Hip Injuries and Pain

Hip arthritis is one of the most common causes of hip pain. When you have arthritis, you experience inflammation of the hip joint, which breaks down cartilage that ordinarily cushions your hip bones.

Common symptoms of arthritis include:

• Pain that gradually gets worse
• Reduced range of motion
• Stiffness

Part of the individualized treatment for hip arthritis will involve gaining education around muscle strengthening and flexibility exercises to help take pressure off your hip joints.

Bursitis is a condition in which bursae — sacs of liquid found between bones, muscles and tendons that ease the friction from these tissues rubbing together — get inflamed and cause pain. In most cases, bursitis develops due to repetitive activities that overwork and irritate the hip joint. We see this condition the most in older women.

As part of your treatment plan, your therapist will work with you to strengthen your gait, hip and core muscles to help take pressure off of your hip joint.

A hip labral tear occurs when you rip the ring of cartilage just outside of the socket of your hip joint. We see hip labral tears most often in athletes and individuals who perform repetitive twisting movements.

Symptoms of hip labral tears include:

• A clicking or locking sound in the hip
• Hip pain
• Hip stiffness

An individualized treatment plan will be created to help you heal and get back to the activities you enjoy.

Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) is a condition in which extra bone grows on the side of the hip joint, causing the bones to have an irregular shape. As a result, the bones don’t fit together properly, rubbing against each other when you move.

Symptoms of femoroacetabular impingement can include:

• Hip pain
• Hip stiffness
• Limited range of motion

Treatment for FAI, which often develops because hip bones don’t form normally during childhood, will be determined with your physical therapist.

Hip flexor strains occur when your hip flexor muscles are stretched or torn. We classify hip flexor strains from grade one to grade three based on their severity. Grade one is when you experience mild stretching and microscopic tears, while grade three is when muscle fibers are completely torn or ruptured, causing you to no longer bear weight.

Common symptoms of hip flexor strains include:

• A visible muscle deformity
• Bruising
• Inflammation
• Pain in the front of your hip or in your groin
• Pain when walking up stairs

To help you fully recover from a hip flexor strain and prevent them from occurring in the future, our physical therapists will create an individualized care plan, specific to your symptoms and diagnosis, to get you back to what you love.