A snapping hip is also often referred to as a jump hip or a dancer hip. The disease affects 10-20% of people. It is a condition characterized by the feeling (sometimes hearing) of a fairly loud but painless movement of the fascia band over the bony protrusion of the femoral trochanter.

A slamming hip (jumping hip, dancer's hip) is a consequence of the conflict between soft tissues and protruding bone elements. Conflict is understood as the improper distribution of the muscle forces that allow the hip joint to move. At first, a slamming hip does not cause any serious discomfort. It is rather discomfort when moving the leg.

Crunching hip occurs during adduction of the leg bent in the hip or twisting it outwards. Some patients are able to induce the skipping symptom themselves. The hip can jump one-sided or two-sided. This condition has nothing to do with the internal displacement of the femoral head in the joint.

With time, however, pain (sometimes even severe) will appear and patients seek help from a specialist - an orthopedist or rheumatologist. The places where skipping is most often felt are the groin area and the lateral surface of the hip joint. In the case of the groin, the iliopsoas tendon rubs against the head of the femur or the ilio-pubic prominence.

The hip crash is caused by changing the hip position from bending or straightening the leg. When crackles are felt on the lateral surface of the hip joint, the fibrous iliotibial band conflicts with the greater trochanter of the femur. The crash occurs when you change the hip position from extension to flexion.

Crackling hip - causes

The conflict between the tissues and protruding bone fragments arises due to the excessive tension of the fibrous structures or due to the asymmetry of the muscles of the hip joint. The reasons that may contribute to this are:

  • various types of posture defects, including those arising in childhood and not corrected, such as valgus knees, hip flexion contracture
  • abnormalities in the joints due to degenerative changes or rheumatic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA)
  • hip injuries
  • treatmentssurgical performed in the area of ​​the hip joint
  • overload of the hips as a result of sports, e.g. running long distances or due to being overweight
  • abnormalities in the construction of the hip joint
  • chronic inflammation or scarring of muscle tendons

Slapping hip - Symptoms

It has already been mentioned that in the initial stage of the disease, patients do not feel any serious ailments, but rather discomfort when moving the leg. With time, however, an unpleasant, dull pain appears in the area of ​​the hip joint.

Another symptom is crackling or skipping sounds heard by the patient and feeling of shifting muscle structures.

Patients with slamming hip often have trouble walking, tire quickly, and have to stop when they are forced to walk long distances.

Crackling hip treatment

Anyone suspected of clicking hips should consult a physician.

During the visit, the specialist performs an examination to provoke a clicking noise in the hip. Sometimes the sick person can show jumping himself. X-ray (X-ray) of the hip joint is always the confirmation of the initial diagnosis.

Usually the x-ray does not show changes in or around the bones that make up the hip joint.

If hip hopping does occur from time to time, it does not generally require specialist treatment. When it is repeated, it often requires more care as it can cause walking abnormalities, i.e. walking impairments.

The goal of treatment is also to relieve the patient of pain. It is also about preventing the inflammation of the synovial bursa above the trochanter. Once such inflammation develops, surgery is required.

The treatment of crackling hip involves the selection of appropriate rehabilitation and the administration of anti-inflammatory drugs. In severe forms of the disease, the patient is recommended steroids.

The duration of the treatment is difficult to predict because each of us reacts differently to treatment. Usually, however, the therapy is carried out for several weeks or even several months.

Surgical treatment of a popping hip is performed using an arthroscope. During the procedure, the specialist performs plastic surgery of the tense tendon. This allows you to discolor, i.e. reduce the tension in the tendon. In addition, the doctor eliminates any irregularities in the hip joint so that there is no friction when moving the leg. The point is also that abnormal structures in the joint should not cause the joint to jam.

Necessary after arthroscopythere is a rehabilitation lasting several weeks. Some patients after plastic surgery experience joint pain in the knee, hip and ankle joints after prolonged walking.

After the procedure, you should use crutches to save the operated limb.

Cracking hip - physical therapy

Physiotherapeutic treatments reduce the inflammation of soft tissues in the periarticular area and reduce pain. In physical therapy of clicking hips, the following are used:

  • laser therapy
  • high-intensity ultrasound waves (so-called shock waves) - under the influence of high pressure, the waves penetrate deep into the body and go straight to the sick places
  • magnetic field
  • local cryotherapy of the diseased joint
  • iontophoresis with an analgesic (given by direct current)
  • electrostimulation with low-frequency currents
  • kinesiotaping, i.e. covering the sick joint with elastic tapes; the method is recommended in the first stage of the disease to relieve the joint and speed up the treatment process and reduce the risk of injury during physical exertion; the tapes do not restrict movement, so they allow you to exercise and walk freely
  • therapeutic exercises under the supervision of a therapist reduce the tension of the ilio-lumbar muscle or the iliotibial band - the best exercises are stretching exercises that restore flexibility to contracted soft structures, which may increase pain

Slapping hip - how to prevent it?

The best prophylaxis for a slamming hip is to properly treat any postural defects in children. We often forget that posture defects that have not been corrected in childhood have an effect in adulthood.

People actively involved in sports must not forget to warm up before exercise, because stretching the muscles and warming them up helps to avoid injuries.

It is also important to take care of muscle strength and try to maintain the correct body posture so that the hip joints are equally stressed.

About the authorAnna Jarosz A journalist who has been involved in popularizing he alth education for over 40 years. Winner of many competitions for journalists dealing with medicine and he alth. She received, among others The "Golden OTIS" Trust Award in the "Media and He alth" category, St. Kamil awarded on the occasion of the World Day of the Sick, twice the "Crystal Pen" in the national competition for journalists promoting he alth, and many awards and distinctions in competitions for the "Medical Journalist of the Year" organized by the Polish Association of Journalists for He alth.

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Category:

Anatomy