Monday, November 25, 2013

How To Save Your Painful Hip From Surgery


Most people who experience pain in the hip, upper leg and buttock worry that they will need some type of hip surgery. In many cases, many patients have been told that a hip replacement is inevitable...not true. New research through clinical study has shown that most hips do not need to be replaced. In fact, with the right treatment the hip can be saved and the patient can return to normal daily activities.

The hip is a joint that is located on the upper side of your lower body. Just about the area of where the butt of the handle of the old cowboys gun would rest from his holster. Most people are under the assumption that the hip is below the lower back next to the buttocks. The hip is a ball and socket type of joint where the head of the femur that is shaped in a ball connects to the acetabulum the socket of the ilium. This joint is supported by numerous ligaments, tendons, fascia and muscles.

Many people are under the false impression that when the bone begins to degenerate to the point where it is causing pain that they have to have it replaced. Not so, because the area where you feel the pain is where the "damage ended up, not where it began." This is important to note because everyone including your doctor will continue to see the joint as the main contributor of pain and damage. As well I would agree that the patient experiences pain in the joint area I don't agree that this area is where the damage began. And if you don't properly address the area where the pain began then you will only continue to have a problem in the future.

Here is a case that came into my office that I feel is of interest to many hip patients suffering with pain. A man age 54 enters my office from referral of another parent whose son had great results with a knee problem. The man reported ongoing pain in his hip for years on and off however most recently he reported that the pain has gotten so bad it's stopping him from being able to work. When he entered my office it was apparent that he had a major weakness in his left hip area noticed by the way he was walking. He was unable to walk without severely dipping his hip which caused more pain with every step. The pain and restriction was so bad that he was unable to lift his leg high enough to put his sock on in a sitting position. He was thoroughly examined and the x-rays he brought in were reviewed and all treatments were explained to him.

His treatment consisted of relieving the distorted fascia in and around the joint area allowing for pain relief. Continued treatment consisted of reestablishing the nervous system communication to the muscles supporting the hip. What happens is that when this type of damage occurs muscles begin to shorten due to a diminished nerve or electrical flow to the muscles. When the muscles shorten they lose their ability to absorb force. When the muscles cannot properly absorb force, that force continues on to the joint. The joint and the tissue supporting it can't absorb the force so that joint then begins to aberrantly move causing inflammation in the joint. This causes pain and a signal to the brain to begin to shut things down in the area as a way of preventing further damage.

You see, the muscles of the body are designed to absorb force just like the shock absorbers of your car are designed to absorb force or impact from the road. You can imagine trying to drive in your car without shock absorbers...over time things will begin to break down in your car. The same goes for your hip, or any other joint for that matter, it will begin to breakdown over time causing degenerative joint disease, aka, arthritis. Now using the combined treatments of the MyoFascial Disruption Technique (MFDT) to return the disrupted fascia to normal a new treatment called the ARPWave is used to locate the exact area where the damage broke down to begin with.

Getting back to my patient with the hip problem we began using the ARPWave to locate where the damage was coming from and began to correct this problem. After the very first treatment the patient was able to life his leg to put his sock on. It was explained to him that he still has the degeneration in his hip but by correcting the fascial and muscular restrictions he was now able to move his leg and his hip didn't hurt. Obviously he needed continued treatment but to make a long story short, after correcting the damage area and developing a sound rehab program this man was able to return to his normal activities of living without pain and disability and without the recommended surgery.

If you are dealing with pain and disability of hip pain don't feel that surgery is the only way out. New discoveries in manual and bio-electrical treatment can not only relieve pain but in many cases save you from surgery.

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