As a chiropractor, when I ask people to point to their hip pain, it is very interesting to see how many places people point to: the lower back, the hip pocket area, the side of the pelvis, groin and more. !
This article will provide information on the human hip, some sources of hip pain, and introduce ideas related to conservative treatment for hip pain relief.
The true hip joint is a ball joint located on each side of our pelvis. The spherical part of the joint is at the top of the femur, called the femur. The part of the joint socket is a groove on the side of the pelvis. The hip joint is the largest joint in the body. It is one of the few joints that moves in all directions.
The ball of the joint is held in the socket by strong ligaments. It is also held against the socket by a structure called a labrum. The labrum is a rubbery tissue that forms a border around the outer edge of the socket. Sometimes hip pain can be attributed to a labrum tear. This can be seen on an MRI. However, just because the MRI shows a tear, it does not necessarily determine that it is the source of the hip pain. In fact, a research study showed that 66% of a group of people without hip pain who underwent MRI scans were diagnosed by certified radiologists with labral tears. Again, these people had no hip pain!
Closely associated with the hip joint are the pelvic bones. The pelvis is not just one bone, it is made up of three. The two outer bones of the “wing” are called the iliac bones. The “coccyx” located in the center is called the sacrum. The joints between the sacrum and the iliac bone are called the sacroiliac joints. These joints are slippery joints, but they can sometimes become misaligned or move incorrectly. This can cause the pelvis to be misaligned and / or altered biomechanics of movement. This can cause pain in the sacroiliac joints and can cause associated pain in the hip joints.
Some hip orthopedic specialists may only focus on the hip joint when the patient has pain in this area. However, chiropractic doctors look at the whole person who has hip pain. Chiropractors are trained to identify the origins of hip pain that can arise in the lower back, pelvis, hip, or possibly the knee, ankle, and foot. Using information from a careful medical history, examinations, imaging (where appropriate), and functional tests allows chiropractors to offer a conservative, non-invasive, non-surgical approach to hip pain relief.