Hip Pain & Podiatry
If you have hip pain, you may benefit from Podiatry to help control your symptoms and improve your overall functional mobility as Podiatrists take care of lower limb conditions. Your treatment program will focus on decreasing or eliminating your pain, improving your hip range of motion and strength, and restoring normal functional mobility.
Hip pain can be caused by many factors. Often, you may start feeling hip pain for no apparent reason. Sometimes recreation or sports puts repetitive strain on the hip causing pain. Because the hip is a major weight bearing joint, arthritis of the hip is a common problem. The hip is responsible for such functional activities as walking, running, rising from sitting, and climbing stairs. Pain in the hip can limit these activities.
The hip is close to the low back, and it can be difficult to determine if your hip pain is truly coming from the hip or coming from your low back. The location of your symptoms can often help solving this problem.
- Pain in the groin or front of the hip. If you feel pain in the front of the hip, this may due to arthritis in the hip joint.
- Pain in the side of the hip. Pain in the side of the hip typically indicates a problem with the muscles or structures around the hip.
- Pain in the buttocks or back of the hip. If you feel pain in the buttock, there is a good chance this pain is coming from your low back and not your hip.
Treatment of your hip pain
Your first visit to your Podiatrist for hip pain will begin with an initial evaluation. This visit is important to ensure correct diagnosis and proper management. The examination may consist of several sections including, but not limited to:
- Gait evaluation
- Foot alignment
- Palpation
- Range of motion measurements
- Strength measurements
- Functional mobility tests
- Special tests – These are specific manoeuvres performed around the hip to help determine which structure may be at fault and may be causing the problem. This may include testing of the low back, foot and ankle to determine if your hip pain is really coming from your hip itself.
After the initial evaluation, your Podiatrist will be able to initiate a plan of treatment for your hip. This may include but not be limited to the following:
- Ice
- Rest
- Heat
- Orthotics to correct improper foot alignment which impacts lower limb alignment and the hip
- Massage and trigger point therapy
- Dry needling
- Joint mobilization
- Exercises to improve hip strength or mobility
- As your hip pain improves, advanced hip strengthening can be another option to maximize hip function.