It’s possible to live with a hip impingement, or femoro acetabular impingement (FAI), for years and not know that you have it. However, this issue tends to eventually cause pain. It can also cause a decreased ability to move your leg normally.
There are many Americans who may end up dealing with hip impingement. One medical study estimates that up to 15% of the general population will be diagnosed with this condition in their lifetime. Several medical and surgical treatment options are available for hip impingement. Physical therapy is one treatment option that can offer benefits for people with hip impingement.
Three benefits that physical therapy offers for hip impingement
Physical therapists are taught to treat the human musculoskeletal system. This system includes the hip structures that are involved in hip impingement. This background allows your physical therapist to build a treatment plan that’s customized to you. Medical studies show that such physical therapy plans can offer benefits for hip impingement like:
- Reduced pain — The pain hip impingements cause is typically felt in the groin. Your pain may often increase while you’re walking or flexing your hip. One medical study reports that physical therapy can help address this symptom. The study reveals that on average, FAI patients experienced a 20-point improvement in hip disability and osteoarthritis outcome scores (HOOS) for pain after eight sessions.
- Improved hip range of motion (ROM) — FAI also makes it harder to move your leg toward you. This type of movement is called hip flexion, and it’s vital to walking and running properly. Physical therapists can help improve hip flexion for people with this condition. A medical study reveals that FAI patients who completed eight sessions of physical therapy had a 14-degree increase in hip flexion on average.
- Increased quality of life — Living with the pain and reduced ROM that hip impingement causes can take a toll on your quality of life. For one thing, it can make everyday activities like getting out of bed much more difficult. This issue can also affect your confidence and your ability to maintain a positive frame of mind.
Fortunately, physical therapists can help address these quality of life issues. Medical researchers found that physical therapy helped FAI patients achieve a 22-point increase in their quality of life scores on average.
Find effective hip impingement physical therapy at Border TS
Looking for beneficial hip impingement physical therapy? Our team at Border Therapy Services is primed to help you find effective care for your hip condition. We can perform a free screening on your hip to confirm that your symptoms are related to an FAI.
Then, our physical therapists can build you a personalized therapy plan designed to offer all the benefits discussed above. We even offer at-home care and virtual therapy services, and these options allow us to treat your FAI right in your own home.
Contact our team today for more information about how we can treat FAI or to schedule an initial appointment.