Hip Bursitis & Hip Pain

Physio Elements provide a range of treatments for sufferers of hip bursitis and hip pain. Many people experience pain in their hip for years and just live with it, changing their activity levels and even their walking gait to accommodate this type of pain. This can cause difficulty walking, wearing socks and shoes, going up stairs. Physiotherapy, however, can help to alleviate the pain whilst aiding the healing process.

What causes hip pain?

Pain in the hip has multiple causes including football or rugby (where you need to your leg forwards), standing for prolonged periods of time, and osteoarthritis. Hip bursitis is one of the most common causes of hip pain and is the inflammation of fluid filled sacs (bursa) that serve as cushions between the bones in your hip and the muscles and tendons.

Each hip has two large bursa, one on the outside of the hip (called the trochanter bursa) and one on the inside of the hip (called the iliopsoas bursa). Inflammation of either the trochanter or the iliopsoas bursa is generally due to overuse of the hip or an injury and is common in people who run, walk or cycle regularly. Other causes are muscle tears, gout and complications from hip surgery, as well as rheumatoid arthritis (this usually causes iliopsoas bursitis) and osteoarthritis (this usually causes trochanter bursitis).

How do we treat your hip pain?

Your initial assessment will include thorough clinical examination by the physio and may also include X-Rays, ultrasound and a medical history.

Treatment usually commences with managing your pain, as well as ice and rest, TENS, ultrasound therapy, massage techniques (rest is important so that you don’t aggravate the problem any more than necessary). The physio advises you of what you can and cat do to help with a quicker recovery. This will be followed by gentle mobilisation exercises, as well as stretching and strengthening exercises to bring back a full range of motion in your hip. We can also develop a customised program to help prevent recurrence of your hip bursitis.

For help healing your hip pain or bursitis and preventing it happening again, please call us on 03 9729 7777 or send us an email enquiry.