Front of the hip or groin
Pain at the hip crease with stairs, rising from a chair or putting on shoes usually involves the hip joint itself, including early arthritis.
Hip & buttock pain
Several structures produce overlapping pain in this region, and the location is the first clue to which one is responsible.
Where the pain sits
Outside of the hip
Pain over the outer hip that is worse lying on that side, or when getting up from a chair, is often irritation of the bursa and tendons where the gluteal muscles attach.
Deep in the buttocks
A deep ache on one side of the buttocks, worse after sitting or standing in one position for a long time, can come from the SI joint, the deep rotator muscles or the lower back. Pain that continues below the knee is examined as sciatica.
If this is a medical emergency, call 911.
Treating the hip
The examination covers the hip, the SI joint and the lumbar spine together, because pain in this region is often referred from one to another.
Adjustments
Of the hip, the sacroiliac joint and the lower back joints that refer pain into it.
Deep muscle treatment
Graston and electric stimulation with heat for the deep rotators, the gluteal muscles and the hip flexors.
Custom orthotics
Considered when foot mechanics load one hip more than the other.
When the findings point to the hip joint itself, Dr. Herner orders an X-ray and refers you to an orthopedic surgeon when that is the right next step.