What's a labral tear? Labral tears are a hip pathology that can be caused by trauma, structural abnormalities, or repetitive motions (particularly those in sports). The labrum is a rim of cartilage around the hip socket that helps keep the head of the femur (thigh bone) inside the acetabulum (hip socket). A labral tear is a tear in the labrum; patients feel pain deep in the groin on the side of the involved hip, and may also have a locking sensation or hear a clicking in their affected hip. Trauma, for example, from a car accident or from playing contact sports, can cause a hip labral tear. Some people are born with hip problems that can accelerate wear and tear...
Therapeutic exercise = “medicine” for many chronic illnesses Therapeutic exercise is a key component in the conservative treatment of hip osteoarthritis. A paper published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports provides the up-to-date evidence-based basis for prescribing therapeutic exercise for hip osteoarthritis and more than twenty other chronic diseases. Exercise as medicine “ evidence for prescribing exercise as therapy in 26 different chronic diseases was written by B.K. Pederson and B. Saltin and published in September 2015. In the section focused on osteoarthritis, the authors observe Patients with osteoarthritis have a low physical activity level (Semanik et al., 2012), low muscle strength, and impaired muscle function (Roos et al., 2011; Segal and Glass, 2011) and go on...
Arthroscopic hip surgery increases in popularity The popularity of arthroscopic hip surgery has increased in recent years, with a more than 600% increase between 2006 and 2010 in the United States. But although the minimally invasive procedure, often performed on an outpatient basis, may be preferred, a recent study published in Arthroscopy: The Journal of Arthroscopic and Related Surgery found that it may not be the best option for older patients or those with arthritis. Researchers at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City looked at more than 7,000 arthroscopies in California and Florida with two years follow-up. Dr. David Mayman, an orthopedic surgeon at HSS and senior study author said "One of the goals of our study...
Conservative Treatment for Hip OA With millions of Americans facing hip osteoarthritis (OA) at some point in our lives – 25% of us – it is increasingly important for our healthcare system to focus on treatments that are both cost-effective and provide the best possible patient outcomes. Historically, conservative treatment for hip OA in the US focuses more on painkillers, NSAIDs, and waiting for it to get bad enough to warrant surgery rather than on modern and more effective therapies. Medications do nothing to counter the increasing restrictions of the joint capsule, tightening of muscles around the hips and decreasing mobility and functionality that comes with hip osteoarthritis. If not addressed, these deficits result in decreased activity and exercise leading...
Focus on Treating Hip Pathology Tony Rocklin DPT is known as “the hip guy” in Portland and around the Pacific Northwest. He’s been a physical therapist for 18 years, and for the last ten years has focused on treating hip pathology. Tony went in that direction when he started noticing that there was a big void in how the hip joint was being treated. This was particularly true when compared to the much more advanced research being done on shoulders and knees. He was shocked to find that the general standard of care for hip pathology was painkillers, a cane, and waiting for it to get bad enough for surgery. That led Tony to independent research, reviewing and improving older...
