You’re not the type to sit still. You’ve got tee times twice a week, a walk around the neighborhood after dinner, and maybe the lower trail at Camelback with the grandkids when they visit. Then the hip starts talking. It’s a deep ache in the groin after nine holes, or a sore spot on the outside of the leg that keeps you from sleeping on that side. Getting out of the golf cart takes a second longer. Nobody likes hearing “just slow down,” and most of the time you don’t have to.
What’s Going On in an Active Hip
We usually find one of a handful of things. Past sixty, most hips have a little arthritis in them, and that’s the one that aches in the groin and feels rusty at 7 a.m. Walkers and golfers also wear on the tendons along the bony knob on the side of the hip, which is what hurts when you lie on it. And sometimes the hip itself is fine, but weak glutes let the leg wobble a little with every step, so the joint takes more than its share. Usually there’s a bit of all three. Every so often, the pain is coming from the lower back instead, which is why we check that too.
Things People Tell Us
These come up almost every week:
- Swinging a club hurts on the follow-through.
- Pulling on socks or tying shoes on that side is a project now.
- Lying on that hip at night wakes you up.
- The first few steps out of bed are stiff, then it eases.
- A long walk is fine until about the last half mile.
How PT Keeps You Moving
Nobody here is going to tell you to quit golf. We want the hip tough enough for it. First visit, you’ll walk the hallway, do a half squat, step onto a box, and stand on one foot while we watch your pelvis dip. We’ll check how far the hip rotates, since a stiff hip makes every turn harder.
Then we go to work on your backside, literally. You’ll do bridges on the mat, leg lifts lying on your side, and little sideways shuffles with a band around your knees. A stiff joint gets some hands-on stretching too, because a hip that won’t rotate makes your back do the twisting in a golf swing. Bring your club one day and we’ll watch your follow-through. Walkers get a talk about shoes and a plan to add back distance a little at a time.
Little things help too. Stick a pillow between your knees in bed. Swap the low couch for the higher chair when you can. On bad days, do two short walks instead of one long one.
Give it a month or two. Your homework takes maybe fifteen minutes, so do it before tee time or while the coffee’s going. Keep doing it even after the hip feels good, since that’s what keeps the pain from coming back next season.
If your hip has been holding you back from the things you love, call Modern Medicine of Phoenix, AZ, and let’s keep you active.
