Your joints are the places where bones, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, and muscles connect to help a number of your body parts move, as part of your musculoskeletal system. Your hips are the second-largest joint (a type of ball-and-socket joint) in the body, making much of your lower body movement possible, and connecting your pelvis to your legs.
If you experience hip pain, several injuries and illnesses may be responsible, potentially leading to other symptoms such as swelling and stiffness. Partial and complete hip replacement surgeries are a standard solution for dealing with the underlying causes of hip pain, but there are conservative methods for managing pain without invasive treatments.
Residents of Shrewsbury, Toms River, and Wall Township, New Jersey, seeking assistance with hip pain can find help from Dr. David Dickerson and his dedicated staff at Performance Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine.
Identifying the source of pain in your hip depends on the location and severity, and can be caused by many issues, including:
Different types of arthritis can cause this type of pain, including osteoarthritis (the wearing down of cartilage, and the most common cause), rheumatoid arthritis (immune system dysfunction), and infectious arthritis (cartilage destruction resulting from a joint infection).
Your joints use sacs of fluid called bursae to keep them cushioned, and trochanteric bursitis causes these sacs to become inflamed.
Fall injuries and other accidents that cause bone trauma can lead to cracks or fractures in your hips. Osteoporosis, an illness that weakens bones, primarily affects older people.
Less commonly, illnesses like osteonecrosis (also known as avascular necrosis) cause pain due to a lack of blood reaching the bones, resulting in loss of supporting bone. Athletes can experience snapping hip syndrome due to cartilage tears or material fragments in the hip.
Mild to moderate issues with hip pain can be treated with many noninvasive methods, like:
Rehabilitation through exercise and stretching can help manage pain issues, reduce stiffness, and maintain hip mobility. Our regimens work to improve the muscles and other joint tissue, and even if you have surgery, PT is an essential way to restore full function.
Injections can be used for diagnostic purposes, but cortisone can be administered in the hips to relieve inflammation.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are often used to manage mild to moderate pain, which can help treat conditions such as bursitis, arthritis, tendonitis, synovitis, and labral tears.
We offer surgical solutions for repairing your hips, but there are also numerous noninvasive methods for treating less severe problems in those joints.
Schedule an appointment online or by phone with Dr. Dickerson and the team at Performance Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine today to find relief from hip pain.
