Hip tendonitis happens when a part inside your hip gets all swollen and causes pain. Some people call it hip flexor tendonitis or tendonitis of the hip. Once you feel the symptoms of hip tendonitis, it’s best to have it checked before they worsen.
Imagine tendons as strong ropes connecting your muscles to your bones. When these ropes are upset and swollen, it can make the area around your joint hurt, feel tender, and maybe puff up a bit. There’s this muscle in your hip called the iliopsoas muscle, and it helps bend your hip. It’s connected to your upper thigh by a tendon. If you overwork this muscle by doing too much, it can make the tendon inflamed, leading to hip tendonitis.
Common Symptoms of Hip Tendonitis
If you have hip tendonitis, you might notice that your hip hurts slowly over time. Sometimes, it can make the spot where the tendon connects in your hip feel tender. When you have iliopsoas tendonitis, the pain often shows up in the front of your hip. If you don’t do anything about it, the pain can get worse as time goes on. It might also make it hard for you to move your hip around.
Here are some other things you might feel with hip tendonitis:
- Pain location for hip tendonitis is where the tendon begins.
- Your hip feels stiff in the morning or after you’ve been resting for a while.
- The pain goes down when you start moving, but it can get worse later in the day.
- You might feel uncomfortable when you try to use the muscles in your hip.
Causes of Hip Tendonitis
When you get hip tendonitis, it usually happens because you’re making your hip work in a way it’s not used to. Imagine it’s like putting too much weight on a bridge that wasn’t built for it. This makes your tendon, which is like a strong rope holding things together, get all messed up. The problem is that the blood supply to these tendons isn’t great, so they take a long time to get better.
Here are some other things that can make your hip tendonitis worse:
- Suddenly doing a lot of exercise without getting ready for it properly. It’s like going from 0 to 100 without warming up.
- Doing the same movement over and over again, like a broken record, which can strain your hip tendon.
How to Diagnose Tendonitis in the Hip
Your regular doctor or a specialist who knows about bones and muscles can figure out if you have hip tendonitis. They’ll do a careful check of your body to see how well you can move your hip, if it’s stable, and how bendy it is. They’ll also ask you about the exercises or activities that might have caused your hip to hurt.
Sometimes, the doctor might want to take a closer look at your hip, like an x-ray or an MRI, to make sure nothing really bad is going on, like a big tear or a broken bone that’s making you hurt.
Hip Tendonitis Risk Factors
You might be wondering what things can put you at risk for hip tendonitis. Well, here are some factors to consider:
- Certain sports: If you’re into activities like running, cycling, or high-kicking, you’re more likely to get hip tendonitis. Even sports where you have to squat or lift weights can up your risk.
- How quickly you ramp up your training: If you go from doing very little exercise to suddenly pushing yourself super hard, you’re more likely to end up with hip tendonitis. It’s like going from 0 to 100 too fast. Your body needs time to adapt, just like you wouldn’t want to sprint a marathon without training first.
Treatments for Hip Tendonitis
The treatment for hip flexor tendonitis varies. If you find yourself dealing with hip tendonitis, the most common treatments include:
- RICE therapy: You can do this at home. It stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. Rest means giving your hip some downtime. Ice helps reduce swelling when you put a cold pack on it. Compression means gently wrapping the area to support it, and elevation means keeping your hip slightly raised.
- Over-the-counter pain relief: You can try taking some common pain meds you can buy at the store to help with the pain.
Other treatments available:
Physical therapy
In the initial phases of hip tendonitis, your journey toward recovery begins with a personalized approach to alleviate discomfort and quell inflammation. Your dedicated physical therapist employs a range of techniques and interventions tailored to your specific needs, all with the goal of expediting the healing process and safeguarding against future harm.
For instance, your therapist may utilize the soothing touch of massage to help alleviate the pain and tension surrounding your hip tendon. This gentle hands-on therapy not only brings relief but also promotes improved circulation, which aids in the body’s natural healing mechanisms.
Orthotics
Orthotics, personalized to fit your foot and body structure, is used to improve your knee’s alignment and the performance of your patella. These custom-made devices are designed with precision and care, ensuring they are a perfect match for your individual anatomy.
Surgery
If you find yourself in a situation where you’ve explored every possible non-surgical avenue for your hip injury, it might be time to consider surgery as a final treatment option. Surgery serves as a powerful tool to reignite the healing process by revitalizing blood flow to the affected area and addressing the underlying issues.
The first step involves carefully restoring proper blood circulation to the injured hip or quadricep. This renewed blood supply acts as a lifeline, delivering vital nutrients and oxygen to the damaged tissues, setting the stage for healing. In most cases, arthroscopic surgery is the chosen method. This minimally invasive approach offers several advantages, including smaller incisions, reduced scarring, and a quicker recovery time.
Prevent Tendonitis in the Hip from Holding You Back
Don’t let hip tendonitis hold you back any longer. Whether you’re considering physical therapy, orthotics, or even surgery, the path to healing and renewed mobility is within reach. Take the proactive step of consulting with a healthcare professional to explore your options and create a personalized treatment plan tailored to your unique needs. Your journey to a pain-free, active life begins now. Don’t wait; take the first step towards recovery today!