Hip Complaints: Practical Tips for Hip Pain

What are hip complaints?

There are different kinds of hip problems; hip complaints are complaints of the hip, the hip joint, or the pelvis: pain and stiffness in the hip or the groin, especially when standing up or climbing stairs, or a nagging pain that keeps you awake at night. The hip is a large joint that carries most of your body weight; in the hip joint the ball and socket move smoothly into each other, and the cartilage between them can wear down (osteoarthritis). The surrounding muscles and tendons can become overused. Most hip complaints are harmless and well treatable, although a hip fracture or an infection always deserves medical assessment first.

You can visit Embody Health Chiropractie without a referral from your GP; your first visit costs €39. After a full intake and physical examination you know immediately whether chiropractic care fits your complaint. Most Dutch health insurers (partially) reimburse chiropractic care from the supplementary package, without touching your deductible.

Together with our teams in Alphen aan den Rijn, Amersfoort, and Rotterdam, we have helped more than 2500 people with complaints over 12 years; on Google we average 4.9 out of 5.

Symptoms of hip complaints

Hip complaints can show up in different ways. Do you recognize one or more of the following symptoms?

• pain in the hip, the groin, or the buttock, for example when walking or climbing stairs
• stiffness of the hips when standing up from a chair or after sitting for a long time
• night-time pain that keeps you awake, or pain when turning over in bed
• pain on the side of the hip, often with bursitis
• pain radiating to the back of the upper leg
• trouble loading the leg, for example after a fall on the hip

Causes of hip complaints

Hip complaints usually arise from a combination of wear, overuse, and movement. Common causes are:

• Wear (osteoarthritis): the cartilage in the hip joint becomes thinner, so the joint becomes stiff and painful, especially after rest.
• Overuse: sitting for long periods, one-sided loading, or intense sports can overuse the muscles, tendons, and bursae around the hip.
• Bursitis: an inflammation of the bursa on the side of the hip often causes pain when lying on your side or climbing stairs.
• The pelvis: the pelvis connects the spine to the hips; disturbed movement of the pelvis or the SI joint can cause tension in the hips.
• A fall or bump: a fall on the hip can block the joint; a hip fracture, visible deformity, or inability to load the leg first requires medical help.
• Pregnancy: around pregnancy the ligaments become more supple, so the pelvis and hips move more and complaints can arise.

Our first step: rule out serious signals

Every first visit at Embody Health begins with a careful screening of the signals that need medical assessment. Most hip complaints are harmless and well treatable, and we always screen first for the few signals that need medical assessment: sudden severe pain with inability to load the leg, loss of control over your bladder or bowels, or fever combined with pain in a joint — we guide you through that. Pregnant? Then we consult your midwife or gynaecologist together with you on unusual complaints. Once those signals are ruled out, we investigate whether chiropractic care can support your hip or pelvic complaints: that is where we can help.

Chiropractic treatment for hip complaints

What is known from research? Systematic reviews of manual therapy and exercises for hip osteoarthritis show that this approach can reduce pain and improve the function of the hip. That matches what we see in practice: in many people with hip complaints, also chronic complaints, the stiffness decreases and they have less trouble walking and climbing stairs, so daily activities become easier again.

The treatment of hip complaints focuses on the interaction of the pelvis, the hip, and the lower back. During your first visit we examine the mobility of the hip and the hip joint, the tension in the muscles around the hip, and how the pelvis moves. With gentle, precise corrections we restore the movement of the joint and the surrounding muscles, tendons, and bursae, and support the natural function of the hip. Which approach fits best, we discuss honestly during your first visit.

Your first visit costs €39; a single follow-up consultation costs €65 and a consultation in a recovery package €55. Check what your health insurance covers and the prices.

What you can do yourself with hip complaints?

Keep moving within the pain limit: complete rest often makes the hip stiffer. Walking, cycling, and gentle stair climbing keep the joint supple, and exercises for the muscles around the hip support the function in the long term. Listen to your body: rest on days when the hip protests more and build up the loading gently afterwards.

Do the complaints persist? Read more about osteoarthritis or pelvic complaints. Book a first visit and we will assess together whether chiropractic care fits your situation, or whether another care provider is the better first step.