If your feet are contributing to your regular or prolonged hip pain, a  footwear assessment and biomechanical analysis might offer some insight into the source of your pain.

The hip is one of the most crucial parts of our skeletal system. Connecting the legs through to the torso, our hips are a focal point for a lot of the movement that we undertake in our day to day lives. Because of their location, our hips are subject to more stress and pressure than nearly any other part of our body. Hip pain can be a very awkward and uncomfortable thing to deal with and possibly stems from the biomechanics of the feet.

If you are experiencing hip pain, your feet could be the cause. If the feet are misaligned or unstable, or the biomechanics of your walking or running aren’t quite right, your hips can become adversely affected causing hip pain. Often we see patients who have overused particular muscles, strained hip ligaments and irritated the bursa (the small fluid filled sac over the joint) causing bursitis of the hip.

Hip pain may be caused by:

• Misaligned, flat or tired feet:
  Having misaligned, flat or tired feet rapidly promotes the stress that is placed on other joints such as the ankle, knee and hip. This is because these joints try to ‘pick up the slack’ left by the misaligned, flat or tired feet.
• Unequal leg length:
  Having unequal leg length doesn’t necessarily mean that one leg is drastically shorter or longer than the other. It could be as simple as a 0.5cm difference on a particular area of the foot or ankle. Such a small difference can have a massive impact on the pressure exerted to one or both of the hip joints, often resulting in prolonged hip injuries and pain.
• Posture and Gait:
  Posture and gait (walking/running style) are closely related and can heavily influence other areas of the body. Even the most minor abnormalities in posture and gait can result in increased stress on the hip joints and other areas of the body. Undertaking a biomechanical assessment and analysis from one of our podiatrists can identify the cause of your hip pains and direct treatment options.

Our podiatrists can undertake a biomechanical and footwear assessment to determine the cause of your hip pain and prescribe appropriate measures and treatments to get you on the path to recovery. Don’t let hip pain affect your lifestyle, come see an Instep podiatrist today.

If you regularly suffer from hip pain, talk to Instep Podiatry today to see how we can help you, contact us for a consultation.