Hip Tendonitis

Tendonitis refers to the inflammation of tendons in our body. Tendonitis is a term specifically meant for injuries to tendon which involve acute injuries in tandem with inflammation. Normally tendonitis is termed according to the affected body part. For instance Achilles Tendonitis or patellar tendonitis or hip tendonitis. In case you were wondering what is hip tendonitis, here is a low down on it.

What is Hip Tendonitis?

The iliopsoas tendon of the hip, which connects to the pelvis is affected in tendonitis. This condition is sometimes accompanied by bursitis, the inflammation of the bursa sac.

Symptoms and Causes of Hip Tendonitis

There is pain in the effected area even while resting and sleeping and needless to say while walking it can make life miserable as our whole weight is carried by our hips. Inflammation and swelling is another symptom, as mentioned earlier. Bending hips also becomes difficult in this situation and the overall discomfort is aggravated by tenderness in the concerned area. The most evident cause of this is overuse of tendons and age factor too comes into play. Bursitis too might lead to tendonitis. Moreover, hip pain worsens as you try to move that joint.

Treatment For Hip Tendonitis

Hot and Cold
The treatment for tendonitis of the hip depends on how severe is the tendonitis. If at all you experience any of the above symptoms, it is best to see the doctor immediately. Coming back to the treatment, the first course of treatment is application of heat and cold compress. Keep the affected area exposed to the ice pack for around 15 to 20 minutes. Do this every 3 to 4 hours till the inflammation subsides. Now once the swelling goes down, get hold of a heating pad and expose the affected part of your hip to it. This will reduce the spasms and pain.

Anti-Inflammatory Drugs
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin and ibuprofen or some other medicines containing acetaminophen can help provide relief from the pain and discomfort resulting from tendonitis.

Rest and Movement
As soon as you are confirmed about tendonitis, resting the concerned area is essential. For getting rid of the swelling, elevating the leg above the level of your heart will prove beneficial. This elevated position is specially important while sleeping at night. However, there is a flip side to this. Just as it is necessary to give the tendon a rest, gradual movement of the area is essential. This is where the next point - physical therapy for hip tendonitis comes into picture.

Physical Therapy
Physical therapy comprises exercises and massage. Although, massage is not considered here. Light and non weight bearing exercises are advised. Knee raises, hip abductions, and hip extensions on the list for regaining the strength of the hip are advised by the doctor. If in case the person feels terrible while doing these exercises, then these exercises should be immediately discontinued.

Injection
A new technique these days is the autologus blood injection. This technique refers to injecting the area affected with patient's own blood, for stimulating tendon heating. Normally this is performed under the ultrasound control. This ensures that the appropriate area is targeted. There are no problems as it is the patient's own blood.

Recovery time depends on how well you respond to the medicine, how severe is the problem and what is course of treatment. A combined course of treatment, involving 2 or 3 methods together will help in speedy recovery. But the best way is to prevent hip tendonitis by giving your tendons sufficient exercise and rest. Take Care!