What I have realised over the years is that basically our hips struggle to be on hard flat surfaces year after year and that’s the main reason why so many of us get pain in our lower limbs. So what we need to do is find as many possible way to protect ourselves from the stress of concrete as we can. This process for pain sufferers is usually about strengthening the right muscles, but it’s also about the right footwear, the right habits and the right orthotics. But let’s look at the nature of the problem for a moment so we can gain better understanding.

Living without hip pain is at the most fundamental level about having the freedom to live a normal happy active life.

Hip pain can be a real misery but it can also just be a mild annoyance. At one end of the hip pain spectrum we experience mild niggle discomfort during or after active times or maybe when we sit for long periods. At the deep end of the hip pain spectrum our life can be swallowed up by pain, frustration, fear and uncertainty. Only people who truly experienced being real sick or really sore for a long period know how this feels.. it’s no fun at all.

The truth is that for the most part is that all these levels of hip pain exist on a spectrum. Those of us with mild but stubborn niggles in our hips have the beginning of the wear and tear that can cause bigger problems later on.

Consider for a moment how many different issues can come about due to tooth decay. Everything from scraping off some plaque right through to severe decay – fillings – bone infections – root canals and extractions all trace back to the same essential cause … SUGAR ! The story or joints and concrete is a similar story.

Largely hip pain is the same as tooth decay in that the wide range of problems we get all relate back to one root cause .. CONCRETE !

How well equipped we are to deal with sugar in terms of our genetics makeup, habits and education determines how much decay we get in our life time. Similarly .. how well physical and mentally equipped we are to deal with concrete determines how many hip problems in our lifetime.

Our ancestors walked mostly on relatively soft uneven ground and didn’t live as long as us. Concrete and tarmac are very hard and very flat and we walk in them year in year out for a lot of years. The combines effect over time is wasting of our hip muscles and wear and tear in our joints.

When we x Ray 55 year old’s we are very very hard pressed to find one with no arthritic change whatsoever in their foot – knee – hip and spine. When we muscles test 55 year old’s who live in urban environments even the get for ones usually show signs of muscles wasting in their hip stabilisers. I believe this is because of the hard flat jarring surfaces we live on.

The Good News is that there is a lot that can be done about the wear and tear we experience in our hips and other joints.

-Carefully prescribed exercises that target the hip muscles can restore bulk and tone to our stabilisers.

-Small adjustments to our running and walking habits take strain off the joints and tone the muscles.

-Choosing to run or walk trails rather than pavements can increase the amount of exercise we get and decrease the amount of wear and tear we suffer.

-Appropriate treatments for pain like muscles manipulation and joint mobilisations can heal the build ups of pain and stress in our hips.

-Custom orthotics like the ones that podiatrists and myself prescribe take both immediate and log term stress off the joints by supporting the feet.

taking proper professional advice ( as opposed to advice from a teenager in a shoe store – no offence intended teenagers in shoes stores ) on correct footwear for pain sufferers.

If you are looking for pain relief, custom orthotics like those prescribed by podiatrists or a custom rehabilitation program please feel to get in touch with us.