Snapping Hip
Snapping hip is a condition in which you feel a snapping sensation or hear a popping sound in your hip when you walk, get up from a chair, or swing your leg around.
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Cause
Snapping hip is most often the result of tightness in the muscles and tendons surrounding the hip. People who are involved in sports and activities that require repeated bending at the hip are more likely to experience snapping hip. Dancers are especially vulnerable.
Young athletes are also more likely to have snapping hip. This is because tightness in the muscle structures of the hip is common during adolescent growth spurts.
Symptoms
The snapping sensation occurs when a muscle or tendon (the strong tissue that connects muscle to bone) moves over a bony protrusion in your hip.
Although snapping hip is usually painless and harmless, the sensation can be annoying. In some cases, snapping hip leads to bursitis, a painful swelling of the fluid-filled sacs that cushion the hip joint.
Diagnosis
Physical Examination & Patient History
During your first visit, your doctor will talk to you about your symptoms and medical history. During the physical examination, your doctor will check all the structures of your injury, and compare them to your non-injured anatomy. Â Most injuries can be diagnosed with a thorough physical examination.
Imaging Tests
Imaging Tests Other tests which may help your doctor confirm your diagnosis include:
X-rays. Although they will not show any injury, x-rays can show whether the injury is associated with a broken bone.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. If your injury requires an MRI, this study is utilized to create a better image of soft tissues injuries. However, an MRI may not be required for your particular injury circumstance and will be ordered based on a thorough examination by your Peninsula Bone & Joint Clinic Orthopedic physician.
Treatment Options
Non-Surgical
Initial treatment typically involves a period of rest and modification of activities. Depending upon the cause of your snapping hip, your doctor may also recommend other conservative treatment options.
Physical Therapy
Your doctor may prescribe exercises to stretch and strengthen the musculature surrounding the hip. Guidance from a physical therapist may also be recommended.
Iliotibial Band Stretch
- Stand next to a wall for support
- Cross the leg that is closest to the wall behind your other leg.
- Lean your hip toward the wall until you feel a stretch at the outside of your hip. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds.
- Repeat on the opposite side.
- Perform 2 to 3 sets of 4 repetitions each side.
Piriformis stretch
- Lie on your back with bent knees and feet flat on the floor.
- Cross the foot of the affected hip over the opposite knee and clasp your hands behind your thigh.
- Pull your thigh toward you until you feel the stretch in your hip and buttocks. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds.
- Repeat on the opposite side.Perform 2 to 3 sets of 4 repetitions each side.
Corticosteroid Injection
If you have hip bursitis, your doctor may recommend an injection of a corticosteroid into the bursa to reduce painful inflammation.
Surgical
In the rare instances that snapping hip does not respond to conservative treatment, your doctor may recommend surgery. The type of surgery will depend on the cause of the snapping hip.
Hip arthroscopy. During hip arthroscopy, your surgeon inserts a small camera, called an arthroscope, into your hip joint. The camera displays pictures on a television screen, and your surgeon uses these images to guide miniature surgical instruments.
Because the arthroscope and surgical instruments are thin, the surgeon can use very small incisions (cuts), rather than the larger incision needed for standard, open surgery.
Hip arthroscopy is most often used to remove or repair fragments of a torn labrum.
Open Procedure. A traditional open surgical incision (several centimeters long) may be required to address the cause of the snapping hip. An open incision can help your surgeon to better see and gain access to the problem in the hip.
Your Peninsula Bone & Joint Clinic orthopaedic surgeon will discuss with you the best procedure to meet your individual health needs.
Conservative Treatment Options
Treatment Highlights
VERILAST Hip Replacement Technology
Innovative Implant Design
Smith Nephew VERILAST hip replacement implant.
It’s important to remember that not every hip implant is the same. The Smith Nephew VERILAST Hip Technology is the one technology that directly addresses two of the most commonly cited concerns associated with hip replacement implants:
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Implant Wear
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Implant Fracture
