Are you living with long-term pain, stiffness and loss of function? If you’ve sustained an injury that has led to ongoing symptoms, it’s easy to convince yourself that there’s nothing you can do. However, there are many treatments – both surgical and non-surgical – that can bring relief from debilitating symptoms and help you to continue leading a full and active life. Sometimes, all it takes is a determination to seek out professional advice about the treatment options that are available.
Chronic injuries
Some types of sports injuries, if left untreated or if you return to activities too soon without allowing the injury to recover fully, can lead to chronic problems. For example, exercising on a sprained ankle can result in chronic ankle instability and, later in life, this may make you prone to ankle arthritis. A simple treatment plan, involving wearing a brace to support the ankle and using physiotherapy to strength and stretch the soft tissues around the ankle, can sometimes be enough to enable the ankle joint to heal. Alternatively, you may need surgery to repair or reconstruct damaged ligaments.
What is causing your symptoms?
Whenever you injure yourself it is advisable to get a proper diagnosis as different conditions can share the same symptoms. In the case of hip pain, for example, the causes can vary widely and may include:
- Hip flexor strain – this is common injury among athletes who participate in high impact sports like running, football or hockey. It affects the hip flexors, the muscles that attach your thigh to your hip, which can become pulled or torn. Such an injury may be caused by overusing your hip flexors, tightness in the muscles or not stretching before exercise. Strains are graded from 1 (mild) to 3 (severe).
- Hip labral tears – this is an injury to the labrum, which is the ring of cartilage that lines the hip joint. The labrum’s function is to protect the socket and help your hip bones move smoothly. It can become torn if the hip joint is placed under excess pressure, for example by a fall or car accident or by a condition called femoroacetabular impingement which is where the bones of the hip joint don’t fit together as they should. It is particularly common in sports that place the hip joints under stress, such as gymnastics, dance or golf. Depending on the severity, a hip labral tear may be treated with an injection of corticosteroids into the hip joint, physiotherapy or arthroscopic surgery to repair the tear.
- Iliotibial band syndrome – this is irritation to the iliotibial band, which is a tendon that runs from your knee to the top of your pelvic bone. If it is too tight, it can rub against your bones causing pain and swelling. This may be due to weakness in the hip abductors causing the iliotibial band to tense, or your foot naturally rotating outwards causing the iliotibial band to stretch or other factors including not stretching sufficiently before exercise or pushing yourself too hard. Without treatment, the pain is likely to increase. This type of injury rarely requires surgery and normally response well to posture training, physiotherapy and painkillers.
- Bursitis – this is swelling in the fluid-filled sacs called the bursae which cushion the spaces around the bones and soft tissues. In the hips you may develop trochanteric bursitis or iliopectineal bursitis.
- Serious injuries such as hip dislocations or fractures – these are normally the result of some kind of traumatic injury and are treated as a medical emergency. In the case of hip dysplasia, where the hip joint doesn’t fit properly within the socket, the hip can dislocate far more easily. A partial dislocation is called a subluxation and can occur as the result of general wear and tear around your hip. While a normal hip dislocation is extremely painful, a subluxation may result in symptoms such as weakness in the affected leg and a snapping sensation in the hip socket. Leaving a dislocated hip untreated can result in damage to nearby nerves, tissues and blood vessels. In turn this may lead to sciatica, arthritis or osteonecrosis.
If you are experiencing ongoing symptoms, such as pain, stiffness, loss of movement, a strange sensation or sound within your joints or anything else which may hindering your natural movement, why not make this year the year you seek out a diagnosis and embark on a treatment plan? Contact us for information and advice.
A Leading Team of Orthopaedic Specialists – North Yorkshire
We are a team of specialist orthopaedic surgeons each of whom has a particular area of expertise. Not only are we the largest orthopaedic practice in North Yorkshire but we have been established the longest and have many satisfied patients. Take a look at our Testimonials page to see what they say.
Telephone: 01904 373032
Email: info@yorkorthopaedics.co.uk
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Clifton Park Hospital – Main Hospital Shipton Rd, Rawcliffe, York YO30 5RA – Directions
Clifton Park Hospital – Outpatients Department, Equinox House, Clifton Park Ave, York YO30 5PA – Directions
Nuffield York Hospital – Haxby Rd, Clifton, York YO31 8TA – Directions
