One joint that may show the signs of natural wear and tear as we get older is our hip. Hip-related pain is a common source of discomfort in older adults, and one condition that is particularly prevalent is hip bursitis. It’s estimated that roughly 15 percent of women and 8 percent of men are plagued by varying degrees of hip bursitis, and without proper treatment, symptoms are only likely to intensify. One of the best ways to treat hip bursitis and resolve its symptoms is with the help of a targeted physical therapy program. In today’s blog, we explore how physical therapy can help you overcome hip bursitis.
Causes And Symptoms Of Hip Bursitis
Before we dive into how we work to help patients overcome hip bursitis, let’s take a closer look at the condition and why it develops in the first place. Inside your hip joint are tiny fluid-filled sacs called bursae, and their job is to lubricate soft tissues in the area and reduce friction and tension between surfaces within the joint. They are similar to cartilage in that they help to reduce painful rubbing or contact between structures, and just like cartilage, they can break down or be damaged, making it difficult or impossible for them to perform their job. When this happens, bursitis can develop as structure movement is impeded and irritation leads to the onset of inflammation within the joint.
Some common issues that can lead to bursae damage and bursitis include trauma (either acute trauma or repetitive stress), underlying health conditions that negatively affect the health of your joints, like rheumatoid arthritis or thyroid disease, and posture problems that end up putting additional strain on the hip joint when you’re moving.
Symptoms of hip bursitis include:
- Sharp hip pain during certain movements
- Persistent dull hip ache
- Discomfort that increases with activity
- Stiffness
- Tenderness
- Inhibited range of motion
- Modified gait
If you’re dealing with any of these symptoms, or you’re finding that hip discomfort is causing you to be less active than you’d like to be, it’s time to connect with a medical professional. You could set up an appointment weeks from now with your primary care provider and earn a referral to a physical therapist, or you could skip the wait and head right to a PT’s office, since a referral is not needed to seek out our services. Get the help you need sooner by connecting with a physical therapist.
Treating Hip Bursitis With PT
Your physical therapist will work with you to improve your bursitis in a few different ways. For starters, they’ll talk with you about your body positioning and posture during different activities so that you can take stress off your hip area. You may not realize that how you sit, stand or walk is placing undue stress on your hip and worsening symptoms of hip bursitis, but a PT can help correct your alignment issues and relieve strain on your hip joint. They can adjust your posture so that you can feel what correct alignment is, and when your body starts to understand what the right position feels like, you can naturally make corrections on your own when you notice that you’re hunched or slouching, further protecting your hip joints when you’re not at the clinic.
Next, we’ll go on the offensive and work to ease the stress on your hip joints by strengthening the muscles that stabilize your hips. By improving the strength and flexibility of these supportive muscles, they can better handle strain, which in turn takes stress off of the joint and the bursae. This helps to limit structural irritation and inflammation. Oftentimes these strength and mobility improvements will be pursued through:
- Stretching techniques
- Strength training exercises
- Manual therapy exercises
Your specific therapy routine will be catered to your individual needs, but we’re confident that we can develop a program that steadily improves your hip function without overloading it with strain. In short order, we can help reduce or eliminate symptoms related to hip bursitis so that you can get back to doing all the physical activities you love.
For more information about specific exercises that we recommend for hip bursitis, or for assistance overcoming a different physical issue, reach out to the team at OrthoRehab Specialists today at (612) 339-2041.
PT of Costa Rican National Soccer Team for 2007 World Cup in Victoria, CAN. Clinical Instructor for University of Minnesota Doctor of Physical Therapy Affiliations
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