Your hips are ball-and-socket joints, connecting your legs to your torso. They are integral to your movement, allowing you to stand up, sit down, and walk. Together, your hips support the entire weight of your upper body.
Hip pain can originate from various sources. Your first assumption may be that the pain comes from the ball-and-socket hip joint. But other structures (including multiple joints) around your lower back and buttocks can cause pain in and around your hip, too.
Around 10% of the general population experiences chronic hip pain, which tends to worsen with age and reduce your quality of life. If you have trouble sitting, standing, walking, or sleeping because of hip pain, it’s time for a professional evaluation to explore possible causes and find effective pain management solutions.
In the greater New Orleans area, LA Pain Doctor provides state-of-the-art imaging to evaluate hip pain, along with plenty of today’s most advanced pain management treatments. Our team welcomes you to our offices in Metairie, LaPlace, Harvey, Hammond, and Luling, Louisiana, for revolutionary hip pain care.
When you visit LA Pain Doctor with hip pain, our team conducts an in-depth discussion about your symptoms and medical history. They complete a physical exam to better understand your hip function and to find where the pain originates.
Following a physical exam are imaging tests. Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT) scans, our team views the structures in your pelvis and locates damage due to arthritis or injuries. During this evaluation, we’ll look at structures, including the hip joint, femur, sacrum, and sacroiliac joint.
The sacroiliac (SI) joint is close to your hip and can be the source of your hip pain. Because it’s part of your pelvis, the sacroiliac joint can withstand damage that translates into hip pain.
Your SI joints don’t connect your legs to your torso. Instead, they connect your pelvis to your lower spine. These joints and the supportive tendons and ligaments stabilize your upper body and support your upper body weight when you stand.
Typically, injuries of the sacroiliac joint cause pain in your lower back and buttocks. However, this discomfort can radiate into your hips. That’s why many people with SI joint injuries report hip pain. Additionally, you might experience numbness, tingling, or weakness in one or both of your legs due to a SI injury.
While evaluating you for a possible SI joint injury, our team at LA Pain Doctor will ask when your pain is at its worst. Sacroiliac joint pain can be aggravated by specific actions like walking, standing, or climbing stairs.
LA Pain Doctor offers the latest treatments in pain care to people across Southern Louisiana. After evaluating your hip pain and making a diagnosis, our team constructs a custom treatment plan using state-of-the-art procedures and evidence-based strategies.
Our providers have extensive training to treat hip pain using the following techniques:
Physical therapy is also important in hip pain care for many people, as well as activity modification and devices like orthotic inserts. Our team provides recommendations based on the underlying cause of your hip pain, its severity, age, and lifestyle.
Give us a call at LA Pain Doctor or schedule an appointment online for a comprehensive hip pain evaluation today.
