Hip & Knee Pain
The hip and knee are the two biggest and most important joints in upright movement.
Hip Pain
What is Hip Pain?
The hip joint is a large ball-and-socket joint that is buried deeply underneath multiple layers of deep muscles. Pain from the hip joint is one of the most common conditions that patients complain of but it may not be felt directly over the hip joint. The most common places for Hip Joint pain to occur are;
- The front of the crease of the groin
- The lateral thigh
- The buttock
Because of this, pain from the hip joint is often incorrectly blamed on structures in the area of the pain including the hip flexors, iliotibial band and gluteal muscles.
Causes of Hip Pain
The hip is the biggest, most important joint in the body and many different issues can cause pain. These include (not a complete list);
Sudden Pain from Trauma
- Fracture
- Cartilage/Labrum Tear
- Dislocation (uncommon)
- Muscle/Tendon Strains and Tears
Pain Developing Without Trauma
- Impingement (Femoral acetabular impingement syndrome)
- Cartilage/Labrum tears
- Degeneration/Arthritis
- Synovitis/Inflammation
- Tendonopathy
- Stress Fractures and Bone bruising
Diagnosis of Hip Pain
A specialist Sport and Exercise Physician can reach an accurate diagnosis based on a thorough medical history, a physical examination of the hip and thigh region, and sometimes, diagnostic tests including X-rays and other scans.
Treatments for Hip Pain
It is critical that the treatment for hip pain is targeted towards an exact, correct diagnosis with consideration of the individual’s life circumstance and exercise goals. Your specialist Sport and Exercise Physician will formulate a treatment plan with all of these things in mind.
Knee Pain
What is Knee Pain?
The knee joint is one of the most important joints in locomotion. Mostly, it works as a hinge but it is a hinge that needs to glide smoothly even when it is being compressed by all of our weightbearing force which is often multiplied by the impact and resistance of the activity we are doing. This can be a very difficult task and it requires;
- the perfect combination of smooth, shock-absorbing surfaces (the cartilage)
- the ideal lubrication (the joint fluid)
- ideal control and support (muscular control and intact ligaments)
- its load not to be exceeded (bodyweight control, sensible increases in training adaptation)
Causes of Knee Pain
There are many different potential causes of pain from around the knee. A correct diagnosis is essential. Not all causes of knee pain come from inside the knee joint. Causes of knee pain include (not a complete list);
Sudden Pain from Trauma
- Fracture
- Dislocation
- Cartilage / Meniscus damage
- Ligament Tear
- Bursitis
- Bone and Soft Tissue bruising
Pain Developing Without Trauma
- Arthritis
- Stress fracture
- Iliotibial Band (ITB) friction syndrome
- Bursitis
- Pes Anserine Tendon bursitis/tenosynovitis
- Patellar or Quadriceps Tendonopathy
- Cartilage / Meniscus Tear
Diagnosis of Knee Pain
A specialist Sport and Exercise Physician can reach an accurate diagnosis based on a thorough medical history, a physical examination of the hip and thigh region, and sometimes, diagnostic tests including X-rays and other scans.
Treatments for Knee Pain
It is critical that the treatment for knee pain is targeted towards an exact, correct diagnosis with consideration of the individual’s life circumstance and exercise goals. Your specialist Sport and Exercise Physician will formulate a treatment plan with all of these things in mind.
