Hip stress fractures are considered as common injuries among runners. Stress fractures are either incomplete or complete fractures on the bone that are due to constant strain during physical activity or force.
Stress fractures transpire once the bone is not capable of managing the stress placed on it. The lower limbs including the hips are the common sites for stress fractures. It is best to register for first aid training so that you can readily manage the symptoms until medical care can be provided.
Anatomy
It is important to note that the hips are vital weight-bearing joints in the body. The hips are formed by the union of the femur or thighbone as well as the hip bones. The hip joint is the ball-and-socket joint that enables movement of the leg.
There are a number of structures that surround the hip that help stabilize, strengthen and support the hip joint, including the tendons, muscles, ligaments and connective tissues. Inside the hip joint, articular cartilage is the smooth, blue-colored material helps ensures range of movement that is smooth and free from pain.
Causes
Hip stress fractures can be sore and potentially debilitating injury among runners. Hip stress fractures can occur right after increasing the exercise intensity or length.
Stress fracture can also be caused by the constant impact of the lower extremity structures on an unaccustomed surface. Incorrect footwear includes those that have high heels, rigid soles and tapered toe boxes can also contribute to the lower extremity stress fractures.
Symptoms
The symptoms linked with hip stress fractures mainly depend on the exact root of the fracture. The usual indications linked with stress fractures include pain in the affected region that intensifies during activity and reduces while at rest, pain that develops earlier with every consecutive session of running, swelling in the affected area and pain that worsens over time and also occurs while at rest.
What are the risk factors?
There are certain risk factors that can increase the development of hip stress fractures, including engagement in high-impact sports such as basketball, track and field, gymnastics or tennis. Other risk factors include being a female with erratic or absent periods, abrupt change from sedentary living to an active lifestyle, flat feet or rigid arches, quickly increasing the intensity or volume of activity and certain health conditions such as osteoporosis.
Treatments
In most cases of hip stress fractures linked to running, they typically respond well to conservative measures. The common yet highly effective measures for stress fractures include rest, modification of the activity level and even braces in some cases to help promote the healing of the affected tissue.
Physical therapy modalities can also hasten the healing of stress fractures which includes cold laser therapy and water-based aerobics. A taping procedure that utilizes a tape with specialized flexible quality called as kinesio taping can also be performed to manage stress fractures on the hip.