Hip & Pelvic Injury/Pain

Why does my hip hurt?

Although hip pain is a common complaint seen by physical therapists, many times the cause of the hip pain originates elsewhere in the body. Injuries and conditions such as a sports hernia, a groin muscle strain, and sacroiliac joint (SI joint) dysfunction can radiate pain to the hip area. The hip is a ball and socket joint joining together our legs to the rest of our body, and we depend on this joint for the majority of our body’s functional movement patterns. It’s this dependency of the hip which makes hip pain a debilitating symptom, and can have a crippling impact on our everyday life.

Like in our knee and other weight bearing joints, the cartilage in the hip can deteriorate over time. Due to the hips role in multiple functional movements of the body, surrounding muscles and tendons can suffer from overuse injuries.

Balance and coordination impairments can lead to falls which result in injury to the bones which form the hip and/or the neighboring soft tissue. When experiencing pain in the hip, thigh, buttocks and/or lower back, a thorough evaluation can help pinpoint the root source. Hip injuries are not specific to any particular age group, but by proactively addressing hip related pathologies can significantly reduce the risk of future biomechanical impairment.