Hip pain is an interesting issue because while many people suffer from it, there is very little evidence to suggest it has one common cause. In most cases, there are several factors at play that lead to someone experiencing uncomfortable hip pain while sitting down.
While it is important to address how you can relieve your hip pain, we feel it is first important to understand what could be causing it. For some, hip pain is just a nuisance after a hard workout, while others deal with it every day of their life. Let’s first investigate some common causes of hip pain.
Common Causes of Hip Pain
Arthritis
As one of the most common causes of hip pain, arthritis is something that nearly every person is susceptible to at some point. Arthritis does not just come out of nowhere and surprise you. It builds up over time and can get much worse if you leave it untreated until it’s too late.
Arthritis itself is a very vague term as there are several arthritis types that can affect your hips from the bone level all the way to the joints in your hip. If you notice stiffness in the hip and pain that gets worse every day, arthritis may be something to investigate.
Tendonitis
As arthritis causes inflammation at the hip joint itself over time, tendonitis is what happens when your hip tendons are stressed beyond their limits. Your tendons attach bones to muscles, and the ones in your hip can get inflamed and stressed out if you overuse them.
Tendonitis is different from arthritis in that it takes extra provoking to really get tendonitis to act up. Where arthritis is something that many people have to deal with as a result of aging, tendonitis often comes when someone overexerts their hip joint through repeated heavy exercise or motion.
Muscle Strain
The muscles in your leg are some of the largest and most resistant muscles in your body when it comes to how much damage they can take. However, overusing them without proper precautions can cause them to fatigue quickly, and then they may fail to support your hips as they are needed.
Before doing any strenuous exercise where your legs are involved, warming up your hips will allow the muscle fibers to stretch as needed without getting damaged. You’ll notice this pain as it will likely be found outside of the joint itself and near your upper thigh region.
Bursitis
In between the muscles, tendons, and bones of your body, there are small sacs known as bursae that prevent unwanted friction when the body moves. Considering just how much our hip joints are used, it is not surprising these sacks can get inflamed and cause you pain.
The hip joint is so frequently active that it is likely you will feel some bursitis if you overuse the joint. Many times people overexert their hips by using incorrect posture positions for prolonged periods of time. In many cases, the perfect seat cushion can help the hips relax and rest naturally.
Osteonecrosis
This scary-sounding word is quite a unique issue in that it refers to a lack of blood flow to the hip bone that has serious consequences. When the hip bone does not get the necessary blood flow that it needs to survive and stay strong, the bone can start to die and start a chain reaction of disastrous hip issues.
The hip is one of your bones most susceptible to this condition as the hip can fracture or get sent out of place somewhat easily, compared to other bones. Unless you want to deal with some serious pain and long recovery, make sure to protect your hip from any aggressive movements that may damage it.
Poor Posture
With all the scary inflammation and diseases out of the way, we can look at one of the most common hip issues: bad posture. Many people sit down in one place for hours at a time without even thinking about how they are sitting.
We’re willing to bet you’ll be sitting a little taller knowing that poor posture can lead to serious hip issues. You can utilize specially designed hip support seat cushions to make your life a little easier and remember to keep your back straight when sitting to prevent pain that will last for years.
Weak Hips
The last common cause of hip issues for a surprising amount of people is the fact that they simply have weak hips. Just like weak upper body strength makes it hard to do even one pullup, a weak hip means your body is missing out on essential support. Considering how important the hips are to both mobility and stability, you want to make sure yours are not overly weak.
It is easy to tell if you have weak hips because you will find it hard to keep your back and posterior in place when sitting or balancing. Just like poor posture, weak hips can be fixed and improved when you utilize effective solutions to deal with hip pain.
5 Effective Solutions For Dealing With Hip Pain
Resting properly
Thanks to modern office supplies and advancements in posture research, we now have all the data we need to sit and rest correctly. Since our bodies are designed to rest in an ergonomic fashion, you can sit in special positions to make sure your hip is not taking too much of the blow.
For many people, dealing with hip pain while sitting is what causes them the most stress. As we mentioned earlier, the right hip supporting pillow can turn your workspace into somewhere where you feel comfortable, and your hip doesn’t need to work too hard to support you.
Specialized Seat Cushions
We have been working to create special seat cushions that support your body and hips where they need it the most. When you have to sit in a chair all day for work, the last thing on your mind is wondering if your hips are getting the support they need.
A specially designed seat cushion to help your hips will get rid of many of the naturally caused issues that are brought on from poor posture and weak hip mobility. These seat cushions even make it so that it is difficult to sit in a position that would otherwise cause stress to your hip.
Pain Relievers
Depending on the source of your hip pain, there are many natural and over-the-counter medications that can help with temporary hip pain. Going on long walks when your hips are weak and not moving enough can cause the muscle strain we looked at earlier that takes a while to feel better.
While pain relievers should be a last resort, they can help if you know you just hurt your hip and need to rest before going to see a doctor. Most issues in which you think a pain reliever can be solved with proper rest and making sure your exercise the hip right.
Smart Workouts
Depending on your age and past experience with exercise, some light hip mobility workouts can do wonders for your hips. If your hip is not currently in pain and you have not worked it out directly before, smart hip workouts can add some strength and support to otherwise weak hip muscles.
Smart workouts can often be very simple and done at home in a matter of minutes. Doing workouts that you feel comfortable with and can repeatedly do will help strengthen your hip area and help prevent some other issues from arising down the road.
Posture Adjustments
Resting properly in your seat is one way to help your hips, but conscious posture adjustment sets your hips up right for life. When you stand, sit, or even drive, your hips are resting in a way that may be causing you some discomfort. Many people have weak hips, and you can immediately recognize that when you take one look at their standing posture.
Small adjustments to your posture when standing or sitting are going to make you realize just how bad your posture was before. Many people notice more comfort when sitting and even reduced back pain when they become aware of their posture issues. As the hips and back often work together to form your posterior chain, they both benefit when you take the time to correct your posture.
Next time you go to sit down, think about how your hips feel and adjust to remove the tension they hold.
Final Thoughts
Hip pain is something that so many of us have to deal with, so never feel like you are alone. Issues from arthritis to simply sitting in the wrong position can be equally detrimental to the way your hips feel and operate.
Looking at special hip supporting pillows and being conscious of how you move your body will help your hips relax and support you for many years.
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