Helping You To Live Life!
hip-pain

How Osteopathy Can Help Hip Pain

Hip pain is a common condition treated by osteopathic manual practitioners. It may occur because of problems with your muscles, hip joints, menstrual cycle and the nerves. In this blog, I will outline the symptoms and causes of hip pain, tips on to avoid hip pain and how an osteopath may help.

Symptoms of Hip Pain

  • Groin, buttock or inner thigh pain
  • A painful clicking in the groin
  • Increased pain on going upstairs, vacuuming, and or walking
  • A tightness behind your hip joints when stretching
  • Pain in any of the areas above during or since pregnancy

Causes of Hip Pain

There are a number reasons for hip pain some of which can be helped by visiting an osteopathic manual practitioner.

Muscular problems

Pain can come from a tight, strained or overused muscle in the hip or from the joint itself.

Joints Issues

Pain from osteoarthritis or wear and tear in the hip joint is also common. You need to know that osteopathic manual practitioners can’t cure arthritis and it depends on the severity of the wear and tear. An osteopath can help by easing the symptoms of an arthritic hip joint.

Injuries

Pain in the hip can sometimes be the result of an injury; it can be referred from the back or related to the way you move, stand and use your hip.

Pregnancy and Hormonal issues

Pregnancy releases a hormone (relaxin) in the body to soften the pelvic ligaments so that baby can pass through more quickly in birth. However, relaxin softens all ligaments including those of the pelvis which can sometimes destabilise the hip.

Five Tips to Avoid Hip Pain

  1. Avoid staying in the same position for too long
  2. Check your posture, especially when sitting at a desk
  3. Do not sit at your desk for longer than two hours
  4. At home, stretch on your yoga mat for 10-15 minutes a day
  5. Walk for half an hour or more a day

How Osteopathy can help hip pain

Osteopathy can have a significant result in the treatment and management of your hip pain, although this does depend on the cause of pain and the damage already done.

An osteopath will view the patient as a whole rather than just the symptoms to determine the most appropriate course of action.

The key to treatment is to gently move the hip joint to stretch the soft tissues and spread the synovial fluid (the joints’ natural lubricant) over all the surface of the joint. In this situation, your osteopath can use trigger point, fascia, visceral and craniosacral therapy.

X-rays, scans and other tests are sometimes required to make a proper diagnosis. In such cases, an osteopath will refer you to your family physician.

Sharing is caring

If you found this article useful please share it with your family and friends.

osteopathic treatment what to expect

Osteopathic treatment: What to expect and what to do afterwards?

The primary goal of an osteopathic treatment is to give your the body the capacity to rebalance itself. This principle is called “self-healing “. As such this may induce certain feelings in your body. In this blog, I outline what to expect after an osteopathic treatment and furthermore do’s and don’t afterwards.

What to expect after osteopathic treatment?

After a session, different areas that were locked will again find their mobility. Your body will furnish more energy to integrate the treatment and fight against the inflammation. That is why you may feel tired after a session.

Your body continues to heal after a session. You will typically feel an improvement after a few days or sometimes a few weeks. In the first few day’s after the treatment tense areas will begin to relax and you can feel pain like achiness. Sometimes it could be more painful/stronger than before, or you can have other pain or other symptoms that may appear. Don’t be surprised, keep calm, your body is still working! Usually, these symptoms will persist for 2-3 days, but sometimes it could be present for one week, depending on the patient, their medical history, or stress level. In the next few weeks, your body should continue to attain balance. Usually, your body needs about 3-4 weeks to relieve the pain. Sometimes you’ll still feel an imbalance, and this is the moment to book another appointment.

Usually, these symptoms will persist for 2-3 days, but sometimes it could be present for one week, depending on the patient, their medical history, or stress level. In the next few weeks, your body should continue to attain balance. Usually, your body needs about 3-4 weeks to relieve the pain. Sometimes you’ll still feel an imbalance, and this is the moment to book another appointment.

In the next few weeks, your body should continue to attain balance. Usually, your body needs about 3-4 weeks to relieve the pain. Sometimes you’ll still feel an imbalance, and this is the moment to book another appointment.

What to do after your osteopathic treatment?

Drink some water

Drinking water will help your joints, muscles, ligaments and bones to integrate the treatment better. If you do not usually drink much water, try keeping a 50cl bottle of water with you during the day. Your goal is to drink the bottle during the morning (by small gulps). Refill it at lunch time and drink it during the afternoon. By the end of the day, you will have drunk at least 1L. You will also consume water in your food. It is necessary to drink between 1,5 and 2L per day.

Avoid exercising after the session

After a session your body has to adapt by itself, so allow it to rest for about 48h. If you have a demanding work/job, try to book your appointment the day before your weekend or a day off.

Take care of your body

Avoid bad postures, long car journeys, and activities high-level pressure for example amusement parks.

Caring is Sharing

Please share this article with you friends and family if you found it useful.