Hip Pain

• Your hip joint is a ball and socket joint. Pain in your hip can result from a number of different causes. Most commonly it can be from simple overuse or overstretching. This can cause a strain or sprain with associated tendonitis and bursitis. Another common problem is pain from the low back or knee referring pain to your hip. You may experience difficulty going up or downstairs. If there is significant swelling use ice, some mild compression with an ace bandage or brace and keep your knee elevated.

• X-rays help to identify osteoarthritis in the knee but depending upon your age the problems may be in the soft tissues. A good clinical exam and history can give good insight into the soft tissues but only an MRI can evaluate the anatomy of the soft tissues i.e. cartilage of the hip.

• When your hip is in acute pain use ice and heat at home as instructed by Dr. Humberstone. If there is swelling always use ice.