Dealing with hip pain can be hard on people, and this type of pain is equally likely when sitting and standing. This makes sense when you consider that the hip joint is deeply involved in both of these common activities, but for some reason, people don’t seem to equate sitting with hip pain. However, there are three issues that are just as likely to cause hip pain when sitting as they are when you’re walking or standing still.
1. Piriformis syndrome
If you’ve never heard of the piriformis muscles, you aren’t alone, but piriformis syndrome can be what’s causing your hip pain when sitting. You see, the piriformis muscle starts at the base of your spine and runs through the buttock to the front of your thigh. One job it does is to help rotate the leg outward, but it also helps lift the upper leg upward toward the chest.
It’s this upward movement that leads to the connection between piriformis syndrome and pain in the hip when sitting. Piriformis syndrome is when the piriformis muscle becomes inflamed and tense, and these symptoms can cause it to either irritate a nerve or pull the hip out of its normal alignment, both of which can lead to hip pain.
2. Labrum damage
The hip labrum is a rim of cartilage that runs around the rim of the hip socket, and it helps keep the ball of the upper leg bone seated firmly in the hip socket. Several types of labrum damage can cause you to feel pain when sitting. Natural age-related wear and tear can cause the labrum to wear out, or it may be damaged by an impact to the hip. Either type of damage to this cartilage structure can cause painful catches in your hip when sitting down. It can also lead to pain when sitting for long periods of time, such as when you’re on a long airplane flight.
3. Hip tendinitis
Hip tendinitis can also cause people to experience hip pain when sitting. This issue is particularly common for people who run a lot or do other sports where there’s lots of repetitive leg movement. Tendons attach muscles to various parts of the hip, and hip tendinitis is a condition where the hip tendon inflammation causes pain in and around the hip. If left untreated, hip tendinitis can make it difficult and painful to sit for long periods of time.
Call on Panther Physical Therapy if you have hip pain when sitting
Pain in your hip can start to wear on you both physically and mentally if you don’t seek treatment for it, and Panther Physical Therapy can help you get the treatment you need. Our team uses one-on-one screenings to determine what issue is causing your hip pain, and we’ll use the information from your screening to build a personalized treatment plan for you. We have many therapy techniques we can include in your plan to make it as effective as possible, such as:
Are you ready to take the next step to treat your hip pain? Contact our team today for more information or to schedule an appointment.