What You Should Know About Workplace Hip Injuries
When you consider the subject of work-related injuries, common examples such as herniated discs and carpal tunnel syndrome may spring to mind. However, many people also experience acute or chronic hip injuries stemming from their daily tasks. Treatment can range from rest and physical therapy to surgical joint replacement.
The more you know about workplace hip injuries, the more readily you can recognize the signs of a hip injury in the making, seek appropriate orthopedic care, and reduce your risk for future such injuries once you’ve recuperated. Take a moment to acquaint yourself with hip injury causes, symptoms, and solutions.
Why Different Kinds of Hip Injuries Occur
The hip may look like a simple ball-and-socket joint, but it relies on tendons, muscles, ligaments, and other structures to hold the joint together and control its motion. Many hip injuries involve strains, sprains, or other damage to these soft tissues. If you constantly bend or twist in your work, you can injure these tissues.
Hip fractures can also occur in the workplace. A slip and fall incident, a fall from a great height, or a forceful collision impact can break the bones that make up the ball and/or socket of the joint. In most cases, the break occurs at the neck of the femur or just below, in a part of the femur known as the intertrochanteric area.
Degeneration of the hip’s ball and/or socket can develop after years of overuse on the job. When constant stress on the joint causes its layer of cushioning cartilage to break up, osteoarthritis can set in, limiting your ability to work without pain or even do any work at all.
When to Suspect a Hip Injury
Hip injury symptoms can vary widely depending on the specific type of injury you sustain. Repetitive motion injuries such as tendonitis, muscular strains, osteoarthritis, and bursitis (inflammation of the anti-friction sacs in joints) can produce steadily-worsening discomfort, while an acute hip fracture can cause immediate, agonizing pain.
If your hip tends to bother you more when you first start work and then feel a little better once you start moving it, you may have osteoarthritis. A burning pain in your thigh might mean a compressed nerve. Strains and sprains can create thigh pain, stiffness, and spasms. A hip fracture often causes the foot to turn outward.
How Medical Specialists Treat Hip Injuries
An orthopedic specialist can diagnose your hip injury and create a treatment plan to get you back into working condition again. Rest and cold packs at home can help many soft tissue injuries heal. You may also need a course of physical therapy to strengthen and limber the healing tissues safely and gradually.
Rarely, a hip fracture can heal on its own as long as you don’t put any weight on it for the prescribed recuperation period. However, most cases call for surgical replacement or repair. If the socket of your hip remains undamaged, the surgeon may simply replace the ball. Pins or screws can repair more complex fractures.
Chiropractic care, anti-inflammatory medications, and regular exercise can prove helpful for managing hip osteoarthritis. In severe cases, you might benefit from a total hip replacement. This form of surgery replaces both the ball and socket, eliminating painful bone-on-bone friction.
How to Prevent Future Workplace Hip Injuries
You can reduce your risk of hip injuries somewhat by keeping yourself fit. Exercises can help maintain strong bones and flexible tendons. Warm-up stretches can limber up your hips before work. Ask your workplace about other safeguards such as protective clothing, floor mats, and ergonomic work practices.
Extra weight can make you more vulnerable to hip injuries. Ask your orthopedic surgeon or therapist if you could benefit from a medically-supervised weight loss plan.
Whether a sudden accident or years of work-related wear and tear caused your hip injury, Maximum Orthopedics can help. Our skilled team of medical experts can diagnose the nature of the hip injury, prescribe an individualized treatment plan, and guide you through the steps toward an optimal recovery. Contact Workers Compensation Drs today.
- Posted on: Dec 28 2023