I will tell you the truth about hip pain in the next 120 seconds| Dr. Lucas Marchand
Hip pain is common and across many ages, but many of us blame our hip pain on age. If and when you go to a doctor a simple observation of the hip, palpation, range of motion, orthopedic testing, and digital imaging will be done. Even though the forgone conclusion is "arthritis."
Arthritis can be a scary word but in simplistic terms it's inflammation of the hip joint. Whether at the joint itself or various linings of the joint such as the synovial fluid and the cartilage.
But as I've discussed previously: "Inflammation in and of itself isn't bad, it's natural."
When there is an unusual amount of friction in the joint it makes sense that the body would secrete more synovial fluid to assist in lubricating the joint.
The swelling is disconcerting to many people because aesthetically, it just looks bad. But swelling is the body's way of preventing further injury to the area by "blowing up" and limiting movement. Think of it as an air bag meant to protect you or a parachute preventing a catastrophe.
So. . . when swelling is occurring if it's mechanical in nature it is often caused by total body misalignment and imbalance and the hips just happen to be the linchpin for breakdown.
It may never occur that your hip pain is actually coming from your ankles or your shoulders!
This is what's called referred pain. The pain feels like it's here (the hips) but the culprit is elsewhere and the hips are falsely accused of the crime. The crime of pain.
Modern medicine's answer is "arthritis" therefore 5 hours of surgery and 6 weeks of rehab. This would be a failing grade in high school based on this logic.
The point being that a one-answer-fits-all-cookie-cutter approach to hip pain is not helpful and expensive.
Sure, some people feel "Stronger" after hip replacement, that's because they don't have any sensory input to the hip area because it was sawed off and replaced. Also the surrounding musculature and adjacent joint structures are often neglected, even though they might be the cause. . .
Stay tuned for the next post.
To good health
Dr. Lucas Marchand
