Hip Tendonitis
Hip tendonitis is degeneration, pain and sometimes inflammation of any one of a number of tendons in the hip area. These include the hip flexors, groin, hamstring and glute tendons.
Symptoms of a Hip Tendonitis
- Pain which develops gradually without a specific incident.
- Tenderness when feeling the tendon.
- It may be uncomfortable to stretch the muscle of the tendon involved.
- Contracting the muscle of the tendon involved may be uncomfortable.
- The hip joint may feel stiff in the mornings or after long rest periods.
- Pain may ease with activity and get worse again afterwards.
Causes
Tendonitis occurs when the tendon is put under a lot of strain, either doing something that it is not used to, doing the activity more than normal or due to biomechanical problems. Tendonitis may also be known as Tendinitis or Tendinopathy, which is actually the most accurate name as the term 'itis' is misleading.
'Itis' at the end of a word refers to inflammation and in most cases of overuse tendon injuries, it has been shown that there are no inflammatory cells present. The condition is more of a degenerative injury, causing disorientation of the collagen fibres and an increase in tendon cells. The notoriously poor blood supply of tendons mean they are often slow to heal.
Treatment
- Rest from aggravating activities.
- Apply the RICE principle - rest, ice, compression, elevation.
- Gentle stretching of the affected muscle - provided this is not painful.
- Sports massage and ultrasound therapy from a qualified professional may be effective.
- Your Doctor may prescribe anti-inflammatory medication such as ibuprofen.
- Gentle strengthening exercises for the associated muscle once pain-free.
- Eccentric strengthening is particularly important for tendon rehabilitation.
- Determine what may have caused the injury and correct any problems (i.e. over-training, muscle imbalances etc)
Watch our interview with Dr Maria Madge (chiropractor) about hip pain.
