Can a massage therapist help relieve hip pain?
If you’re struggling with hip pain, then every step can be a challenge and it might seem as if surgery is the only option. Thankfully, targeted remedial massage can be an extremely effective way to relieve pain and combined with some gentle exercises to build hip strength and increase hip mobility offers a way to restore your quality of life.
What are the common causes of pain around the hip?
The most common causes of pain around your hip are:
1. Pain from articular surfaces of the ball and socket hip joint itself.
2. Soft tissue pain from the muscles, tendons, ligaments or bursae around the ball and socket joint.
3. Referred pain coming from a lower back issue.
How can you tell the difference between soft tissue pain, hip joint pain and lower back pain?
The location of your pain and your general symptoms can give us a clue about the cause.
Pain from the tendons, ligaments, muscles and other soft tissues around your hip joint are most often experienced the outside of the hip, upper thigh or outer buttock. The symptoms caused by these conditions are often more diffuse, achy and might be experienced when you lie on your side at night or cross your legs. Sometimes we carry muscle tension in our hips the same way we can in our shoulders, which accumulates over time to become painful.
Whereas pain coming from the articular surfaces of the ball and socket joint itself tend to result in deep hip and/ or groin pain which comes on gradually over time and feels worse during activities when you are on your feet (weight bearing).
Lower back conditions often cause pain in the buttocks and back of the thigh which might extend past the knee joint into the calf and you might also experience some pins and needles or numbness in one foot. If your symptoms are worse when you cough, sneeze or strain, then your back is the most likely culprit.
Whatever the underlying cause of the pain, it’s also really common to experience protective muscle tension or spasm around the hip, thighs and lower back which is why finding the best massage therapist near you and booking in for a treatment can really help.
How does massage help to treat hip pain and stiffness?
Deep tissue massage helps to improve blood flow to the painful area to relieve muscle tension and pain, reduce inflammation, promote healing, reduce swelling, improve tissue flexibility and help you to move without restriction or stiffness.
What types of hip pain can be helped with massage?
Conditions like arthritis, gluteal tendinopathy, piriformis syndrome, muscle strains or referred pain from the lower back (sciatica) will all benefit from massage alongside an exercise program.
In addition, massage around the hip flexors and gluteal muscles will also help anyone looking to gain more mobility at the hip.
What types of massage techniques are helpful for hip pain?
Traditionally a deep tissue massage is the most common style of massage used in this area due to the depth of some of the structures. However, at our massage studio in Cambridge our massage therapists combine several techniques when treating pain around the hips.
You might be recommended a combination of deep tissue techniques, trigger point therapy,myofascial release or even dry needling (acupuncture) if the sore spots are very deep.
This is all based on a careful screening, assessment and feedback from you during the massage about the pressure you like and the areas which feel like they need extra attention.
Self-care massage – a few tips and tricks to relieve your own hip pain
A spikey massage ball is a great investment for some hip pain relief at home between treatments. They can be used in standing, sitting or lying depending on the space you have available and are often easy to travel with as well making them ideal. However, not all spikey balls are made equal in my opinion (and I’ve tried out many of them) so these are the spiked massage balls we use here at my clinic in Cambridge.
If you don’t like the deeper pressure from the spikey massage ball then but you have access to a massage gun then this kind of soft tissue stimulation can also be extremely effective.
But don’t forget the basics because they really will make a difference too … get up and move around frequently during the day, use heat and stretch out your back, hips and legs.