What is Hip Physiotherapy?
Hip physiotherapy is the treatment of an injury by physical methods such as massage, heat treatment, and exercise rather than by using drugs or surgery. Your physiotherapist will help you if affected by injury, illness or disability through movement and exercise, manual therapy, education and advice. They will maintain health for people of all ages, helping patients to manage pain and prevent disease.
Hip Physiotherapy Exercises
There are many possible causes of hip pain, ranging from muscle strains and injuries to arthritis and inflammatory disorders. However, gently exercising the hips can often help relieve pain and restore mobility. Flexibility and strength exercises are key to relieving hip pain. Although these exercises may result in temporary discomfort, they should not cause pain. If an exercise causes pain, stop doing it or try going at a slower or gentler pace.
Some exercises that stretch the muscles around the hip joint and help reduce stiffness and improve joint mobility are knee lifts, external hip rotation, double hip rotation and lower backstretch. You should do these exercises at times when you are feeling the least amount of pain and stiffness. A good time to do them is after a warm shower or bath when the muscles are most relaxed. Begin with one or two exercises a day, three times a week. If this feels comfortable, try doing several exercises once a day.
Some other exercises that strengthen the hip muscles to better support the hip joint and help to relieve pain are hip flexion, hip extension, hip abduction and mini squat. People who experience hip pain or discomfort for more than an hour following these exercises should reduce the number of repetitions accordingly.
Is this for me?
Hip physiotherapy can be helpful for people of all ages with a wide range of health conditions and problems affecting the bones, joints and soft tissue such as hip pain. A lot of benefits come with physiotherapy such as reducing or eliminating pain, avoiding surgery, improving mobility, recovering from or preventing any sports injuries, improving your balance and managing age-related issues.