A ball-and-socket Joint is unique in the human body – found only in the hip and shoulder. Ball-and-socket joints are comprised of a rounded bone end that fits into a cup-like socket. This type of joint allows for a tremendous range of movement, including rotation, extension, flexion and more.
The hip is the largest ball-and-socket joint, where the femur head fits into the acetabulum socket. What we refer to as the hip bone is actually three bones that are fused: the ilium, ischium and pubis, also called the pelvic bones. Taken together, the hip includes the ball-and-socket joint and the three pelvic bones, as well as the hip’s cushioning cartilage (labrum and bursae), surrounding muscles and stabilizing ligaments and tendons.
The hip connects your legs to your spine and supports most of your body weight, offering amazing mobility as well as exceptional stability.
The hip's stability results from the strength of its ligaments – the iliofemoral, pubofemoral, ischiofemoral and ligamentum teres – that form a protective capsule, together with the acetabular labrum. They restrict excessive movement, while tendons like the hamstrings, iliopsoas and gluteal tendons, power its movement and provide additional support.
This whole system works as a complex unit to keep the ball-and-socket joint stable during motion and weight-bearing activity. Movement-enabling muscles like the adductors, glutes and iliopsoas allow for some of the hip’s most complex movement.
Some of the most common hip injuries we see include:
These injuries can all cause immense pain, swelling and hip instability, often sidelining athletes as well as anyone who lives an active life.
Probably the top two most common injuries we see are a hip flexor strain or a labral tear.
A hip flexor strain is an injury – ranging from a stretch to a tear - to the muscles at the front of the hip which are crucial for lifting your hip and leg towards your body. A hip flexor strain is often seen in athletes from overuse or sudden movement like kicking or sprinting. Other factors that contribute to hip flexor strains include previous injury, tightness or imbalance.
Symptoms include sharp pain or pop at injury, soreness, spasms in the hip/groin area, tenderness, tightness, swelling, bruising, weakness, difficulty walking or lifting the leg. These injuries are usually classified on scale of severity from Grade 1-3, ranging from mild overstretching to a complete tear.
A tear in the cartilage rim of the hip socket – called the hip labrum – is most often caused by impingement or twisting. It can lead to deep hip pain, clicking, and instability, as well as loss of function. It often results from trauma (falls or accidents) or hip structure issues like FAI or hip dysplasia.
Repetitive motion involving twisting or pivoting often seen in golf, hockey, soccer or even ballet can cause labral tears, as can degeneration that results from the wear and tear of aging.
Diagnosing labral tears or hip flexor sprains – or almost any hip condition - is often accomplished through a combination of:
Even seemingly minor hip injuries could sideline an athlete’s career in the past. Most athletes relied on conservative treatment methods like rest, ice, compression, and elevation (RICE), together with physical therapy and pain medication.
Traditional treatment for these conditions still ranges from rest, PT, and meds to surgery for severe cases. The focus of traditional treatment is pain relief and the restoration of mobility.
For severe sports injuries, corticosteroids are used, but in many cases, surgery is the only option. Surgery, however, often doesn’t work – or can even make things worse.
Rehabilitation for hip injuries like these involve phased protocols:
Hip flexors require careful reintroduction to avoid tendinitis. The key with rehab is gradual progression. It’s important to avoid any aggravating deep hip flexion. It is also essential to integrate core/glute strength to support the joint and improve function.
Symptoms have been known to improve with rehabilitation, but unfortunately, tears have not been known to heal on their own.
Regenerative Medicine is a field of medicine that focuses on restoring physical function by naturally repairing or replacing tissues, cells, or organs that have suffered injury or deterioration. It uses the body's own cells to promote healing and restore function, offering a promising new approach to sports injury treatment.
Hip pain specialists – especially in the more forward-thinking sports medicine clinics – are increasingly offering non-surgical hip treatments employing regenerative therapy for hips.
Beyond enhanced tissue repair and improved performance, faster recovery is a key factor. Not to mention the reduced reliance on pain medication we’re seeing among athletes – all because of the innovative treatment approaches Regenerative Medicine brings.
Regenerative Medicine is today being used to treat hip injuries that were otherwise difficult or impossible to treat in the past. When these innovative new therapies like PRP or stem cell therapy emerged, it opened possibilities never before considered for previously career-ending sports injuries.
Contact us online or call (240) 754-7954 to schedule a consultation with one of our specialists at the Center for Sports & Regenerative Orthopedics to see how you can potentially benefit from the game changing power of Regenerative Medicine for hip injuries.
Treatments like PRP or stem cell therapy are part of a wave of Regenerative Medicine options that have emerged on the scene and effectively revolutionized the playing field for hip injuries like labral tears or hip flexor strains, among others.
These regenerative treatments trigger the production of new, healthy tissue, bringing enhanced healing and restoring function and mobility naturally. This natural treatment approach actually taps into the body's innate natural healing abilities, promoting more natural, effective and faster repair, as compared to more traditional treatments that often only address symptoms.
Using Regenerative injections for labral tears is one good example of a same-day procedure that can heal the injured tissue naturally. Unlike surgery, stem cell therapy does not require a painful or lengthy recovery period.
Adipose-derived stem cell (ADSC) therapy involves using stem cells taken from the patient’s own fat (adipose) tissue and injecting them into the injured hip. These ADSCs have a remarkable ability to reduce inflammation and promote the repair of tissue. ADSC treatments have emerged as a promising option to treat hip pain in conditions ranging from acute sports injuries to osteoarthritis.
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) uses human blood to trigger healing. Probably the best known treatment to emerge in the field of Regenerative Medicine, PRP shots have been used extensively by major athletes to restore hip function.
Combination Therapies: Some sports medicine physicians are combining stem cell injections with PRP to provide both cells and a high concentration of growth factors.
With its minimally invasive treatment procedures, Regenerative Medicine offers natural healing with non-surgical hip treatment, which translates to less time out of the game.
For more questions about when Regenerative Medicine is an appropriate choice for hip injuries, speak with our experts today to see if Regenerative Medicine could keep you in the game you love playing – or simply the game of life. Let our team at the Center for Sports & Regenerative Orthopedics help you achieve your goals and enhance your health and wellness goals with the healing potential of Regenerative Medicine.
Call (240) 754-7954 or contact us online to arrange a consultation with our Regenerative Medicine specialists at our offices in Alexandria, Virginia, or Waldorf, Maryland.
