Hip Pain - Do You Really Have Arthritis in Your Hips Or is it Muscle Pain?

"Oh, you have arthritis in your hips."

That's probably the most common diagnosis doctors give to us when we complain of hip pain.

If a doctor looked at an x-ray of any one of us, he would see changes in the bones. He would say we have arthritis. He would tell us that is the cause of our pain. Well, maybe it is and maybe it isn't.

We all have changes in the bones around our joints. Do we all have pain? The answer to that is no, we don't.

"You will just have to learn to live with it."

Maybe. Maybe not.

Doctors are great people and wonderful life savers lots of times, but as a rule, they don't know much about muscles. That's not something that is taught much in medical school. (Not in the schools you and I went to, either.)

We have large, powerful muscles that pass over our hip joints. These muscles allow us to move our legs and our body. The hip joint is where our thigh bone connects to our pelvic bone.

Those powerful, thick hip muscles can get overstretched from crossing our legs. The can be stressed from pressure like sleeping our our side or from car seats pressing on them. If you notice more pain when you cross your legs or ride in the car, take action to stop the pain.

The hip muscles can become tight from being overused or overstretched, too.

Our hip muscles can get out of balance sometimes. Our job is to keep them as balanced and in neutral as possible. When our muscles are in a neutral position, we have less hip pain. (And, "neutral" doesn't mean sitting in a chair all the time!)

"Neutral" means all of the muscles are balanced. They work together in harmony. Some are not stronger or weaker than others. They are all as strong as nature designed them to be so they can work together efficiently.

Some people do have a severe arthritic condition which causes hip pain and some have rheumatoid arthritis (which affects all of the joints in the body.) In those cases, a doctors' help may be necessary.

Some of us have a hip joint which has been worn over the years by the stress of having a short leg. A short leg causes pressure on the joint and muscles around the hip joint. Even this can often be "cured" by a knowledgeable muscle therapist and a lift for the short leg.

For the rest of us, here's the plan.

Think of your hip as having four sides. Front of your leg, back of your leg, the inside of your thigh and the outside of your thigh.

Your hip joint is most likely where you feel your pain. It seems like it's in the hip joint, but the cause could very well be the muscles on the inner side of your thigh or your back side.

You can start a movement plan to get your hip muscles back into balance. Always do your moves thoughtfully. Observe how your muscles are feeling. Pay attention to how you feel after your movements, too.

Move or lift your leg from each of the four sides. Do this while you are standing or on your side in bed.

You may discover, simply by paying attention to how your body feels, that it needs more movement in one direction than the others. Don't overdo, but do thoughtfully. Is one area tighter than the others?

If you determine that your hip muscles seem related to your hip pain (and they most likely are,) you can continue your movement therapy. Simply moving your legs in every direction, instead of always using them in only one or two directions, can help get your hips back to neutral.

You also might want to see a muscle or massage therapist. He or she will be able to loosen the muscles around your leg and hip bones. Sometimes those thick, powerful muscles need a little extra help to get back into balance. A massage therapist can be a perfect helper.