Muscle Strain within the Hip

Muscle strains can occur anywhere in the body and are common sources of pain in and around the hip area, especially the hip flexor. Muscle strains can arise from lifting items that are too heavy, moving awkwardly, prolonged positions, putting more force through the muscle than it is capable of handling, or overusing a muscle. Once a muscle becomes strained it can become a significant source of pain where people can often find it difficult to find a comfortable position. Muscle strains are graded between 1-3 with 1 being mild and 3 being a complete rupture. The good news is muscles injuries respond very well to physical therapy and tend to heal quicker than tendon, nerve, or ligament related injuries.

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Within the hip, the hip flexor tends to be a commonly strained muscle. This happens as a result of weakness in the abdominal muscles, specifically the rectus abdominus. When the abdominal muscle group is weak or underdeveloped the hip flexors will kick on to make up for this weakness. The end result of this is an overactive hip flexor that gets very tight and contracted because it is doing more work than it should be doing. Eventually the muscle will give out and strain and become a significant source of pain. Physical therapy focuses on using hands on treatments such as dry needling, soft tissue massage, and stretching to release the strained muscle and promote blood flow to the area so it heals. After the pain subsides we work on strengthening the appropriate muscle groups to prevent recurrences of muscle strain.

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Another commonly strain muscle in the hip/low back area is the Quadratus Lumborum (QL). This muscle runs from the pelvis to the low back and is responsible for the side flank area pain in the low back/hip area that can hard to localize. The QL is a big meaty muscle in the low back and can get over activated easily. The root cause of QL dysfunction and strain is weak glute muscles (specifically a weak gluteus medius) or weak spinal erector muscles. When these muscle groups are weak the QL will over activate and overcompensate to make up for the weakness in these other muscles. The strain of the QL can happen in one traumatic incident where the person can recall straining the muscle. The strain of the QL can also happen gradually over time as it over works over a period of time before the strain eventually causes symptoms. In physical therapy we work to first release the QL to reduce pain levels. We can do this via dry needling, soft tissue work, stretching, and joint mobilizations/adjustments to the area the QL attaches. Once the QL is released and pain levels start to come down we work on strengthening the inner glute muscles and erector spinae muscles so the QL is less likely to overactive again and cause a recurrence of symptoms. 

 

 

Please see photos below for examples of how we treat muscle strains in the hip in our clinic. If you would like to schedule an appointment please reach out to us. 

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