Natural Treatment For Hip Flexor Strain: Causes And Symptoms

The hip flexor is a group of muscles which are situated on the anterior aspect of the hip and helps the forward movement of the leg when your walk, jog or run. When you kick or sprint, a lot of stress is put on to the hip flexor. This stress causes hip flexor strain.

Consequently, the muscles tear or stretch and the condition is quite painful.

Trauma to the hip flexor occurs as a consequence of vigorous movements of the hip flexor joint. Type 1 trauma is the least severe kind; it is caused when there is a minor tear in the hip muscles or the tendons. Type 2 trauma is caused when the hip muscles get partly torn. Type 3 is the severest kind of injury, where the muscles get ruptured completely.

Causes And Symptoms Of Hip Flexor Strain

The chief cause for hip flexor strain is injury / trauma caused to the hip muscles by physical trauma. Common triggers include – a fall, if you run suddenly very fast or after kicking a ball.

The muscles are susceptible to this trauma when they are taut and inflexible. A large degree of pressure gets exerted on the muscles during these activities which causes injury.

Symptoms: Symptoms depend upon the intensity of the injury. There will be sudden excruciating pain. The pain occurs in the anterior aspect of the thigh. Then, the pain will radiate downwards. Pain is aggravated when you move your leg forwards or upwards. Walking is painful as well. There will be swelling and bruising too.

Natural Remedies For Hip Flexor Strain

You must confer with your health care provider; that is very vital. An examination of your hip and thigh will help assess the extent of damage.

  • Ice application over the affected area is the first line of treatment. Place ice packs for 15 minutes several times during the day. This allays the inflammation, swelling and pain.
  • Take anti-inflammatory medications in consultation with your doctor.
  • Rest is very crucial. Do not do any activity which aggravates your pain.
  • Schedule yourself for physiotherapy. Gradual stretching of the muscles helps enhance the strength and flexibility of your hip joint. Hip flexor exercises are decidedly beneficial. The exercises comprise of simple stretching of the hip muscles. Perform these exercises daily under the supervision of a physical therapist. It helps accelerate the process of healing, and reinstates normal functioning of the hip flexor muscles.
  • Whilst sleeping, keep a pillow below the legs.
  • Do not return to usual sports activities very soon after the hip muscles injury. Consult your doctor and understand from him how long you need to wait before resuming normal activities. Once the mobility, strength and flexibility have normalized, then you can recommence your sporting activities. A good warm up before any sport is a must; it helps bring down the tension in the muscles, and thus, you will be less vulnerable to injury.
  • After 24 hours of the injury, use warm application; it allays pain and discomfort appreciably. You could use a heating pad.
  • Also, massage therapy is an excellent solution to the discomfort and what’s more, it’ll hasten healing as well. Integrating aromatherapy with massage therapy proffers additional benefits.