The InTENSe REBOUND® – Chronic Pain Management Series Part 5

Chronic Hip Pain – The Mother of all Chronic Pain

If you've been following our pain management series from the beginning we saved the best for last:  The mother of all chronic pain – hip pain.

“Why the hip?” you might ask.  Well, for starters the hip joint is the largest joint in the body.  To review a concept brought up in our article on knee pain, joint pain is often the strongest and most chronic type of pain in the body.  This is because high concentrations of pain receptors called nociceptors are found at each of the joints in our body.  Simply put, since the hip is the largest joint in the body it has the highest concentration of pain receptors.  Higher nociceptor concentration means if the area gets injured you are going to feel the pain more intensely than places with lower nociceptor concentration on the body. 

Despite being the largest joint in the body, the hip is actually quite simple.  The hip socket is formed by three bones coming together to form what is known as the acetabulum.  These are the ischium, ilium and pubis bones.  The head of the femur fits into the hip socket in a “ball joint” fashion.  This allows the hip to perform circumduction, movement up to 360 degrees, and bend past 90 degrees (though we don’t recommend trying to test this).   In order to perform these functions the hip has 20 different muscles, four major ligaments, the hip capsule, major blood vessels including the femoral artery, and 8 major nerves all work together to provide activity and protection for this vital area of the body.

Some of the root causes of chronic hip pain are:  fractures, inflammation (bursitis, tendinitis), tendon and/or muscle strain, Osteonecrosis (also known as avascular necrosis), cancer, and degenerative diseases such as osteoporosis, arthritis, Perthes disease, lupus, and fibromyalgia.  If left untreated, hip pain can lead to other symptoms such as sciatica, toxic synovitis, hip dislocation, tenosynovitis, Reiter’s syndrome, hip fractures, and complications to areas above and below the affected site due to body compensation.   Need we go on?

Treatment for hip pain depends on the severity, acuity, and how long your pain has been going on for.  Rest is usually recommended for non-traumatic hip pain associated with exercise.  Hip pain treatment originating from disease requires proper diagnosis, treatment plan, and monitoring.  Traumatic accidents, sudden loss of function, or excessive swelling around the joint are also reasons to seek immediate medical attention.  Holistic therapies such as massage therapy, acupuncture, electro stimulation therapy and other treatments are recommended for hip pain that is more chronic than acute.

While you are seeking ways to cure your hip pain consider using the REBOUND® TENS (transcutaneouselectrical nerve stimulation) for both immediate and long lasting pain relief.  The REBOUND®  Health TENS device uses revolutionary technology to counteract your pain in two ways.  First, gentle stimulation is used to block the electrical pain signals to the brain.  In short, if the signal doesn't make it to the brain, you don’t feel the pain.  Second, electrical stimulation enhances the body’s ability to produce endorphins offering long lasting pain relief.  Don’t wait!  Call 800.457.0477 or click here to find your pain relief today!