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Hip flexor tendonitis, commonly known as hip tendonitis, occurs when overused muscles pull on the tendons linked to the hip bone. The hip may become uncomfortable and inflamed. Hip joint pain, moderate swelling, and tenderness are common in inflamed tendons. Runners, cyclists, ballet dancers, and swimmers who use similar muscles frequently get hip tendonitis.

What is Hip Tendonitis?

Hip tendonitis causes painful tendon inflammation. Hip flexor tendonitis is another name. Tendons are thick cords of microscopic fibers that connect muscles to bones. Tendon inflammation can cause pain, soreness, and minor swelling near the joint. The iliopsoas muscle flexes your hip and is tendon-attached to your upper thigh. This tendon can become inflamed and produce hip tendonitis from overuse. Running, bicycling, swimming, and other high-intensity sports or fitness courses are more likely to cause hip tendonitis.

Symptoms

Hip tendonitis causes a deep, sharp frontal ache that intensifies with exercise and limits range of motion. Other hip tendonitis symptoms:

• Touch sensitivity in the front hip

• Tight hip flexors

• Low back ache

• Long-term seated discomfort

• Changing the walking pattern with shorter steps

• Hip pain at night

Types of Hip Tendonitis 

Hip tendonitis can affect any of the hip tendons. Common hip tendonitis types:

IT band Tendonitis

Iliotibial Band Outside the hip or knee, tendonitis can cause pain. The fibrous iliotibial band goes from hip to knee on the outside of the thigh. It stabilizes the hip and knee and prevents dislocation. When tight, the IT band rubs on the hip bone or knee outside with every movement. This frequent rubbing can degenerate the IT band tissue or shift it over the hip bone. Hip and knee stretching relieves pain. Rest improves tissue flexibility and discomfort.

Gluteus Medius Tendonitis

Gluteus Medius Tendonitis can cause hip, buttock, and spine pain. The gluteus medius tendon connects the muscle to the pelvis and helps us move our thigh or leg away from the body and support the hip while walking, sprinting, and jumping.

Hip Flexor Tendonitis

Iliacus and Iliopsoas tendinitis produce hip front pain. These muscles and tendons, called 'hip flexors', link the pelvis to the femur. They assist with hip and leg movements to lift the knee up, stand, sit, and lie down. Hip flexor tendonitis risk increases if:

•  Walk unsteadily.

•  Run lengthy distances and lately upped your distance or climbed hills too rapidly.

•  Repeat hip-turning leg lifts. This is frequent in ballet and gymnastics.

•  Participate in high-kicking or squatting sports.

•  Heavy lifting or inappropriate lifting is common.

How to Diagnose Hip Tendonitis? 

Following are the few ways to diagnose hip tendonitis:

• Comprehensive Physical Examine: Hip pain specialist near me will do a full physical examination after going over your medical history. What happened and where is the hip tendonitis pain location. Imaging with x-rays is needed to prove a diagnosis.

• X-ray: An X-ray of the hip and pelvis is recommended to see the bones and connective tissues. X-rays show hip alignment and rule out arthritis and fractures.

• MRI: MRIs are better for diagnosing soft tissue diseases. Thus, MRIs help diagnose hip tendonitis.

Prevention

You can avoid getting hip flexor pain by warming up before you work out or play sports.

If you stretch the front, back, and sides of your hips and legs, you can avoid getting hip tendonitis. Gradually raise the level of intensity or length of exercise to give your body time to change.  Hip joints and muscles can be kept healthy by slowly starting new sports or activities.  Hip injuries can be avoided by exercising on an even surface with stable equipment.  Proper footwear that cushions the ankles and feet can avoid hip problems. To avoid hip tendonitis, avoid exercise when unwell or do light workouts.

Hip Tendonitis Treatment

Hip tendonitis treatment is varied. Follow your preferred treatment strategy.

Relaxation & Cold Therapy

Physical exercise worsens it. Keeping up the hurried pace can damage the wounded tissue. Applying ice to the injury reduces inflammation.

Hip tendonitis medications: Rest, ice, and painkillers are the main treatments for tendonitis. NSAIDs reduce pain and edema. Spasms may be treated with muscle relaxants.

Steroid Injections

Chronic tendonitis pain often cannot be controlled with rest and over-the-counter medicines. Thus, your hip specialist in Dallas may recommend cortisone injections into the tendons. Injections of steroids reduce joint inflammation and discomfort immediately.

Exercise

Light stretching and exercise can relieve tendon pain, which can be debilitating. Excessive exertion causes tendinitis, so avoid it.

Dry-Needling

Hip tendonitis dry needling treatment is safe and effective. Dry needles accelerate healing. In hip arthritis patients, the therapy decreases pain and improves mobility and function. To relieve tightness, solid needles are put into sore muscles and tendons. This stage boosts blood flow and healing.

Physical Therapy

Hip discomfort and inflammation can be reduced by one of the best hip tendonitis therapies which is physical therapy. Local blood flow and bodily healing are improved by physical therapy. Physical therapists also offer symptom-relieving exercises. Hip flexor-friendly physical therapy exercises include:

• Hip isometric press

• Hip bridges

• Marching pelvic tilt

• Lying leg lifts and circles

Ultrasound-Guided Injections

Hip joint injections relieve hip tendonitis discomfort. Treatment involves a radiologist using ultrasound to implant needles into the joint. Different drugs can be administered this way. The most prevalent drugs are steroids, anesthetics, and hyaluronic acid. Studies suggest that hyaluronic acid injections improve tendon fiber integrity and gliding.

Injections of PRP

Modern research examines platelet-rich plasma's effects on the body. PRP injections combat skin aging and are popular. Injections of the multipotent plasma solution into injured or diseased soft tissues promote healing. A randomized controlled trial found that PRP injections outperformed single-dose steroid injections.

Surgical Procedures

Arthroscopy is the least-invasive tendonitis hip treatment. Rest, sports medicine, and NSAIDs are the basic hip tendonitis treatments. This surgery heals tendons with a tiny incision. It outperforms traditional surgery.

Prolotherapy

In recent years, prolotherapy has gained medical recognition for treating hip tendonitis.

Research shows its pain-relieving, anti-inflammatory, and regenerative effects. Prolotherapy uses microscopic needles to inject natural regenerating solutions. This increases collagen cell formation, which helps with hip tendonitis. Prolotherapy is a permanent solution for hip tendonitis because it treats the problem.

Hip Tendonitis Recovery