If you’re living with hip pain, you know how bad it can be. Surgery is expensive as well as risky. So, what should you do to get rid of your hip pain? Have you considered Acupuncture?

First let’s talk about the different types of hip pain, as well as some of their causes.

Hip Pain Caused by Sciatica

You may have people talk about their sciatica acting up. Your sciatic nerve is a large set of nerves that starts in your lower back and your sacrum, where your lower back is fused to your vertebrae. This is between your hip bones and pelvis.

The sciatic nerve can get pinched by the muscles and joints it runs under. A few of the causes of Sciatica are:

• Bulging or Herniated Disc. You have “disc disorder†if your back’s discs are bulging or herniated. Bulging discs are known as contained disc disorders which means their gel-like center is still inside, or contained, by their outer wall. Herniated discs, as opposed to bulging discs, are called non-contained disorders.
• Spinal Stenosis in the Lumbar. Spinal Stenosis is the name for a nerve compression disorder. This usually happens with older adults, but not always. A common cause of spinal stenosis is degenerative arthritis.
• This funny word is a disorder that usually affects your lumbar spine. You get Spondylolisthesis when one of your vertebra slips out of place. This causes the spinal nerve root to compress, and frequently makes sciatic leg and hip pain.
• Sometimes, you get sciatica the old-fashioned way; from an injury. If you’re in a car accident, or you’ve fallen, or even if you’re just playing football, you might compress your nerves and get sciatica.

Hip Pain Caused by Iliotibial Band Syndrome

If you’ve developed Iliotibial Band Syndrome, also known as IT band syndrome, your Iliotibial band becomes inflamed, and rubs the outside of your knee joint. This can give you pain throughout your legs as well as your hips. The more Iliotibial Band Syndrome is ignored, the worse it gets, and the more hip pain you’ll experience. Make sure you’re taking care of it immediately. These are the common causes of Iliotibial Band Syndrome:

• The most common way you’ll get IT band syndrome is overuse. There are usually other things that contribute to your IT band syndrome, however, the main characterization of IT band syndrome is overuse.
• Tight Tissues. If your muscles are tight in your hips, as well as along the side of your leg, this can cause or contribute to IT band syndrome.
• Weak Hip Muscles. According to research from Stanford, weak hip muscles are one of the bigger causes of IT band syndrome. If you have weak muscles in your hip, your running form breaks down. This puts a lot of stress on your knee’s tissues, for this reason, you can get IT band syndrome from weak hip muscles.
• Poor Running form. As mentioned above, if you’re using a poor running form. This could cause your IT band syndrome.

So, What Can an Acupuncturist Do?

Acupuncture works by relaxing tight muscles, improving blood circulation, regulating the nervous system, and releasing neurotransmitters to reduce pain. Acupuncture has been shown to be an effective treatment for sciatica without the side effects of prescription pain medications like NSAIDs and muscle relaxers.

There are many techniques and strategies to manage and fix back pain and hip pain. If you’re suffering, call (310) 652-3200, email, or use our contact form to see how we can help you feel better and pain-free.