What does it mean when your hips are out of alignment?

You may or may not have heard this term before, but when your ‘hips are out’, there is much more to it than just the hips.

In biomechanical terms, when your hips are in alignment, they are not rotated forward or back or favouring one side. When your hips fall out of alignment, they move out of a centred position, and force the spine and lower limb to compensate.

Causes:

Some of the main causes of hips being out of alignment are:

• Bad seating and standing habits
• Scoliosis
• Carrying bags on one side
• Pregnancy
• Twisting and rotating during sleep
• Crossing or folding legs
• Past injuries
• Stretching imbalances
• Congenital disorders
• Post operation
• Poor footwear
• Poor core strength
• Pronation (collapsed arches)

Symptoms:

Some of the symptoms people experience from their hips being out of alignment are:

• Hip pain
• Sciatica
• Lower back pain
• Upper back pain
• Knee Pain
• Foot/ankle Pain
• Tight/Tense muscles usually on one side at the back of the legs, groin area, or buttocks

Treatment:

Effective treatment to realign the hips include:

• Chiropractic hip alignment
• Lower back adjustments
• Massage to the lower back hip and leg region
• Home exercises to improve strength around the hip and lower back region
• Core strength exercises

Not treating these issues can lead to overuse and injury, disc, facet and joint complications. They can also lead to serious long term which may impact your quality of life. These may include:

• Hip Replacement
• Disc injuries
• Surgery
• Osteoarthritis

The Health Professionals at DHCTC are experienced with a specialty in helping with hip problems.

If you feel your hips might be out of alignment, don’t hesitate to contact us on 02 95645222 or go to our contact page and make a booking/ask a question!

Thank you

Dr Nigel Luis

Chiropractor