When you’re suffering from hip pain, it can turn your entire life upside-down. Even if you’re doing your best to get through the day and ignore the pain, it can be hard to perform even the simplest tasks. Luckily, no one has to deal with hip pain for too long if they have the right doctor by their side. If you’ve ever seen Dr. David Miller Richmond VA, you know that hip pain can be handled with a mixture of physical therapy, possible surgery, medication, and lifestyle choices. Even if you’re dealing with chronic pain that doesn’t show any signs of letting up, you can still have control over your life and tame your pain with a bit of help. But first, it helps to know exactly what you’re dealing with in the realm of hip pain. Here are a few of the most common hip problems you may be facing, as well as what to do about them.
Bursitis
If you’re feeling swollen in your hip area, you could be facing bursitis. When bursitis hits, the area around your hip region, which is surrounded by fluid-filled sacs, ends up getting inflamed. This can make basic mobility difficult, never mind physical labor of any kind. Since bursitis is inflammatory, it can flare up when the weather is damp and murky. The stiffening, painful sensation of limited mobility can cause sufferers to experience sleep issues as well. If you feel like you’re suffering from bursitis, there are a few things you can do. If you already have a physical therapist, ask about targeted exercises that can help you stay free of aches and pains. In the meantime, anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen can help with night pain and sleeping. While most doctors will recommend a course of physical therapy and painkillers, in some rare instances surgery may help lessen symptoms. If you experience chronic bursitis that lasts for weeks at a time, you may be a candidate for this surgery.
Broken Hip
When you experience a broken hip, you’ll be dealing with some severe pain that won’t quiet down without some serious treatment. Although a hip break or fracture can technically occur at any point in life, seniors are at a much higher risk due to weak bones, fragility, and the increased possibility of slip and falls around the house. If you’re dealing with a broken hip, you need to seek out medical attention as soon as you possibly can. While you might be able to avoid surgery depending on how bad your break was, you’ll most likely want to go under the knife to avoid some of the more pleasant after effects of this problem. You also want to make sure your fracture or break heals correctly. If it doesn’t, you could be looking at a lifetime of pain. Your hips play a large role when it comes to your mobility, so never underestimate the importance of getting hip-related pain and injuries seen to.
Dislocation
When your hip dislocates, you might not experience any pain at first. However, that’s no reason to ignore the symptoms. When your hip pops out of its socket, you’re likely to feel a disorienting sensation followed by serious serious pain in your leg and hip. Dislocation usually occurs due to a lot of oncoming force. For instance, if you’re a senior who’s experienced a car accident, you could end up with a dislocated hip even if the impact of the car wasn’t severe. A dislocated hip requires immediate medical attention. You’ll need to make sure your ligaments aren’t damaged as a result of the dislocation. While surgery might not be required, you’ll still want to look at all your options when it comes to pain management.
Snapping Hip
If you’ve led a highly active lifestyle, snapping hip syndrome may, unfortunately, be in your future. Whether you’ve spent years as a ballet dancer or had a successful career in track and field, the stress put on your hips from all those years busting a move could come back to haunt you in the form of this condition, which combines bursitis symptoms with a “popping” sensation in the hip, sometimes connected to bursts of pain. Because there’s a thickening of tissue around your hip and femur socket, you’ll experience this sensation during sudden movements. While some sufferers experience more pain than others, snapping hip syndrome can often be more of a nuisance than anything else. If the pain gets to be too serious, you should always speak to your doctor about physical therapy before asking about surgery.
