If you are experiencing pinching pain in your hip, the frustrating part isn’t just how much it hurts. This specific type of pain can prevent you from doing some pretty routine tasks, affecting your day to day life.
When you have some form of debilitating hip pain, any sort of movement can cause agony and limit your abilities.
Whether you are an athlete looking to get back in the game or the gym, or you’re simply ready to feel better and get back to doing all the things you love pain-free – we are going to help you discover what the cause of your pinching pain in your hip is.
Then, we’ll share a few ways you can try and relieve your symptoms while you await a professional treatment plan.
Let’s start with a basic anatomy lesson on the hips, and help you identify the specific muscle, bone, or ligament causing you grief.
Anatomy Of The Hips
Before we start discussing potential causes of your pinching pain in your hip, we need to describe the different musculature, ligaments, tendons, and bones in that region – because it’s a lot!
Your “hip” is just a term to describe the region where the top of your femur bone fits into the hip socket, and can rotate all directions, very similar to your shoulder. Also at play are the hip flexors – which are the actual muscles in your hip.
All around the hips are tendons, ligaments, and nerves. For the most part, a pinching pain in hip regions is caused by these nerves.
The Role Of Nerves
When you have a pinched nerve, it sends tons of signals to your brain, which causes excruciating pain.
The reason for this is because something is not where it should be – one of the bones surrounding the nerves in your hip might be pressing on or pinching them.
Potential Causes Of Pinching Pain In The Hip Area
There are a few different causes of nerve issues in the hip that lead to a pinching pain. These all stem from the same thing – a pinched nerve. At least, for the most case.
These issues can be categorized as sciatica when felt on the back of the hip, or simply a pinched nerve on the front.
Pinched Nerves In The Hips
A pinched nerve is typically caused by one of two extremes – excessive activity or inactivity. Risk factors include obesity, overuse or improper use, excessive sitting, and pregnancy.
A pinched nerve can be the result of moving the wrong way on accident, especially in athletes who build up lot’s of stress in the hips and build up fatigue.
Distinguishing Between A Pinched Nerve & Other Issues
To determine whether it’s a pinched nerve plaguing you and something else, there are a few things you can look for.
A pinched nerve will cause a “burning”, radiating pain, sometimes extending into the groin, hamstrings, and other surrounding muscles.
You may also feel a dull ache at the site of the pinched nerve or muscle. In some cases, this will be accompanied by tingling, numbness, and overall tightness felt not just in the hip, but your glutes and lower back even. All of this is followed by a weakness in the afflicted leg.
All of this sounds terrible, and it is! So how can you get the nerve “unpinched”, and start feeling better again now? Let’s talk about treatment.
Treating A Pinched Nerve In The Hip
To treat your pinched nerve, start by giving your body the rest it needs to heal. You should initially avoid activities that make the pain worse (obviously), as these pain signals are only evidence that you aren’t healing.
You can couple this with some anti-inflammatories, such as ibuprofen, to break up the painful inflammation at the site of the pinch. On top of this, alternate between ice and heat during this initial healing period. The first few days or so should be all about clearing up inflammation and giving your body a chance to start loosening up.
Then, after some initial rest, you can add in some gentle stretches to loosen up the pinched muscles or tendons that are too tight in the first place.
Pinched Nerves In The Hips
A pinched nerve is typically caused by one of two extremes – excessive activity or inactivity. Risk factors include obesity, overuse or improper use, excessive sitting, and pregnancy.
A pinched nerve can be the result of moving the wrong way on accident, especially in athletes who build up lot’s of stress in the hips and build up fatigue.
Distinguishing Between A Pinched Nerve & Other Issues
To determine whether it’s a pinched nerve plaguing you and something else, there are a few things you can look for.
A pinched nerve will cause a “burning”, radiating pain, sometimes extending into the groin, hamstrings, and other surrounding muscles.
You may also feel a dull ache at the site of the pinched nerve or muscle. In some cases, this will be accompanied by tingling, numbness, and overall tightness felt not just in the hip, but your glutes and lower back even. All of this is followed by a weakness in the afflicted leg.
All of this sounds terrible, and it is! So how can you get the nerve “unpinched”, and start feeling better again now? Let’s talk about treatment.
Other Treatment Options For Pinching Pain In The Hip Region
If after a few days of following the protocol outlined above things don’t get better, you may need to seek more professional care to try and clear up the inflammation and spasm occurring in your hip.
Massage Work
One of the best options for this is massage work, specifically deep tissue with a CBD cream or balm.
Massage work leads to myofascial release, which is the elimination of stress and tightness in a specific muscle.
When coupled with CBD, one of the best natural anti-inflammatories there is, this duo is incredibly effective.
To get something like this done, you can either visit a massage therapist, a physical therapist, chiropractor, athletic trainer, etc.
Therapeutic Injections
In some cases, a pinched nerve will flare up time and time again after the initial injury. If this is the case for you, you may need to get used to steroid injections into the pinched area to control inflammation and provide relief.
