Understanding Hip Diagnosis For The Lay Public [eBook]

Eliminate confusion from Dr. Google about the reason for your hip pain to better understand the 3 foundational hip diagnosis categories.

Let’s break it down in simpler terms, as well as the general characteristics each has.

1: Internal Joint Diagnoses
2: External/ Outside Hip Diagnoses
3: Referred To Hip Diagnoses

Internal Joint Diagnoses

Internal hip pathology are issues within the deep areas of the hip joint proper that can not generally be touched by the human hand. Internal structures include the joint capsule, hip labrum/ cartilage, ligaments within the hip joint, and hip bone architecture.

When diagnosed with one of these typically this means a specific local structure is the pain generator, yet the “reason” for the tissue breakdown tends to be less local. Muscle imbalances, compensated movements, overuse and poor form tend to present long before tissue breakdown.

The most common diagnoses that fit into this category of diagnoses are:

• Hip Impingements (there are many varieties)
• Hip Labral Pathology (there are many varieties)
• Arthritis (there are many types)
• Dislocations & Fractures
• Slipped Femoral Capital Epiphysis (SFCE)
• Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease
• Infections
• Avascular Necrosis

While some of these respond well to rehabilitation, others require rapid surgical or medical intervention followed by rehabilitation. In the sections to follow, I’ll discuss each in turn.

External/ Outside Hip Diagnoses

External (outside) hip diagnoses are those that are more superficial, as they can be touched with the human hand. Structures that are outside the joint include muscles, tendons, local fascia, scar tissue, vessels and nerves passing through the region. They are the softer structures that probably have already watched a lot of Youtube videos about how to stretch, strengthen or mobilize.....