Tips for Preventing Hip Pain Naturally

If you’ve ever suffered from hip pain, you’ve realized that movement of your hips is involved in so many motions you make every day. Walking, standing, running, bending, reaching—your hips get involved in every motion. The structures of your lower back and hips must bear the weight of your entire upper body, so when there is inflammation and poor alignment in this area, it can truly make a person miserable. 

When hip pain starts, it doesn’t generally go away by itself. In fact, it normally worsens over time. That’s why chiropractic care that keeps hip pain from starting or relieves it when it does show up is so important. 

I work with many patients to keep them active and pain-free—especially around the hips—so I want to pass my tips for preventing this pain along to you. 

1. Wear good shoes. Your shoes should provide proper support for your feet and correctly align your feet, ankles, knees and hips. Poor shoes can allow your ankles to bend inward or outward, which throws off the alignment of your lower body and your whole spine.
   
   
2. See a chiropractor to see if you need orthotics. Orthotics are medical devices that fit into the bottom of your shoe and correct the alignment of your feet. If your ankles tend to roll in or out, orthotics can straighten them up and improve alignment of the whole body.
   
   
3. Maintain a healthy weight. Excess weight creates wear and tear on all the weight-bearing joints, especially the low back and the hips. This wear and tear can result in inflammation and damage to the joints. Achieving a healthy weight can go a long way toward relieving problems that are causing hip pain.
   
   
4. Get chiropractic adjustments. These adjustments correctly align the bones all along the spine. This reduces wear and tear not only in the low back and hip areas but also all the way up and down. Even patients suffering from osteoarthritis can benefit from chiropractic treatment. One study found that 83% of osteoarthritis patients who received as few as nine chiropractic adjustments saw improvement. Chiropractic care directly relieves pain from misaligned vertebrae and also bolsters the ability of the body to fight inflammation wherever it occurs. 

Structures in the Hips and Low Back

There are many interrelated structures in the low back and hips—many vertebrae, muscles, joints, tendons and ligaments. A problem that actually starts in the spine can end up causing pain in the hips, buttocks, thighs or even the groin. A resolution of the problem may include helping our patients learn how to stretch properly, stand up straight and exercise in a way that does not cause damage.

I explain to my patients that when these vertebrae in the low back are well-aligned, the muscles don’t get tensed up, nerves are not pinched (as happens in sciatica) and patients feel better all over. 

If it’s been a while since you’ve had your low back, hips or lower body alignment checked, come see me soon. I’ll give you a chiropractic tuneup and follow that with Pressure Point Therapy to relieve areas that are locked up with pain. I’m the only chiropractor in the St. Louis area that offers Pressure Point Therapy. I hope to see you soon so I can keep you aligned, mobile and pain-free. Give us a call at (314) 635-1008 to schedule an appointment.