What To Do With Hip Pain
What To Do With Hip Pain
Hip pain can be extremely painful as the area has a lot of nerves. All hip pain doesn’t necessarily have to be arthritis, and though it may seem easy to give up all activity if you have hip pain, frequent and moderate movement is often the best bet. Here are a few tips you can follow to manage your hip pain and stay mobile.
Exercises
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Figure-four stretch: Hold onto something if you need to while doing this exercise
- Stand on one leg.
- Bend the knee of the other leg and place the ankle of that leg on your standing knee. Your legs should make the shape of the number four.
- Bend your standing knee as if you were sitting down in a chair with one leg crossed over the other. You should feel a deep stretch in the hip muscles on the standing leg side
- Do this on both sides.
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Hip flexor stretch: Hip flexors are the muscles at the hip that allow you to raise your leg, for example, when you walk, run, or kick.
- Kneel on one knee so that the leg you’re kneeling on forms a 90-degree angle.
- Extend the other leg behind you so that the knee is on the floor. You might want to put a towel under the knee to cushion it.
- Shift your pelvis forward until you feel a stretch in the muscles across the top of the hip and thigh in the extended leg.
- Do this on both sides.
- Balance exercise: Practice standing on one leg. Alternate sides for several repetitions.
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Range of motion:
- Stand on one leg and raise the knee of the other leg towards your chest.
- Keep the knee bent and open the leg out to the side.
- Do several repetitions on each side.
Should I ice it?
True hip pain is located too deep under the skin for ice to be effective, however those who suffer from bursitis (inflammation of the joint’s fluid sacs) may find relief in ice compresses to reduce the inflammation.
