I have been seeing a few clients recently who have been told they needed a hip replacement. According to WebMD, the number of hip replacement procedures that have been performed in the US has doubled in the last ten years. The reason, doctors say, is an increase in osteoarthritis. And patients are getting younger and younger.

Martha Peterson recently posted “The Top 3 Myths About Hip Pain”, which are very helpful in helping our clients avoid possibly unnecessary surgery.

Myth Number 1: “You Hip Pain is due to arthritis” Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t. Many clients tell me their doctors have said “it’s just apart of aging”. I find that hard to believe in otherwise healthy people under the age of 50. I find it hard to believe in otherwise healthy people of any age, actually. I do find that doctors are quick to dismiss pain as result of “aging”, but how can any condition be the result of simply getting older?

Myth Number 2: “Your hips are weak” If muscles are tight, they are habitually contracted. Habitually contracted muscles are already working too hard. Muscles that are working too hard are not weak, they cannot be released to be weak and unusable. Hanna Somatics helps to identify this habituated over-contraction, and helps clients to regain control over the full length of the muscles, not just the part that has been contracting.

Myth Number 3: “Surgery is the only option for hip pain” Although good intentioned, oftentimes doctors are looking at a problem to fix, rather than look at the bigger patterns that may have contributed to hip pain in the first place. Although habituated muscle function can lead to structural damage, I witness many people who are just not there yet. They still have time to deconstruct patterns in the body, correct, and improve movement in the hip joints and center of the body.

I also find that clients start to “protect” their hips by not moving them very much, leading to greater immobility and tighter joints in the center of the body as well as the hips. Then it is a case of the muscles of the center working harder and doing extra jobs, potentially leading to more pain. Once the center of the body is released, the brain can trust fuller movement again, and hip pain is relieved.

For Martha’s full article, and a great video on releasing the center of the body, click here.