Hip Pain and Arthritis are Not Linked

Hip Pain and Arthritis are Not Linked

Research now shows that a significant amount of people (69 -73%) whose are not experiencing hip pain have an X-ray or MRI showing a labral tear. The study in the British Medical Journal found the same result for arthritis. Over 80% of older adults who do not have hip pain shows signs of arthritis in imaging. And many people with hip pain do not show arthritis. Hip pain and arthritis are not linked.

What we're really finding in the imaging are natural signs of aging as well as historical damage. If you've ever hit your fingernail with a hammer, you know that it hurts immediately. Then a few weeks later the fingernail usually looks awful. It’s black and blue and might be starting to fall off. Somebody might say, “Oh my gosh, that looks really painful!” But it's not. It was painful a month ago, but it's not painful now.

Watch the Video here: https://youtu.be/W7vmpMTqGkU

The same can be said for X-ray and MRI imaging. The images show historical damage as well as natural signs of aging. What we shouldn’t say is, “You have arthritis in your hip therefore that's the cause of your pain.” We really need to find the real cause of hip pain in order to treat it properly.

Imaging is still important, of course. Especially in determining if any bones are broken. But when we use images that show generalized ageing or historical damage and say those things are causing patients’ hip pain, that’s a problem that is costly and can be a gateway to unnecessary surgery.

Arthritis or a labral tear on an X-ray or MRI doesn't mean as much as you think it should mean.

Instead of imaging, we should use movement physical therapy to diagnose and treat the real causes of hip pain. Functional movement physical therapy turns off the pain and is really our guiding light to fixing hip dysfunction, which is the real cause of hip pain.

Dr. Gorecki and Dr. Fuson have written a new book titled, "The Truth about Hip Pain". Get your FREE copy here:  Hip Pain Book | Superior Physical Therapy (thesuperiortherapy.com)

To Read even more about Arthritis click here. 

If you are having pain, here's info on reducing inflammation and lowering pain: 6 Ways to Relieve Rheumatoid Arthritis and Inflammation (aarp.org)