The hip is probably the most important region of your body and so is the bone. Well, it can also fall victim to a lot of injuries and it can put your normal activities on hold. Well, here is everything you need to know about one of the most common hip injuries – hip impingement – and when is the right time to see an orthopedic surgeon.

Hip Impingement

If you know anything about the hip bone, then you would know that the ball and socket joint is probably the most important part of it all. Well, normally, the ball-like head of the femur attaches itself and securely fits into the socket of the pelvis, everything is normal. But sometimes, the bone can extend beyond its natural shape and that is when you experience a very sharp and pinching sensation. That is basically what hip impingement is.

Impingement basically means the rubbing or the pinching of the inside of the joint. This can happen when the ball of the hip bone can get wedged deep into the socket and it can cause a very sharp pain.

Hip impingement is also known as femoroacetabular impingement. This is very common to occur in a lot of people especially who engage their hips in a lot of work. Hip impingement is a very serious issue and it can cause you to become stiff from the waist down and lose flexibility in the hip, which means that you won’t be able to do any work or even bend when your hip is impinged.

Causes Of Hip Impingement

Now that you know what hip impingement is, here are some of the most common causes of it.

Various Activities That Engage The Hip

It can mainly happen because of the engagement of the hip in various activities. If you are someone who does a lot of work, like lifting, rolling, and engaging the entire core of the body, then it can lead to hip impingement in the long run.

Deteriorating Bones

If you have badly deteriorating bones, then hip impingement can become a problem. Over time, the bones can shave off and the hip ball can get wedged into the socket beyond its natural limit and that can cause hip impingement.

Age

Another thing that is quite possibly out of your hands is age. With age, a lot of people suffer from disorders of the bone and they can get really bad injuries with just a small fall or slip. This means that the hip can get damaged in these cases and if the fall is too much, then the hip ball and socket joint can be affected too. This can lead to hip impingement.

Deformed Hip Bones

A lot of the time, people have very deformed hip bones and they can get impinged hips very early on. This can be genetic or something else, but the main gist is that your hip isn’t naturally designed in the way most people’s, so you are at a higher risk of getting hip impingement than others and sometimes, it can even happen at an early age, which is very frustrating.

Improper Hip Procedures Or Healing

Lastly, hip injuries and botched surgeries in the same area can lead to hip impingement. If you’re someone who has had a lot of surgeries done in the past, then you can fall victim to it, especially if the injuries haven’t had time to heal up properly. In some of these cases, your hip surgeon may refer you to pain management clinics Woodbridge.

Symptoms Of Hip Impingement

Here are some common symptoms of hip impingement.

• First and most obviously, you will feel pain. It will be felt in the groin area and you will even feel it along the sides of your hips. It will be a very uncomfortable and pinching sort of pain that shoots up whenever you try to move the wrong way.
• You will also have limited movement when it comes to the hips. Flexing the hips will be an uphill task and you won’t be able to rotate, gyrate, or do anything with your hips for that matter.
• There might also be swelling or a numbing sensation in the hips. When you touch the affected area, it will feel very tender and painful to the touch.
• You will lose your posture. Nothing will be comfortable, whether you’re standing up or lying flat, you will be in pain all of the time and that is not ideal at all.
• In worst cases, you might even have to resort to not moving at all, because everything just hurts a lot when you move it and you just won’t want to move at all.

Diagnosis Of Hip Impingement

Now that you know what hip impingement is, here are some of the things you can do to diagnose it, get to the bottom of the problem, and treat it before it’s too late.

An X-ray and physical examination is enough to diagnose the problem. First, you’ll need to get an appointment with your doctor and explain what you’re feeling. They will also ask you a round of questions that will make sure whether you have gotten the injury recently or if is it something that you’ve been experiencing for a while now.

After that is done, an x-ray or MRI will be scheduled and that will tell you and the doctor exactly what is wrong.

Treatments For Hip Impingement

Once you know what the problem is, you can get to the treatment part and help manage the pain and get rid of this discomfort once and for all. Here are some of the most common things to do:

Pain Medication

If the pain is bearable and the injury is not too severe, then you can go for pain medication and that will help manage the pain when you just can’t seem to tolerate it.

Rest

Resting will also do wonders for the affected hip and sometimes laying with a support can make the biggest of differences.

Exercises

Some exercises are also recommended to keep the hip moving without actually making the pain worse and those also work amazingly for a lot of people.

Hot And Cold Compression

Hot and cold compressions can also lead to alleviation of the pain because the alternating hot and cold temperatures will make the pain go away and your brain won’t register the discomfort.

Hip Arthroscopy

As for surgical methods, you can opt for an arthroscopy. It is usually an outpatient surgery and you can get it done to remove the impingement permanently. It is done with a smaller incision, so it is very much bearable and you will heal quickly too.

An arthroscopy is done with an arthroscope which is a small probe with a light and camera. It goes inside the incision and does all of the work very non-invasively and safely.

Hip Replacement

If the hip is too far gone, then you probably need to go for a hip replacement surgery and this is quite the opposite of an arthroscopy because it is very invasive, time-consuming and healing takes longer.

Conclusion

Hip impingement sounds painful and it is, not to mention it can also be very limiting. So, now you know exactly how to combat this injury and get back on track with your life. Don’t be afraid of hip replacement  because it’s suggested when other treatments don’t work and even then, it’s done by experienced hip replacement surgery surgeons Woodbridge.