What are the first signs of hip problems?
By Dr. Joshua Kiely
We rely on our hips every time we move. Whether we’re walking, playing, golfing or cycling, we need a healthy blend of motion and stability throughout our hip area. If you’re interested in keeping your hips healthy starting today and avoiding trouble down the road, read on!
This article will discuss:
The first signs of hip problems
The biggest struggle in maintaining healthy hips
Strategies for avoiding hip problems for life
The first signs of hip problems
You’ve probably had a day when you got up from your chair extra slow because it felt like your joints were made of glue. You’ve also probably had an extra-long day of running around with the kids or playing your sport and noticed your hips aching by the time you crawled into bed.
Those uncomfortable sensations can be the result of overuse or underuse - the key to good joint health is finding the correct balance that keeps us strong, mobile and comfortable.
Finding the balance of activity and recovery takes trial and error, but everyone can find a healthy combination.
Overuse injuries and traumatic injuries can be complicated, and I highly recommend you see a professional to get a proper diagnosis and tailored treatment plan if you suspect you are suffering from these types of injury (shameless plug: book here if you’re in Ottawa or consider telehealth with yours truly if you reside in Ontario).
In the office, underuse injuries are much more commonly affecting the hips, and that’s where we’ll keep our focus for this article.
Throughout the year I hear complaints of low back pain during golf, stiff knees after hockey and achiness from long bike rides. Often, patients demonstrate a lack of hip control and motion, and this can lead to trouble.
Our bodies are brilliant and will compensate for a lack of motion in one area by creating it elsewhere. In the short term, this can help us accomplish a task, but long-term it can create the environment for injury. This may explain why poorly functioning hips can lead to upset backs and cranky knees.
Whether you’re an athlete, a desk-worker, or a busy parent/grandparent trying to keep up with the kids, (you might even be all three!) you can benefit from having strong, mobile hip joints. To top it off, healthy hip joints are essential for maintaining autonomy while we age - it’s important to be able to get off the toilet by yourself!
The biggest struggle in maintaining healthy hips
What do commuting, relaxing, and desk work all have in common? They tend to involve sitting!
As a country, we spend more time sitting today than at any other point in history. If we can’t balance sitting with movement, our hip health progressively decreases and our ability to painlessly perform many of the activities we love can be put in jeopardy.
Since COVID changed our lives so drastically, many folks have begun working from home, providing countless opportunities to move, and interact with work in different ways. Having a strategy to avoid prolonged sitting is one of the best ways to prevent achy hips, sore spines, and the “hunchback of Notre Dame-look” that doesn’t really suit anybody.
Strategies for avoiding hip problems for life
Three tips for improving our hip health:
Keep a yoga mat at your desk. Spend 3 minutes squatting, stretching, and kneeling every hour while working. If that seems impossible right now, set a timer and try for 1 minute every hour. Healthy habits are built with tiny nudges in the right direction performed consistently.
Anytime you need to get up from your desk, take an “exercise snack”. Run up the stairs, do 10 jumping jacks, lunge your way to the fridge. It doesn’t matter what you choose to do because the goal of the “snack” is to have fun while you add some movement to your day.
Create a clear transition from the end of your workday to the start of your “home time”. For example, close your laptop and go for a 10-minute walk around the block so when you return it is clearly “home time”. This is good for our physical and mental health.
Nobody is doomed to having hip problems. There are effective strategies that exist for all of us - but that doesn’t mean we’ll all need the same strategy either. Try a few of these tips out, and if you’re still running into trouble, shoot me an email or book online to get started.
Chiropractic care can play a role in achieving healthy hips
The goal of chiropractic care is to develop effective solutions for painful problems. For example, I help athletes who want to improve their biomechanics in their swings and shots to perform better without sacrificing health. Just as often, I support desk workers who are tired of having stiff hips and achy spines at their desks all the time.
Regardless of age, occupation or sport, we can all benefit from having a support team that helps us get back to enjoying the activities that matter most.
If you’re interested in getting started or learning more about how chiropractic care can help you overcome back pain, neck pain, and joint pain, shoot me an email or book online.
