The Terrible cost of Hip Pain and $68,000 surgery.

Hip replacement surgery comes at a cost. In fact, let’s go over a ballpark figure for hip replacement. The average cost for a total hip replacement (hip arthroplasty) is $32,00 to $45,000. While a partial hip replacement (hemiarthroplasty) averages $22,000 to $68,000. Hip pain is expensive.

A hip revision surgery costs averages $21,224 and this does not include missed work days. The financial cost is only one consideration. You must also consider the physical cost of rehab, being laid up post surgery, and the emotional cost of activity restrictions.  

Why do people need hip surgery? 

Genetic causes are rare. Most hip surgeries are due to a “wearing out” of the joint, generally where the head of the femur (your biggest bone in your leg) and the acetabulum (the “socket” of your hip) come together.  

When the hip joint is not properly aligned friction within the joint begins to slowly break down the connective tissue within the joint causing tears and/or inflammation of the bursa sac (a fluid filled sac that acts to cushion the joint). As the friction continues so does the inflammation, which can lead to growing new bone tissue often times classified as painful bone spurs. Finally, the bone on bone friction completely destroys and changes the shape of the joint which leads to surgery.

What does hip pain cause long term?

It is universal fact that if you have a joint problem, you have an organ problem. This is true for a couple of reasons.  First, all is in link!  In the case of hip pain we discuss the fact that the piriformis muscle attaches to the hip joint.  It also attaches to the sacrum and to the colon. If you piriformis is pulling on your hip it is also pulling on your colon. If it is pulling on your colon, it is changing the shape and function of your colon. 

Secondly, all of your nerves pass though the joints. Specifically to the sacrum, all of the nerves that connect your reproductive organs as well as the nerves that connect your legs and feet exit at the sacrum. If your sacrum is rotated, these nerves can become impinged. This affects the health of your reproductive organs due to lack of blood flow and direct pressure (torsion pressure) on the reproductive and digestive organs.

How is someone diagnosed for hip surgery?

First, you consult your physician about hip pain. The most common firs treatment for hip pain is Physical Therapy. This involves protocol exercises and manual therapy. Then, if unsuccessful, the next step is commonly a steroid shot (cortizone), or two or three. Lastly, if the steroid shot fails, surgery is considered the final option.

Where do you go to avoid hip surgery?

We commonly see people in the office that have tried both Physical Therapy and steroid shots and want to avoid surgery. More often than not, we keep people out of surgery and help them to return to all of the activities they enjoyed prior to hip pain.

At Pierce Family Wellness, we start with the sacrum to address hip pain. Why? Because the sacrum is the base for the hip.  Let me explain. 

The sacrum has 22 axis of rotation. You don’t have to fully understand all of the axis’, it is important to understand, however that if your sacrum is not moving properly your hip doesn’t stand a chance. If your sacrum is rotated it changes the position of your entire pelvis. When your pelvis is out of balance, the angle of your hip joint changes creating pressure and friction within the hip joint itself.  We discussed the cost of this in the first paragraph. 

The Pierce Family Wellness approach to hip pain

First, you have to properly asses the pelvis. We test each of the pelvic axis to determine the angles of the pelvis and how the specific rotations (and lack there of) are affecting the hip joint using several pelvis axis tests. Once we have our information, we determine the manual therapy and exercise needed. 

We use manual therapy tools such as osteo-articular pumping, TTLS, and Fascial Normalization techniques, to address the ligaments. After manual therapy, we introduce the exercise portion of the program. This includes myofascial stretching, segmental strengthening and ELDOA. Each tool builds on the others to balance the joint. 

Myofascial stretching helps the muscles slide not only on each other (inter-muscular), but also within each muscle itself (intra-muscular).  For example the piriformis muscle attaches to the sacrum, the femur and the colon.  It’s essential that the piriformis can slide on itself and on everything it touches. 

We use segmental strengthening to build up the the muscle because sometimes a muscle has become so weak and atrophied (atrophy is when a muscle shrinks and waste away)we are not able to stretch it.  As the muscle grows (hypertrophies), it takes up a larger area in the brain making it available to stretch.  

After the muscle has been properly strengthened and stretched we bring in the ELDOA.  The ELDOA are specific exercises to create space in the joints. In the case of hip pain we create space in the hip joint, the SI joints, and the sacrum itself. As space is created, friction is reduced leading to better cushioning, range of motion, hydration, and overall health of the joint!

If you are suffering from hip pain and feel like you are not seeing the results you desire, come in for an assessment and get a plan specific to your individual needs and remember: a joint problem is an organ problem and an organ problem is a health problem.