Hip pain can take down even the toughest person. When you have pain in your hip region, it can affect the way you live your life. Many things you used to be able to accomplish daily can become challenging. Thankfully, there are ways to help manage your hip pain. For many people, hip pain is a common symptom as you age. A lot of wear and tear gets put on the hip bone.
Common Causes Of Hip Pain
There are many common causes of hip pain. Causes can come from the hip or nearby regions. One of the most common reasons a person has hip pain is because of fractures or deformities in the bone caused by injuries. The deformity could be something you were born with or something that formed while healing from an injury you received.
Aside from injuries, hip pain can also be caused by inflammation or bruising in the tendons, ligaments and muscles around the hip area. Arthritis is another common cause of pain in the hip and many other areas around the body. The condition causes loss of cartilage and leads to bone rubbing on bone.
Another culprit of hip pain is from pinched nerves. When nerves become entrapped between bones and ligaments, it causes inflammation and pain. Lastly, certain cancers, common diseases and infections can cause pain in the hip area as well.
Where Is Your Pain Located?
In order to accurately and safely manage your hip pain, you need to pay attention to where exactly the pain seems to be stemming from. Note whether it is inside your hip joint, outside of the area, within the groin area or coming from the buttocks or side area. You may also notice whether the pain stays in one spot or radiates throughout your whole hip and back area.
When the pain is within your hip and groin region, the chances of the problem being from your hip joint are high. Pain stemming from other areas could be a result of muscle and soft tissue issues outside of the hip joint. In this case, your doctor may choose to recommend stem cell treatment for hips. In many cases, patients have seen a reduction in their hip pain because of this type of treatment.
Tips For Managing The Pain
•When the pain first begins, the best thing to do for managing the pain is to rest. Keep weight off of your hip and avoid any direct pressure to the area. Refrain from sitting, bending or lying on the painful side. While resting, call your doctor and set up an appointment as soon as possible.
•Pain relievers can also be great for minor hip pain. Try over-the-counter pain medicine such as naproxen sodium, acetaminophen and ibuprofen. These types of pain medicines come in different brands, but they typically contain the same active ingredients.
•Using ice packs can be another great way to reduce inflammation and pain in your hip region. The cold packs may be placed on your hip several times a day in increments of 15 to 20 minutes.
•To help manage your pain over the long run, consult with your doctor about a low-impact exercise program. Swimming and walking can be a great way to improve the strength around your hip joint and relieve tension and pain in the area. For those who are suffering with arthritis and chronic hip pain, resistance training and stretching every day can help lessen the pain. Before and after you exercise, consider a warm bath to help loosen the muscles.
•One of the first and most important tips your doctor may suggest to relieve hip pain is to lose weight. A small loss of weight, even five or 10 pounds, can help reduce the pressure on your hip and reduce pain and stress in the area.
These are just a few tips to help manage hip pain. If you find you cannot get relief, it is important to see your doctor to try and diagnose the underlying cause of your pain.