Hip Labral Tears

Do you feel pain in one of your hips when you’ve been standing, sitting, or moving for a long time? Does it feel stiff or like it gets caught? If so, there may be a problem with the joint’s cartilage. At Kosak Chiropractic in Fairfield, we’re more than just a clinic for back pain. Our experts in musculoskeletal health use non-addictive, non-invasive treatments for all sorts of joint problems. This week, we’re discussing a type of hip injury known as a labral tear.

A labrum is a seal of cartilage that locks the ball of the femoral head into the socket of the pelvis. (There’s one connecting the arm to the shoulder, too.) The labrum also provides cushioning, and if it tears, a person is at risk for developing arthritis or a bone spur in the future. Although the labrum can be damaged by an acute injury, it can also wear down due to repetitive motions, particularly in people who had an abnormal ball and socket connection to begin with. People who play sports that stress the hip muscles, such as soccer and hockey, are at greater risk for developing hip labral tears.

Hip labrum tears don’t always have symptoms, but they may be accompanied by other injuries. An x-ray will help us to determine if there’s something wrong with the bones of the joint that would require a chiropractic adjustment. Otherwise, patients will likely be prescribed physical therapy to improve their hip’s range of motion and stretch out their muscles. We can also use electric muscle stimulation and therapeutic massages to reduce inflammation and shorten workout recovery time.

Kosak Chiropractic is located at 1252 Travis Blvd., Suite G, Fairfield, CA, 94533. To schedule an appointment, visit Kosak Chiropractic online or call 707-426-1111.

 

Exercises for Healthy Hips

Keeping your muscles strong and flexible is essential for keeping your skeleton in alignment. Whether you’re recovering from an injury or just trying to stay healthy, it's a good idea to be stretching regularly. At Kosak Chiropractic in Fairfield, we help patients to devise individualized therapeutic regimens that fit their needs and are safe for them. But there are a few strategies for maintaining strong hips that work for most people, so let’s explore the basics.

We need to be cautious about forms of exercise such as jumping that subject the joints to repeated impacts. While in recovery from an injury, it’s often better to start slowly with range-of-motion exercises, such as hip circles. This means standing on one leg and slowly rotating the other in the air. Another exercise is the knee-to-chest stretch, in which a person lies on their back with their legs straight, and lifts one knee toward their chest and holds it before switching to the other leg. Side leg raises, in which a person lies on their side and lifts their leg while keeping it extended, are also a good way of strengthening the glutes.

As a person recovers, they’ll be able to do more complicated stretches and higher-stress exercises, such as lunges. The keys to avoiding overuse injuries are to ramp up intensity slowly and to maintain a varied work-out routine. Strong core and hip muscles will allow runners and other athletes to better withstand the jostling their joints are subjected to when their feet strike the ground or they have to change direction suddenly. We can also help athletes to recover faster by providing electric muscle stimulation, which increases blood flow by contracting the muscles, and by adjusting dislocated joints that may be putting extra strain on the hip and lower back muscles.

Kosak Chiropractic is located at 1252 Travis Blvd., Suite G, Fairfield, CA, 94533. To schedule an appointment, visit Kosak Chiropractic online or call 707-426-1111.

Hip Bursitis

When there’s a problem in the biomechanics of their hip, a person is at greater risk of developing bursitis. This kind of inflammation could cause them further pain and make it difficult to move their leg. At Kosak Chiropractic in Fairfield, we provide a variety of treatments to reduce inflammation and correct biomechanical problems, and are happy to help patients determine whether bursitis could be behind their discomfort.

A bursa is a cushioning sac of fluid surrounded by a membrane made of a tissue called synovium. Bursae secrete lubricant, and they may be found in several parts of the body including the front and side of the hips. The bursae on the sides of the hips are the ones that get injured more often. Known as the trochanteric bursae, one is located on the outward-facing side of the top of each thighbone. They may suffer acute injuries or become inflamed due to stress put on them by overly tight connective fascia and tendons, although degeneration of those tissues could be painful even without inflaming the bursae.

Pain from hip bursitis is usually worse when a person has been at rest, and it may interfere with them moving their leg past the midpoint of their body. The pain may also radiate from the side of the hip to the lower back or thigh. We’ll determine whether a patient is suffering from biomechanical problems along their lower limbs that might be throwing off the alignment of their pelvic joints and contributing to excessive pressure on the bursae. Treatment options include joint adjustments, stretching and physical therapy to improve the flexibility of the hip tendons and ligaments, and therapeutic ultrasound to improve blood flow.

Kosak Chiropractic is located at 1252 Travis Blvd., Suite G, Fairfield, CA, 94533. To schedule an appointment, visit Kosak Chiropractic online or call 707-426-1111.

Osteoarthritic Hip Pain

Kosak Chiropractic in Fairfield treats aches and pains by taking a holistic perspective on health. If a patient is suffering from hip pain, it won’t just be their hip that’s affected, but also their lower back and legs. But by the same token, improvement in hip function can improve overall health, and we offer several non-addictive, complementary treatments for strengthening hips affected by osteoarthritis.

When a person has osteoarthritis, the cartilage that cushions the bones in their joints is eroding. This causes the bones to rub together, triggering inflammation and the growth of bony spurs. Wear and tear is a factor in osteoarthritis, and as the cartilage on the ball of the femur gets worn down, grinding between the femur and socket of the hip changes the hip’s mechanics. The muscles and ligaments surrounding the hip joint are complex, allowing the leg to move in all directions, and as they experience more friction, they become strained. The hip will often stiffen, leading to deterioration of the muscles between the leg and lower back.

Hip pain will often be worse when a person has been lying down or seated for a long time. Although it is tempting to rest for long periods, inactivity will cause further atrophy of the hip muscles. Instead, they need to be strengthened and made more flexible through therapeutic exercise. We can help by prescribing personalized work-out routines as well as providing anti-inflammatory treatments such as therapeutic massages and electric muscle stimulation. We also advise patients on better posture to reduce stress on their pelvic joints, and perform chiropractic adjustments on lower back vertebrae that are under stress due to tight muscles.

Kosak Chiropractic is located at 1252 Travis Blvd., Suite G, Fairfield, CA, 94533. To schedule an appointment, visit Kosak Chiropractic online or call 707-426-1111.

Piriformis Syndrome

Sciatica is a term for describing pain along the sciatic nerves, and it can have many causes. Among those is piriformis syndrome, a condition affecting one of the deeper muscles of the pelvis. Kosak Chiropractic in Fairfield is dedicated to providing patients with safe, holistic solutions to biomechanical nerve compression such as sciatica, and we want our patients to know why piriformis syndrome is something worth getting examined for.

The piriformis muscle connects the sacrum, which is the base of the spine, to the upper femur. It is used to rotate the leg outward and is vulnerable to overuse injuries when a person runs on hard surfaces. Swelling in the piriformis muscle can put pressure on the sciatic nerve, which, depending on the person, might run under the piriformis muscle, directly through it, or around it on both sides. When a person’s sciatic nerve is compressed, they may feel a shooting pain, tingling, or numbness down their leg and have difficulty moving it. People with piriformis syndrome may feel symptoms while seated or walking on stairs, and may also feel pressure in the buttock on the side of the affected muscle.

Piriformis Syndrome is not one of the more common causes of sciatica, but there are tests for identifying it. Among our treatments for muscle fatigue are soft tissue manipulation, electric muscle stimulation, and therapeutic ultrasound. These, along with therapeutic exercise, can strengthen the gluteal muscles while also increasing their flexibility, and reduce inflammation.

Kosak Chiropractic is located at 1252 Travis Blvd., Suite G, Fairfield, CA, 94533. To schedule an appointment, visit Kosak Chiropractic online or call 707-426-1111.

 

Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction

Lower back pain is one of the most common afflictions in the United States, and it has several potential causes. Among the lesser known ones is sacroiliac joint dysfunction. When patients are suffering from joint problems, Kosak Chiropractic in Fairfield provides safe treatments that target the source of a problem, as well as its symptoms, so we wanted to talk a bit about what makes sacroiliac joint dysfunction distinct.

The sacrum is a body of fused vertebrae at the base of the spine. The iliac bones are the crests of the pelvis it connects to. Dysfunction in these joints may cause inflammation, called sacroiliitis. Pain here can radiate through the lower back, pelvic region, and legs and tends to be worse after a prolonged period of standing or using the gluteal muscles. Although sacroiliac joint dysfunction can be caused by an infection, it is much likelier to be due to a degenerative condition or a traumatic injury that has damaged the structure of the joint.

Our treatments for sacroiliac joint dysfunction include manual adjustments of the bones and soft tissue manipulation for loosening muscles, such as electrical stimulation and massages. We can also prescribe therapeutic exercises that will strengthen the pelvic muscles and keep them flexible during recovery, allowing them to better support the sacrum in the future. Our office’s nutritional counseling service educates patients on what nutrients they need to keep their joints cushioned and lubricated and how they can control their weight to prevent their pelvic joints from being overburdened.

Kosak Chiropractic is located at 1252 Travis Blvd., Suite G, Fairfield, CA, 94533. To schedule an appointment, visit Kosak Chiropractic online or call 707-426-1111.