Do you have hip pain? It's possible you have hip tendonitis, which is an inflammation of the tendons around your hip joint.. If you are looking for other possible causes of hip pain, refer to our general hip pain blog for more possibilities.
What are the symptoms of hip tendonitis?
Hip tendonitis symptoms can include, but are not limited to:
- Pain in the front of the hip
- Decreased range of motion
- Difficulty running and walking
- Problems ascending and descending stairs.
What causes hip tendonitis?
Overuse of a hip muscle group is the most common cause of tendonitis. Overuse could be a large amount of force repeated in a short period of time, or a small amount of force repeated over a long period of time. Both situations cause tendon inflammation when the tendon doesn't have time to recover before the next stress is applied.
Tendonitis can occur in any tendon in the body, but in the hip, it most commonly occurs in the hip flexor tendon, the gluteal tendon at the greater trochanter, or the adductor tendon (the groin).
Your physical therapist will take you through a series of tests to assess range of motion, strength, functional movement, and tissue extensibility and tenderness. Based upon what they find will determine the best treatment approach.
Treatment for Hip Tendonitis
Since inflammation (acute or chronic) continues when the body cannot handle or recover from the forces put on it, the first step is either reducing force to an amount that the body can tolerate, elevate the body's ability to manage the force as quick as possible, or both.
Strategies using this principle can vary greatly, depending on the needs of an athlete, weekend warrior, or a casual exerciser. If a patient has time to reduce their load in a way that won't affect their sport or competition, reducing the load would be the most obvious first step.
On top of load reduction, your physical therapist will work to improve your body's capacity to absorb force. This may involve manual therapy, soft tissue mobilization or dry needling to improve the body's ability to absorb force through muscle contraction. They may add modalities to speed the inflammatory process and promote healing. Finally, if the inflammation was due to faulty movement patterns or incorrect training load, your physical therapist should manage these movement patterns and guide you on proper loading to prevent re-occurence or reinjury.
It's important to note that if you are unable to alter your treatment load due to competitive demands or sport requirements, speak to your physical therapist about that so that you can both determine a plan that's best for you while maximizing the health of your tendons.
Physical therapy for hip tendonitis in Brookhaven and Atlanta, GA
Hip tendonitis can be debilitating and can worsen if exercise load is not properly managed. Physical therapy can assist with reducing inflammation and prescribing proper load protocols to assist in recovery. If you have hip tendonitis and pain, reach out to our office today!
