exactly why you are here and what you want to achieve. The doctor will determine what testing is necessary to find the source of your health concerns and answer the biggest question of all: Can Chiropractic Care Help?
2. Discover How We Can Help You
Every new patient should feel like they are making the right decision for their health. This is why our doctors explain what they are looking for in the testing, so our patients know exactly what is going on, instead of just being a bystander. We will share everything we discover from your testing and exams, including if we can help you. In the unfortunate event that we cannot help, our doctors will provide any additional resources they feel would be appropriate to assist you.
3. Achieve Your Health Goals Together
Whether you just want to be out of pain, or you want to get back to golfing without limitations, or you are desperate to get a restful night’s sleep, we will be with you every step of the way. We’ll achieve your goal​sÂ
How We Treat Hip Pain in West Omaha, NE
Comprehensive Consultation and Exam
Because of the complicated nature of the hip joint and its connection to the spine and multiple muscle groups, it is essential to consult a health professional trained to identify and correct misaligned joints when seeking relief for your hip pain. As a new patient in our office, the doctor will sit with you to listen to your concerns and struggles. They will talk to you about your health goals and what is holding you back from reaching an optimal level of health and function. To determine if misalignments in your spine or hips are the root cause of your hip pain, the doctor will perform a series of tests, including motion palpation, static palpation, observation, and digital X-rays.
Digital X-rays
The body is intricately designed, and misalignments in the spine often contribute to hip pain. However, as the largest ball and socket joint in the body, the hip joint can be subluxated (misaligned) and cause hip pain. When a misalignment occurs, there may be restriction in the hip joint’s movement and interference with the muscle tissue in that area of the body. A doctor may order X-rays during a new patient exam to visualize the hip joints and rule out any other pathology that may be causing your hip pain.
Chiropractic Adjustments for Hip Pain
The doctor will utilize the information gained from all the testing to determine the best course of action to relieve your hip pain and restore function to the hip joint. By establishing what areas of the spine and hips are experiencing joint restriction, the doctor can perform specific chiropractic adjustments to correct joint alignment and restore proper movement.
Custom Exercise Plan
Chiropractic adjustments for the spine and hips are only one component of corrective care in our office for a patient with hip pain. Depending on the patient’s specific situation, the doctor may have the patient implement a series of at-home exercises to help correct muscle weakness or imbalance as the spine moves into a more optimal position. Unfortunately, many people spend excessive time sitting, and this lack of motion counteracts glute and hip flexor strength and makes a person more likely to experience hip pain. By adding exercises between your series of spinal adjustments, patients can find increased stability and mobility.
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Common Causes of Hip Pain in West Omaha, NE
Bursitis
Bursitis is inflammation of the bursa, a small sac of fluid that acts as a cushion and reduces friction between a joint’s bones and soft tissues. Two major bursae in the hip joint are often responsible for hip pain. The first covers the bony point of the hip bone, and the other is located on the inside of the hip joint. When either of these bursae becomes inflamed, it can cause hip pain at the point of the hip or in the groin area. The pain can extend out from the hip or groin toward the thigh area. If left untreated, the pain will spread across a larger area of the hip.
Patients with bursitis often report that the pain is worse at night, when lying on the affected side, when getting up from a lying or seated position, or after prolonged activity. Hip bursitis is most common in women and older adults.
Several risk factors for developing hip pain due to bursitis include:
- Repetitive overuse of the hip joint (e.g., running or standing for extended periods)
- Hip injury due to a fall
- Spinal conditions, including scoliosis and chronic arthritis of the lumbar spine
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Previous hip surgery or hip replacement surgery
- Leg length inequality, commonly caused by pelvic misalignments
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease that causes severe pain, stiffness, and swelling in the lining of the joints. This condition results from the immune system mistakenly attacking healthy tissue. Rheumatoid arthritis can affect joints throughout the body, including hip joints. When RA affects the hip joints, it is responsible for varying levels of discomfort due to joint inflammation. Hip pain is the most common symptom when this condition develops in the hip joint. When your hip pain is due to inflammation caused by RA, you may experience other symptoms, including warmth in the affected area, pain or stiffness in the morning, or an ache that can range from dull to sharp pain. People with rheumatoid arthritis will often develop symptoms in the same joint on both sides of the body.
Degenerative Arthritis
Degenerative arthritis, also known as osteoarthritis or degenerative joint disease, is the most common type of arthritis caused by a lifetime of wear and tear on joints. The lower back and hip joints are some of the most common areas of the body to develop osteoarthritis, and a patient with arthritis will likely experience pain in both the lower back and hip joints. Degenerative arthritis causes difficulty getting out of bed in the morning and can cause decreased range of motion experienced in the lower back and hip joints.
IT Band Syndrome
When the IT band becomes too tight, it causes friction at the top of your hip or near your knee, resulting in swelling and pain. This is known as IT Band Syndrome. IT Band Syndrome relates to hip bursitis because a tight IT band puts pressure on the bursae of the hip joint, resulting in swelling and pain in the hip. The most common causes of IT Band Syndrome include pelvic misalignment, sacroiliac dysfunction, and a sedentary lifestyle. People with IT Band Syndrome most often experience pain on the outside of the knee that increases with repetitive knee joint movement, as well as a feeling of popping, clicking, or snapping on the outside of the knee.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens when the hips are out of alignment?
The hip and sacroiliac joints form the foundation of your body. If your hip alignment is unbalanced, tilted, or rotated, it can cause pain and dysfunction of the structures below, including knees, ankles, and feet. Above an unbalanced pelvis and hips, the joints of your spinal column wear prematurely, cause pain, and result in poor posture.
How does a Chiropractor in West Omaha, NE, help with hip pain?
Chiropractors are the only doctors trained to identify subluxation (misalignment of joints causing nerve irritation). Chiropractors utilize specific testing to identify subluxation, including analyzing walking gait, measuring symmetry of posture, and digital X-rays. If subluxation is the cause of the pain in your hips or sacroiliac joints, specific chiropractic adjustments have a proven track record of hip pain relief.
How do I know if my hip pain is serious?
The only way to determine the severity of your condition is to have an evaluation completed by a qualified professional. At Family First Chiropractic, this may include a bio-structural exam, bilateral weight distribution, X-ray, and orthopedic or neurologic testing.
Why do my hips ache after sleeping?
Some common causes of hip pain are a worn or wrong mattress type, a sedentary lifestyle, and improper sleep positions. The most common cause of hip pain is inflammation of joints due to spinal, acetabular, and SI (sacroiliac) joint misalignments.
Can uneven hips be fixed?
Yes, specific chiropractic adjustments and lifestyle modifications can correct uneven hips.
How do I loosen my hip flexors?
Movement is the key to loosening hip flexors. Specific leg exercises, foam rolling, hot baths, and limiting sitting to less than 45 minutes can all help to loosen tight hip flexors. Chiropractic adjustments performed on the ilium, hips, and sacroiliac joints improve alignment and restore motion to muscles.
What are the signs and symptoms of a hip flexor strain?
Pain located at the front of the thigh, pain or difficulty going from sitting to standing, and pain in the hips and lower back when walking up stairs are common symptoms of hip flexor strain.
How do you sleep with good hip alignment?
Holding a pillow between your knees, placing a pillow under your legs when back sleeping, and using a firmer mattress all promote good hip alignment and sleep posture. If you are doing these things and still have hip discomfort, examining your spine and pelvis alignment may be a good idea.
Book Your First Hip Pain Exam
Exam includes in-depth whole-body analysis with provider, posture pictures and insight nervous system scans (provided if necessary). Consultation & plan of action will help you understand your care options.