Carrying on from last weeks blog about irritations of the hip.
The next stage is to understand why a particular structure has become irritated. This can be due to something as simple as an unaccustomed activity i.e. starting a new exercise programme or a sudden increase in training intensity/frequency. Often in these situations, the most important factor for recovery is to stop or modify the activity that has caused the pain, allowing the damaged structure time to settle and repair. Very often, at Swissphysio, the people we see have already tried resting this but still has pain or they are unable to return to full training or activity. At this point, we have to break out the Sherlock Holmes hat and become more of a detective.
The hips are the key area that transfers power from the legs to the trunk and the arms. As such, there are many muscles that influence good control of this area and many muscles that can cause mischief here. It is essential to examine all muscles that can affect the hips, for weakness and tightness as this can lead to a strain on another area causing pain. Of course, with the hip, there is the addition of the rest of the leg to assess as any joint issues or muscle problems there can interfere with normal function further up the leg.
One more complication of the hip is its proximity to the abdomen and the potential for the abdominal organs to refer pain into the hip area. Every new client, at Swissphysio, is screened for this possibility to ensure that nothing more serious is causing their symptoms.
Obviously this is a very generalized introduction to the hip, and by no means exhaustive. Further blogs will explore each area in more detail.
Graham Smith, Physiotherapist