Helping your hip pain
At Longevity Exercise Physiology Edgecliff, Lindfield, Marrickville and Randwick, our Exercise Physiologists see a number of patients of all ages with hip pain. If you are experiencing hip pain, it may be worthwhile re-thinking your treatment plan. Read the full blog to gain a better understanding of how Longevity Exercise Physiology can help you.
Hip pain can be present at any time during our life and can last from a couple of days to many years. This pain can be the result of many different causes and range from a minor to high severity. Some injuries or conditions associated with the hip include; Osteoarthritis (OA), Fractures, Muscle strains and tears and referral pain.
There are also many treatment methods utilised to deal with hip pain including; pain medication, anti-inflammatories, massage treatment, walking aids or supports (walking sticks), specific arthritis medication and even surgery. However, Longevity wants to bring to light a very important and very effective method for aiding in your hip pain and condition, EXERCISE THERAPY!
Exercise therapy is utilised as a specific rehabilitation program prescribed by our Clinical Exercise Physiologists to improve strength, endurance, function and quality of life. We also aim to fix/improve your biomechanics or how you move or use your joints to deal with difference loads that you put on your body throughout the day. When we are in pain or experience pain during specific movements it becomes quite easy to avoid them and become more weak and less mobile creating a long debilitating cycle.
OA is an extremely common cause of hip pain and is responsible for 80-90% of Hip and Knee replacements in USA and the United Kingdom https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877065719300624?via%3Dihub. The Australian Institute of health and welfare state that 1 in 4 patients with OA report fair or poor health, twice as much as those without OA.
There are many studies that show as little as 2 strength sessions a week targeting the lower extremities is enough to reduce chronic hip pain, improve activities of daily living, and improve post operative outcomes and recovery time. https://www.archives-pmr.org/article/S0003-9993(12)00897-0/fulltext
We can see below our Clinical Exercise Physiologist Dylan, working on strengthening and improving his own hip condition, as at Longevity we practice what we preach.
- Glute and piriformis stretch with rotation
2. Hip Extension with External Rotation
3. Supine Hip Adduction
4. Hip External Rotation
5. Monster Walk
Whether its managing OA pain, muscle weakness or rehabilitating a minor muscle injury, exercise therapy should be utilised to increase muscle mass/strength, improve mobility, reduce pain, improve function and improve quality of life. Exercise therapy should also be utilised before surgery for pre-habilitation purposes. In some cases, exercise therapy may prevent or delay the need for surgery. Exercise therapy is also important post surgery to target the factors outlined above and get you back to your daily activities.
If you’re experiencing ongoing hip pain or have just experienced an injury contact Longevity Exercise Physiology and one of our Clinical Physiologists at Edgecliff, Lindfield, Marrickville and Randwick will be happy to help in your treatment.
Written by Dylan Furey.