Five things you should know about hip pain

When it comes to hip pain, there’s a variety of factors that could be influencing your pain and disability. Here’s five things you should know about your hip pain.

1. Hip pain is common.

Hip pain is very common. It occurs in 15%, or 3 in 20, of people at some point in their life.

2. Causes of pain go beyond the hip.

Lots of things can influence your level of pain and disability. Some key influences include:

Increased belly fat. This causes increased inflammation and increased load.
Stress, depression and lack of sleep. This will make you less energetic and have increased sensitivity.
Weakness and activity avoidance. This will cause increased vulnerability and more stress on the hip.
Over activity. This causes tissue sensitivity and inflammation.

3. Scans can be misleading.

How your hip looks on a scan does not predict how much pain you feel or how much you do with your hip.

Findings such as tendon and labral tears and arthritic changes are very common in people without pain, especially as we get older.

4. Pain does not mean the hip is out of place.

The hip is the stronger and most stable joint in the body.

Pain often reflects muscle guarding and weakness rather than instability.

5. Surgery is not always the answer.

Many causes of hip pain cannot be addressed through surgery.

Exercise and lifestyle changes can reduce pain and disability.

So, what can you do for hip pain?

You should:

Identify the factors that contribute to your hip pain.
Develop a positive attitude and build confidence towards your hip.
Build strength in the muscles around the hip.
Get physically active.
Attain healthy body weight.
Get good sleep and manage stress and mental health.

Our physiotherapists at Body Logic can help. They will assist you in developing a plan to help to manage your pain and get you back doing the things you value in life.