In today’s blog, we want to cover the keys to understanding the root causes of hip pain and the difference between the root cause and the diagnosis you might get from your doctor--things like arthritis, bursitis, labral tears, strains.
One key to finding the root cause of hip pain is in knowing that everything in the body has a movement threshold. There is a point at which that body part should ideally not move past.
If I take my finger and extend it back, there is a limit to how far it can go. And if I push it beyond that end point, my finger will start to hurt.
The hips are the same way. The hips only have a certain amount of movement they can perform in a healthy way. If we start calling upon the hip to move more than that limit, we will have pain.
Another key to understanding the root cause of hip pain is to realize that it is part of a chain reaction within the body. The areas around the hip (the lower back and knee to name just two) are also part of the chain. If the lower back and knee are not moving properly they can call on the hip to move too much, or in the wrong direction. Or if the muscles around the hip are not supporting the hip like they should be, the same problems can result.
So if the hip is hurting, it's most likely not the hip’s fault. It's the excessive movement in another area that's at fault, which is causing the joint strain, or tears, or inflammation that your doctor diagnoses as arthritis, bursitis, or labral tears.
The last key is knowing how to find the movement dysfunction that is causing the hip pain by looking at the areas above and below the painful spot.
Physical therapists trained in functional movement therapy, like those at Superior Physical Therapy, know how to identify the patterns of motion that are dysfunctional above and below the hip. And they know how to fix those movement dysfunctions so hip pain goes away and stays away.
Dr. Andrew Gorecki is a physical therapist, owner of Superior Physical Therapy, and a hip pain specialist. Dr. Gorecki has specialized training from the Gray Institute https://grayinstitute.com/ where he received a fellowship in Applied Functional Science.
You can receive a free copy of Dr. Gorecki’s book called “The Truth About Hip Pain- How to Find Relief That Lasts Forever” here https://www.thesuperiortherapy.com/hipbook
To learn more about ways Dr. Gorecki can help you relieve hip pain visit: https://www.thesuperiortherapy.com/conditions/hip-pain
To schedule an in person or online consultation simply call 231-944-6541
For more informational videos about ways to naturally relieve hip pain see the entire playlist here https://youtu.be/bV2JIlAZ_5Y