Precautions for Hip Pain

If your hip pain is related to an intense physical activity, try to take these steps for yourself:

• Warm-up prior to exercise and cool down afterwards. 

• Manage your weight, don't forget being overweight is also not a good thing for your hips, so stay in a healthy weight

• Take it easy with yourself, lower the amount of exercise to  a level which is right for you

• Wear the perfect running shoes that fit well with a good cushioning 

• Try to swim or bicycle more instead of running

 

• Don't run straight down hills, walk down instead

• Use an arch support or shoe insert if you have a flat feet, avoid high heels

 

• Prefer the smooth trails which has a soft surface such as a track instead of on cement

 

References:
1. "MedlinePlus - Health Information from the National Library of Medicine." Hip Pain. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 02 Jan. 2013.

How to approach to Hip Pain

Never underestimate a hip pain. Although it is a minor pain, if it remains to be persistent see a medical doctor as soon as possible.
 
Here are some self-care tips for managing hip pain:

1. Avoid activities that aggravate hip pain.
2. Have a good rest.  Try not to walk and stay off your feet as much as possible.
3. Apply ice.  Since it lowers the inflammation, it can help to rampage your hip pain. You can apply ice cubes or ice packs by wrapping a towel around it for 4-5 times a day about 10-15 minutes.
4. Try to sleep on your non-painful side with a cushion or pillow between your legs.
5. Use an OTC pain reliever.  Although these medications can be taken without prescription, call your doctor and use it under their guidance. You may take:
a. Acetaminophen (Tylenol and others ) This group, usually called as non-aspirin pain reliever, relieves pain by elevating the pain threshold by requiring a greater amount of pain to develop prior to feeling it.
b. Aspirin.  Usually is being used to treat mild-moderate pain and to reduce fever and inflammation.
c. Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin and others).
d. Naproxen sodium (Aleve and others)




References:
1. "MedlinePlus - Health Information from the National Library of Medicine." Hip Pain. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 01 Jan. 2013.
2. Hip Pain.  " Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, n.d. Web. 01 Jan 2013. <http://www.mayoclinic.com/>.

Can Meditation help people cope with Hip Labral Tears?

It was a dark winter night in the city; I was lying on my bed with a terrible chest pain. Something was wrong with my heart. The very next morning I ran to the hospital to see my doctor's referred cardiologist. Because my father had undergone bypass surgery several years prior, I was anxious about my genetic inheritance and was considered a high risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. 

The cardiologist was shocked when he saw the lab results. My 'bad' cholesterol level - the LDL - was a dangerously high 285. He said we should immediately pursue an aggressive therapy and he prescribed 80 mg of Lipitor. The drug worked very well; in a couple of weeks my LDL levels had dropped below 70 mg/dL. Until that time everything was fine. Then as I continued to take the medication, I started to suffer several side-effects. When I talked to my doctor he said, "The benefit to you is greater than the risk of side-effects." But I was feeling worse physically. I started to experience general weakness, muscle fatigue, liver problems, , and terrible stomach pains. I now disagreed with my doctor. The benefit was not better than the side-effects. 

This continued until one day when I met with a long lost friend. We had spent not five minutes chatting when he introduced me to the concept of meditation. Only in five minutes! He convinced me the meditation would change my life as it had his. My curiosity was piqued. I enrolled in a meditation course at Chopra Center University and started to meditate daily. Within three months later I decided to stop taking Lipitor and started to heal myself. I learned that meditation is the practice of creating a gap between thoughts in order to feel each present moment. 

When I practice meditation, my heart rate and breathing slows down, my blood pressure normalizes, I use oxygen more efficiently and reduce or eliminate stress. Stress-induced illness and worrying about the past and future are replaced with enjoying the present. 

As I increased my knowledge in meditation, I learned many scientist, authors, performance artist have practiced meditation throughout the years. These include but are not limited to the following: Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, Francis Bacon, Thomas Edison, Isaac Newton, Richard Gere, Oprah Winfrey, Angelina Jolie, Al Gore, Gwyneth Paltrow, Tina Turner, Julia Roberts, Clint Eastwood, Hugh Jackman, Steven Seagal, Paul McCartney, Harrison Ford and Oliver Stone. 

The roots of meditating travel back to ancient times. The earliest written records reveal that meditation originated from ancient India, Hindu traditions of Vedantism (one of the main philosophical school of Hinduism) around 1500 BCE (George, Jeffrey and Lating 199). Today, there are many different forms of meditation are available - transcendental meditation, yoga, tai-chi, qi-gong, zazen - to name a few. All these meditative forms promote a peaceful mind, perfect health, improved balance, greater energy and total enlightenment for the individual. 


The positive advantages by meditating practices are neither extraordinary nor unusual. Much research has been conducted to verify the positive results of meditation of some form. For example, the benefits of meditation have recently been accepted by the American medical community. Harvard Medical School's publications Harvard Mental Health Letter'and Harvard Heart Letter emphasize the proven scientific benefits of practicing meditation for heart disease, blood pressure, blood sugar control, depression, behavioral disorders, psoriasis, IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), fibromyalgia and RA (rheumatoid arthritis). And the question is, could it work for hip labral tears?

  













The Harvard Heart Letter points out a scientific study funded by the National Institutes of Health in which it found that "clearing the mind for 20 minutes twice each day may help lower blood pressure and improve the body's ability to control blood sugar" (Harvard Heart Letter 6). In this study, there were two comparative groups. The first group involved 52 men and women with stable heart disease who learned Transcendental Meditation and practiced it for four months. The second group contained 51 people with similar heart disease who took classes on controlling heart disease but did not meditate. At the end of four months the results revealed that the group of individuals who practiced meditation achieved greater improvements in blood pressure and blood sugar control. 

Additionally, each mediator demonstrated a lower activation of his/her body's stress system than that of the individual not meditating. Because this was a National Health Institute funded study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine (one of the most prestigious medical journals in internal medicine) and because the Harvard Heart Letter confirms the importance of the results, the reliability of the data was highly convincing. 
In addition, the world renown Mayo Clinic endorses practicing meditation for its potential health benefits (MayoClinic.com). They define meditation as "a simple fast way to reduce stress." Recent clinical research has seen the relationship between athletic injuries and psychological factors as essentially stress-related.  Thus Mayo Clinic's definition of meditation should be a mantra for those who want to diminish the stress from their lives. More important than their statement, Mayo Clinic encourages a meditation practice for its patients as an integral part of their Complementary and Integrative Medicine Program. 

Mayo Clinic confirms that there are simple and inexpensive ways to manage and control several disorders. Meditation is included in these. (MayoClinic.com) The clinic's current practice and strong advocacy for meditation provides additional solid evidence for countless health benefits of meditation. Isn't it a cheap, effective and safe way to manage your health problems? 

Fortunately, today more people are discovering the potential benefits of meditation in order to create more healthy and peaceful lives for themselves. While meditation brings stillness and tranquility to your mind, it offers an internal balance and opens your mind to new ideas. 

Once you learn it, you can practice meditation anywhere. I remember many times closing doors in order to meditate for 15 minutes in the office. 

In my opinion, in preventing and managing hip labral tears, meditation can be very helpful as a complementary practice.  Meditation may also help to accelerate the recovery period of a possible hip replacement surgery. 

Isn't it worth to try to enjoy self-healing and rejuvenation? I believe perfect health can be achieved merely with a peaceful mind. As Buddha beautifully said, "Peace comes from within. Do not seek without." Simply meditate for yourself, keep diseases out. 

 a guest post by
 Life_TYrunner
 

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Sources:
 1. 'A mantra for heart disease' 2006, Harvard Heart Letter, 17,2,p.6, Academic Search Premier, EBSCO host, viewed 20 April 2012

 2. Goerge, S., M. Jeffrey, and M. Lating. "Chapter 11 Meditation." A Clinical Guide to the Treatment of the Human Stress Response. 2nd ed. Springer, 2002. 199-200. Print. 

3. James M. Hoffman, Edward Li, Fred Doloresco, Linda Matusiak, Robert J. Hunkler, Nilay D. Shah, Lee C. Vermeulen, and Glen T. Schumock. Projecting Future Drug Expenditures-2012. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy:Vol 69 Mar 1, 2012 

4. Mayo Clinic Staff. "Meditation: A Simple, Fast Way to Reduce Stress." Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Web. 20 Apr. 2012. . 


5. "Meditation In Psychotherapy. (Cover Story). "Harvard Mental Health Letter 21.10 (2005): 1.MAS Ultra - School Edition. Web. 21 Apr. 2012 

6. Qureshi, ZP. "Market Withdrawal of New Molecular Entities Approved in the United States from 1980 to 2009." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Web. 03 May 2012. .

Medications for Hip Labral Tears

As part of the non-surgical symptomatic treatment of hip labral tears, doctors may prescribe various Nonsteroid Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) to manage the hip pain and inflammation including:

• Ibuprofen ( Motrin, Advil,Mortrin, Nuprin, Medipren,Nurofen, Brufen and others)

• Naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn, Antalgin, Midol Extended Relief, Naprelan, Anaprox, Nalgesin, Naprelan and others)

Although more than a dozen of NSAIDs are available without a prescription, it is wise to use it under the supervision of a medical doctor.
 
The vast majority of NSAIDs are taken orally.  However in recent years new topical medications have also been approved such as Pennsaid and Voltaren Gel.

Doctors may also prescribe some quick-acting agents like steroid injections (injections of corticosteroids) into the hip joint to control and manage hip pain.  Within the clinical practice of managing inflammation in hip labral tears, these kind of injections may reduce the symptoms of hip pain for several weeks to months.

Depending on the diverse individual and clinical needs, alternative medications may also inlcude Glucosamine and Hyaluronic acid.





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References:
1. "Hip Labral Tear, Treatments and Drugs." Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, n.d. Web. 26 Dec. 2012. <http://www.mayoclinic.com/>.

2. "Labral Tear." Outpatient Center, Stanford Medicine. Stanford Hospital & Clinics, n.d. Web. 26 Dec. 2012.

Yoga for Hip Labral Tears

Yoga, as Sri Swami  Satchidananda beautifully described is understanding the complete mastery over the mind, or in other words it is the science of the mind. However, today yoga reminds people some physical practices for stretching and stress reduction.  Although this is only one aspect of the real practice of yoga, it can help people for preventing hip labral tears or other injuries by warming up the body properly with preparatory asanas.

You would get the most benefit from private yoga sessions other than classes designed for every one.  Because a private yoga session will be customized for the specific needs of your body. A good yoga teacher can guide you for a variety of movements at your hip joint and focus on both stability and flexibility. They can adjust these movements according to your needs, for example if you are hyperflexible, your yoga instructor  can guide you to practice asanas which emphasize stability, support and strength other than additional flexibility.  This is not to say that yoga is an alternative to seek a medical care, but if it is practiced appropriately with the right movements, it can be a good complementary practice in prevention and management of hip labral tears.











References:
1. Satchidananda, Sri Swami, and Patañjali. "Introduction." The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Yogaville, VA: Integral Yoga Publications, 1990. N. pag. Print.
2. Goodall, Elaine Y. "Preventing & Healing Injury in Asana: Acetabular Labral Tears." Yoga Therapy in Practice August (2006): 16-17. Print.

Hip Labral Tears among Women

Several articles and medical publications on clinical characteristics of hip labral tears or acetabular labral tears, indicate that hip labral tears more prevalent among women population and can present with nonspecific symptoms.  However this is still a controversial issue because the disparity between male and female population are partly attributed to increased incidence in hip dysplasia among females.  

Consequently this factor (hip dysplasia) can not  be accountable alone, remembering that many patients with hip labral tears don't have hip dysplasia.  In addition to that, lack of absolute epidemiologic evidence keep us from definite conclusions.There is a strong need to conduct an epidemilogic study to find out the sex factor in hip labral tears.




Reference:
1. Lewis, Cara L., and Shirley A. Sahrmann. "Acetabular Labral Tears." Physical Therapy. Journal of the American Physical Therapy Association, n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2012.
2. "A Comprehensive Review of Hip Labral Tears." National Center for Biotechnology Information U.S National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web 17 Dec. 2012. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/>.

Aging and Hip Labral Tears

The relationship between aging and hip labral tear still remains to be a controversial issue. While some clinical studies on hip labral tear concludes that labral abnormalities are part of the aging process, other clinical studies correlates labral tears with joint pathology and hip pain. 

 












Clinical evidence shows that within the elderly population aged at an average of 78 years, the incidence of labral abnormalities and tears were noted without the presence of a hip pain. These studies indicate a certain deterioration may accompany to the aging process.  Thus , although degeneration is being described in correlation to the aged joint,
it is hard to explain certain hip labral tear cases, where labral abnormalities are present among young population with a hip pain. 





Reference:
1. Lewis, Cara L., and Shirley A. Sahrmann. "Acetabular Labral Tears." Physical Therapy. Journal of the American Physical Therapy Association, n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2012.
2. "A Comprehensive Review of Hip Labral Tears." National Center for Biotechnology Information U.S National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web 16 Dec. 2012. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/>.