Understanding Hip Injuries for Athletes

When most people think of hip injuries, they imagine someone elderly experiencing a fall. Yet among children and adults, hip injuries often result from physical activities that involve a greater degree of impact, running and risk of falls. If you think you’re susceptible to a hip injury, here’s what you should know.

How Hip Injuries Happen to Athletes

By design, the human body provides a degree of protection against hip injuries – especially for young people. Muscles in the thighs, lower back and rear all offer impact absorption when you fall or experience an impact to this area.

Unlike with the elderly, hip injuries for athletes are often not a one-and-done situation. Instead, the muscles and ligaments experience gradual wear and tear through repeat use and strain of the joint.

Individuals who participate in warm-weather sports have a greater chance of experiencing inflammation around the hip, no matter if you practice multiple times a week or are only active on the weekends. Such activities include:

• Running
• Cycling
• Swimming
• Golf
• Baseball
• Soccer
• Dancing
• Basketball
• Football
• Climbing
• Hockey

As the most common factor, all activities involve a greater degree of force across the hip area and above-average joint movement.

When a hip injury occurs, an athlete often experiences significant pain that refuses to go away and reduced range of motion. Both factors can end an athlete’s career, without appropriate treatment.

Common Hip Injuries for Athletes

Athletes have a greater chance of experiencing the following types of hip injuries:

• Labral Tears: Affecting the tissue around the rim of the hip joint, these stem from a sharp twisting or pivoting motion. Rather than direct pain, athletes may feel stiffness or locking in this area, or soreness around the groin. Although physical therapy can help, the damaged tissue may need to be surgically repaired.
• Hip Pointer: This injury can result from falling directly on the hip and having the impact pass through the joint. Afterwards, the athlete may feel a sharp sensation of pain if they do a jumping or twisting motion.
• Pulled or Torn Hamstring: Athletes who don’t correctly warm up have a higher chance of experiencing a pulled or torn hamstring, resulting in sharp pain during activity.
• Sprains and Strains: As with all joints in the body, the ligament and muscles surrounding the hip can experience a sprain or strain, often as a result of overuse.
• Tendonitis: The tendons surrounding the hip experience inflammation, which can result in pain and stiffness.
• Tendinosis: Also affecting the tendon, this non-inflammatory condition causes the ligament to degrade, decreasing strength and changing its structure.
• Bursitis: The hip’s bursae sacs experience inflammation, often as a result of overuse. Designed to support and cushion the muscles and ligaments, these sacs occur on the inside and outside of the hip. In turn, pain may extend from the hip to the groin area.
• Osteoarthritis: Athletes have a risk of developing osteoarthritis through activities that involve repetitive motion or a large amount of strain placed on the joint.
• Sacroiliitis: The sacroiliac joint becomes irritated or inflamed, through overuse or in relation to arthritis.
• Piriformis Syndrome: Involving the smaller muscles located on the rear of the hip, this condition can feel like a back injury, as it may also aggravate the sciatic nerve. You may experience a sharp pain on your backside that radiates down your leg.

Why Athletes Experience Hip Injuries

Typically, a hip injury that occurs during athletic activity relates to poor form or not warming up and conditioning the body properly.

More female athletes tend to experience these injuries compared to men due to lower muscle mass, a higher percentage of body fat and a greater likelihood of calcium or Vitamin D deficiency. Younger athletes also have elevated risks, due to their growing, changing bodies.

Preventing Hip Injuries in Athletes

Two strategies help reduce hip injuries in athletes. One, anyone on the field needs to wear appropriate padding and protective gear to anticipate a potential fall.

Two, dynamic stretching and conditioning exercises should be part of your routine. Stretches targeting the hip joint include:

• Bridges
• Butterfly stretches
• Lunges
• Mountain climbers
• Leg raises
• Squats
• Pigeon pose

If you’re recovering from a hip injury, work with the physical therapists at Integrated Rehab to improve your range of motion and prevent a chronic condition.

To learn more, contact us today.