Your Cart is Empty
Did you know that your hips are one of the biggest joints in your body? It’s also responsible for carrying most of your body weight – almost 5 times your body weight!
The hip is a ball-and-socket joint consisting of the femur, or the thigh bone, and the pelvis bone, or the hip bone. Repeat that over and over again, add a tune to it, and you’ll be part of the symphony of a timeless kid’s classic.
Your lower and upper body all meet at the hips. They help carry the weight of your body while at the same time, allowing you to move from one place to another. Your hips need to be stable and mobile at the same time. It’s no wonder why our hip joints are prone to injuries.
If your hip joint is damaged, or if any deficits are present, chances are you’ll have a hard time walking, running, or even climbing the stairs.
It’s important to keep your hips healthy because they’re constantly under stress from the daily load they carry. Regular exercises that include stretching and strengthening will help make your hip muscles strong and flexible, and this can significantly lower your risk of getting a hip injury.
If you do get injured, however, treatments for it are widely available. You can find many home remedies that include applying hot and cold packs to your injury. If you’re looking for the best ice packs in the market, you’ve come to the right place.
But before we dig into the treatments for hip injuries, let’s first take a look at what causes them.
Ever heard of the song, Hips Don’t Lie by Shakira?
Well, she was right because hips really don’t lie when they hurt – especially when you injure them. When this happens, you’re sure to feel it.
The causes of hip injuries can vary depending on the type of activities you do daily.
Engaging in high-intensity sports like soccer, outdoor activities like hiking, and recreational activities like gardening can all contribute to injuring your hip.
Slipping and accidentally falling on your hip can also cause an injury by bruising or breaking a bone, which by the way, is a common way the elderly population gets injured.
That being said, let's look at some of the common hip injuries that can happen to you so that you’ll be better equipped to manage the symptoms associated with these conditions.
Inflamed Tendons. This condition is also called tendinitis. Tendons are what connect the muscle to the bone. When your tendons are inflamed, it causes pain and inflammation at the hip. Doing repetitive motions at the hip can irritate the tendons and cause tendinitis.
Arthritis. The head of your thigh bone is covered with cartilage which acts as a cushion, orshock absorber and helps the bone move smoothly in the socket. Arthritis happens when this cartilage thins out, causing the head of the thigh bone to rub against the socket at the hip joint.
When bone and bone rub against each other, you guessed it – it causes a lot of pain. Ouch!
Bursitis. A bursa is a fluid-filled sac within the joint that acts as a cushion and reduces friction between tissues in the body. Bursitis occurs when the bursa gets inflamed. This injury can occur in activities that involve running, sprinting, or jumping.
Hip Fractures. When a break in the bone occurs, it’s called a fracture. Different types of fractures can occur at the hip, like partial or complete fractures. A common cause of fractures involves falling from a chair or slipping in your bathroom. I don’t think we have to tell you how painful that can be.
Muscle Strain. A muscle strain happens when the muscle tears from overuse. This can occur during accidents, high-intensity exercises, or in sports. Strains can be very painful and can take some time to heal.
Avascular Necrosis. This is a disease that results in the loss of blood supply to the bones. If the blood supply to the bone is lost, the bone tissues die and collapse, causing pain and loss of movement.
That was a lot to take in so let's take a mental break with this fun fact.
Did you know that there are noticeable differences between the hip bones of males and females? For example, female hip bones are more delicate and shallow as compared to male hip bones.
Pretty cool, huh?
Anyway, now that we’ve covered some of the causes of hip injuries, let’s now take a look at what you can do to treat them.
Treatment for hip injuries can range from simple home remedies to surgical treatments and how you approach your treatment will depend on the severity of your hip injury. Even as we highlight remedies like exercise and applying ice packs, never underestimate the importance that rest has on your healing.
Rest. Oftentimes, all you need is a little rest when treating a hip injury. Be sure to avoid doing activities or motions that worsen your hip pain. There will be times when avoiding these motions will be impossible, so make sure to squeeze in regular rest periods if that's the case for you.
Even giving yourself a 5-10 minute break between work sessions, or during household chores goes a long way.
If you exercise regularly, make sure to not overdo it. If you’re feeling tired or fatigued before your workout, it’ll be wise to skip the gym for the day. Your risk of getting injured increases when you’re fatigued.
So, set that ego aside!
Pain Medications. Your physician can prescribe you pain medications to relieve your hip pain. There are many over-the-counter pain medications like NSAIDs available at your local pharmacy. Make sure to consult with your healthcare provider before taking any medications, though.
Cold or Heat Therapy. Cold and heat therapy is a staple when it comes to reducing pain and inflammation. Ideally, cold therapy should be applied to an injury that just happened, while heat therapy should be applied to injuries that are a couple of months old.
At IceWraps.com, we have selections of cold and hot packs that you can use to experience the pain relief you’ve been longing for. Because of its ability to cover a bigger area, our oversized cold clay pack is perfect for that nagging hip pain of yours.
This product is also available in our Amazon store, so make sure to check it out!
 |
| ICEWRAPS 12X21 OVERSIZE COLD THERAPY CLAY PACK WITH COVER |
 |
Stretching and Strengthening Exercises. Exercise is always beneficial for your body. Since hip pain can be caused by tight or shortened muscles in the body, stretching them can oftentimes relieve the pain.
Pain in the hips can also be caused by weak or inactive muscles. When weak muscles are present, the surrounding muscles compensate for the weakness by exerting more effort than usual. Because they weren’t meant to exert such effort, these compensating muscles become overactive and tight, which leads to pain in the area.
Physical Therapy. Having your physical therapist evaluate your injury will help you have a better understanding of how to care for it. Your therapist will create a plan of care for you that includes stretching and strengthening. Your therapist may apply modalities on you, such as ultrasound and electrotherapy, to reduce your pain.
The treatment plan given by your physical therapist will aim to increase your strength and flexibility, and help reduce pain in your hip. Additionally, going to physical therapy sessions will keep you motivated to get better! There’s nothing like having someone constantly remind you to do your exercises each day.
Watch this video to learn about the three stretches you can do for your hip pain. We felt good after trying these out ourselves!
Surgery. This will depend on the severity of your injury. If the cause of your hip injury is severe, then you’ll need surgery to fix it. We know that going under the knife isn’t fun for most people (us included), but there might be a chance that surgery could be your only option to get better.
Surgery is usually considered after you’ve run out of other options. Your healthcare provider will most likely put you through conservative methods first such as rest and physical therapy, but if that still doesn’t work out, then you’ll need surgery to get better.
After surgery, you’ll be needing physical rehabilitation to regain your hip movement. These can consist of cold or hot therapy, stretching, and strengthening exercises.
That rounds up our list of the best treatments we think will help you on your road to recovering from hip injuries.
We can see how important it is to keep your hips healthy, flexible, and strong. Your hips allow you to do fun activities like joining a dance class, working out, and playing with your kids, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews.
With an injured hip, it's clear that you wouldn’t be able to do all these.
Hip injuries are also common and can be caused by muscle, cartilage, or bone injuries. As we mentioned in the article, the elderly population is most prone to these types of injuries because they can easily lose balance and fall, injuring their hip. Athletes or people who are physically active are also at risk for hip injuries.
Make sure to check with your healthcare provider if you suspect that you’ve injured your hip. Minor hip injuries can be treated with simple methods such as ice or hot packs, rest, and exercises. You’ll be surprised how much of an impact these can have on relieving your hip pain.
While stretching and strengthening exercises are beneficial, they can also cause muscle soreness, so be sure to check out IceWraps.com’s selection of ice packs to help keep the soreness at bay while you recover.
We hope that this article helps you stay hip by keeping your hips strong and healthy!
Comments will be approved before showing up.
