Vancouver Orthotic Clinics Tips to Relieve Hip Pain and Osteoarthritis
Weather changes often get the blame for aches that tend to flare up when autumn winds blow in the colder temps. So, it’s a good time to remember that your Hip Pain and Osteoarthritis (OA) of your weight bearing joints may be coming from your feet. In some cases, your hip pain and your OA flares may be connected due to your biomechanics and foot alignment. Read on to learn how Vancouver Orthotic Clinics offers solutions to symptoms that can be debilitating, painful and can slow you down, by working to get you pain free from the ground up!
Hip Pain – Diagnosis and Treatment
Hip pain is a common problem, and it can be confusing because there are many common sources of hip pain. An accurate diagnosis so that appropriate treatment can address the underlying problem is important.
Common causes of hip pain examined at Vancouver Orthotic Clinics:
- FLAT FEET – poor biomechanical force transmission
- Trauma – direct injury to the femoral joint
- Arthritis
- Trochanteric Bursitis
- Osteonecrosis
- Lumbar (Low Back) Pain – referred symptoms
- Snapping Hip Syndrome
- Muscle Strains
- Hip Fracture
The hip joint is a weight bearing joint that can handle a lot of abuse over the years. Just think of how your hips enable you achieve those 10,000 steps you aim for daily!
In the long run it causes “wear and tear” or osteoarthritis of these weight bearing joints and the source is often misalignment of the feet and poor shock-absorption. That’s why we are strong on the notion of ground up care.
All that contact with the ground moves up from your feet, into your ankles, your knees, your hips, your back and spinal joints. If faulty biomechanics from the feet are having a destructive effect on the hip joint, then custom orthotic inserts can play a role in preventing breakdown and treating hip pain. (See a short video with Dr. Horowitz on your IT Band and biomechanics)
What Vancouver Orthotic Clinics Wants You to Know about Your Hip Pain
We rely on our hips for a lot of repeated motion and expect the body’s largest ball-and-socket joint to stand up to a lot of movement. And each time you engage your hip, a cushion of cartilage helps prevent friction as the hip bone moves in its socket.
Still, hip pain happens.
Age, use, overuse of the cartilage and even muscles and tendons, as well as broken hip bones can all lead to hip pain. It invades our everyday wellbeing/health and hip pain impacts our every movement, even as we rest. So, you may feel hip pain and discomfort coming from or radiating out to your:
- Thigh
- Inside of the hip joint
- Outside of the hip joint
- Buttocks and even groin in the case of a hernia
Pain from other areas of the body, including the back can also move up to the hip.
Relief for Hip Pain
Does your hip pain get worse with activity? This may be made worse if it’s caused by arthritis and you also notice reduced range of motion. You may even develop a limp from persistent hip pain.
If your hip pain is caused by a muscle or tendon strain, osteoarthritis, or tendinitis, you can usually relieve it with an over-the-counter pain medication such as acetaminophen or a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug such as ibuprofen or naproxen.
Relief can also come from ice to the area for about 15 minutes a few times a day. Rest and also heat to the affected joint as well as a warm bath. These can prepare your muscles for stretching exercises that can also reduce pain.
At Vancouver Orthotic clinics our aim is to reduce pain and improve joint mobility so your treatment plan, once properly diagnosed will include elements to both help with pain and increase your range of motion.
Early examination and treatment can help avoid extremes from intense pain to surgery.
What is Osteoarthritis (OA) or Degenerative Arthritis?
Osteoarthritic disease affects millions of people worldwide. Osteoarthritis causes degeneration of cartilage in the knee joint, but it also occurs in the hands and hips. Cartilage acts as a cushion between bones and protects the ends of bones where they meet each other. When cartilage becomes damaged, bone rubs against bone causing pain and also loss of movement.
The pain, stiffness, and swelling that OA causes can reduce function and add to disability; some people are no longer able to do daily tasks or work.
In addition, the weight of the body places pressure on the affected area. This leads to inflammation and swelling. Medications may be used to treat symptoms, however, these medications do not cure the condition. Surgery may also be performed to remove parts of the joint. However, surgery does not repair damage to the joint. After surgery, rehabilitation therapy is recommended to regain full range of motion and strength.
To review: Signs and symptoms of OA include:
Osteoarthritis symptoms develop slowly and worsen over time. You may notice:
- Swelling possibly caused by inflammation of the soft tissue around the joint.
- Pain or aching
- Stiffness in the joints, most noticeable after physical activity, or even on waking
- Flexibility loss teams up with stiffness and limits your joint through its full range of motion.
- Pain affects joints as you move or after, and it often hurts to put any pressure
How does your chiropractor or orthotic specialist treat OA?
As there is no cure for OA, health practitioners may apply a combination of therapies such as physical therapy with muscle strengthening exercises and often surgery, over the counter or prescription medications as well as weight loss.
At Vancouver Orthotic Clinics we aim to keep people moving with physical activity for arthritis.
Some people are concerned that physical activity will make their arthritis worse, but we’ve found that our patients improve their arthritis pain, function, and quality of life with joint-friendly physical activity.
Why suffer and slow down due to debilitating pain that can be reduced or relieved with the specialists at Vancouver Orthotic Clinics. Clinics are conveniently located throughout the Lower Mainland and the Vancouver Chiropractic Clinic. Read on to learn the source of these discomforts and solutions to help you, or someone you know get pain-free, naturally.
Let’s look at one symptom at a time and how Vancouver Orthotic Clinics can help
At Vancouver Orthotic Clinics our team believes good posture starts from the ‘ground up’. Better posture and chiropractic attention or proper balance and support from proper foot orthotics can offer both prevention and relief. The alignment and shock absorption help your body to a better balance.
We’d like you to consider having your feet examined at one of our clinics. We offer diagnosis and treatment and often recommend custom orthotics to fit into your favorite shoes.
All patients start off with the consultation postural foot and spine exam. Ultimately, this leads to both a diagnosis and a treatment plan. We use the newest 3D Gate Scan technology and we can recommend a variety of options to keep you moving well and pain free.
Early detection and prevention can help keep the fires of pain and discomfort from taking over.
If you’d like more information on how Vancouver Orthotic Clinics can help with your pain, please visit our website where you can book an appointment online or email us with any questions that you might have.
We’re happy to assist you to be sure you take advantage of what has been proven-that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. It’s certainly easier to prevent fires than it is to fight fires. So let’s help prevent your small aches and pains from becoming big ones from head to toe, spine and feet.
We’ve got you covered wherever you live, work and play.
Vancouver Orthotic Clinics now serve you in the Greater Vancouver Area and numerous locations. See information on Location and Hours for clinics at: Vancouver, Burnaby Metrotown), Richmond, Tri-Cities (Coquitlam), Surrey City Centre, North Delta, and now in Whistler and Victoria (Landford) BC, East Vancouver, North Shore, Langley. Downtown Vancouver
This is Dr. Michael Horowitz with Vancouver Orthotic Clinics, encouraging you to get relief from any knee pain or pinched nerves and get into the great fall season ahead, with vitality.
Keep moving with your best foot forward.
Dr. Michael Horowitz,
info@vancouverorthoticclinics.ca
604-737-3668
Vancouver Chiropractic Services
News you can use from Vancouver Orthotics:
We are here to help. Learn more About US…..And click here to Book Online for a Consultation, Examination, Prescription, and Fitting and Dispensing of Custom Orthotic Inserts. There’s loads of information at our website, or you can use your health benefits and book an appointment online or call or email us with any questions that you have.
Oh, we like to share! Resources and useful information to our community. We have a “One-Minute Series”, “Feet First Series”, a “Lets Stretch Series” and an “Exercise for Health Series”. You can also Shop Online for Dr. Michael’s Most Recommended Products to help support your Body.
VANCOUVER ORTHOTIC CLINICS LE DA LA BIENVENIDA A LA GRAN COMUNIDAD HISPANA DE VANCOUVER
