Your body has several small, fluid-filled sacs known as bursae. These sacs create a cushion between the soft tissue and bones of your joints. When they become inflamed it creates a condition referred to as bursitis. If you are experiencing pain in your hip joint, on the outside of the hip, that continues to the outside of your thigh, you have a condition called greater trochanteric bursitis, or hip bursitis. The bursae sacs in your hip are meant to cushion the muscles, ligaments, and tendons from the hip bones.
Hip bursitis is typically the result of overuse, or repeated stress, often from sports or other activities. This repeated stress increases the friction and tension in the hip. Some common causes of the gradual development of bursitis in the hip include:
- Muscle weakness
- Poor posture
- Repeated motions and actions that can aggravate the hip’s bursa
- Abnormal walking (from a leg injury)
- Bone spurs
- Direct Trauma
- Arthritis
The most common symptom of hip bursitis is pain that radiates from the outer side of the hip through the buttock, thigh, and the lateral part of the leg. This pain can be created by stair climbing, brisk walking or running, sitting cross-legged, and lying on the injured hip. A physical therapist can easily diagnose hip bursitis and design an effective treatment plan.
How Does a Physical Therapist Determine if You Have Hip Bursitis?
With a physical evaluation from a physical therapist, they will be able to determine the degree and extent of your condition, as well as the likely causes, enabling them to create a customized treatment plan. This exam, in addition to the information received from your history, will allow your PT to assess the presence and type of bursitis that you are experiencing.
What are the Benefits of Physical Therapy
Physical therapy boasts a variety of benefits for injury treatment and rehabilitation. Once your hip bursitis is diagnosed and assessed, treatment can begin, returning you to your regular lifestyle. Through a regimen of strengthening and stretching the affected area, you can resolve your hip pain in a matter of weeks, depending on your age and condition. Let’s take a closer look at the goals that physical therapy treatment for hip bursitis can achieve.
Improved Motion and Flexibility for Hip Bursitis After Physical Therapy
By determining if any leg or back muscles are tight, a stretching regimen can be implemented to improve overall flexibility. There are also specific exercises and manipulations that can be done to regain the normal movement of your legs and hips.
Reduced Swelling and Pain from Hip Bursitis Through Physical Therapy
With a combination of stimulation, dry needling, ultrasound, ice, and heat, as well as hands-on physical therapy like massage and manipulation, the pain and swelling that stems from an inflamed bursa sac in the hip can be alleviated.
Increased Strength After Hip Bursitis With Physical Therapy Treatment
Weak and injured muscles in and around the hip often are often attributed to the development of hip bursitis. By focusing on these muscle groups through certain exercises, the agility and strength of the hip can be regained and improved, preventing further injury.
If you’ve been experiencing hip or leg pain, or have experienced hip bursitis, the expert staff at Evolve Physical Therapy in Baton Rouge are here to help you get back on your feet.
