Four tips for managing hip pain at home

Your hips are complicated joints that are made up of many muscles, bones and connective tissues that operate together to help the joint function. When just one of these areas is damaged in any way, the entire hip can be in pain.

Severe hip pain or hip pain that lasts longer than a week or so should be treated by a medical professional. This kind of pain may be the sign of something serious, like arthritis or bursitis, which can grow worse without treatment and lead to permanent disability.

However, most cases of hip pain are minor and require little more than some rest and home treatments. If your hip pain isn’t that severe, you should follow the advice below for treatment.

Four tips for treating hip pain at home

1. Walk — When one of your joints is in pain, it’s usually a good idea to maintain some level of activity to help keep the other muscles and connective tissues healthy and promote healing of the damaged tissue. Remaining stationary for long periods of time can result in a weaker joint and an incomplete recovery.
2. Exercise — Exercising and stretching can help you maintain the strength and flexibility of your hip while it recovers. Try some simple exercises like standing on one leg to help engage the muscles in your hip. Do not push yourself too hard in exercising though. This may result in greater pain.
3. Ice — Ice can help reduce swelling and pain in the muscles surrounding your hip. Many of the connective tissues of the hip are too deep to reach with ice though, so icing does not always help.
4. Medicate — Take some simple over-the-counter pain medication and anti-inflammatory medication to help treat hip pain at home.

Contact Back in Motion Physical Therapy for hip pain treatment

Sometimes, hip pain is too severe to be treated by simple home remedies. The physical therapists at Back in Motion Physical Therapy are skilled in developing rehabilitative treatments that affect all of the muscles, bones and connective tissues in your hips. Contact us today to learn more about how physical therapy can help you overcome your hip pain.