Finding Hip Pain Relief in Flemington: A PT Journey

If you struggle with hip pain, you are not alone! This is a common problem we see as we help clients with physical therapy in Flemington. In fact, more than 14% of Americans surveyed reported significant hip pain most days, making it hard to sit, sleep, walk, climb stairs, etc. And the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons' most recent report says more than 951,000 people underwent total hip replacement surgeries in 2022!

But hip pain is also tricky because it’s not always so simple to diagnose. Sometimes pain originating in the hip can also show up in the knees or lower back! It’s all connected inside your body, so this can easily lead to misdiagnoses, long-term pain, and a dip in your quality of life. So, what can you do about hip pain? Our friend Mike is here to tell you what worked for him: physical therapy strength exercises at A Life In Balance!

Physical Therapy for Hip Pain: How It All Began

Mike’s hip pain relief journey started simply enough: He wanted to get back into shape so he could play more with his active grandkids! He’d also noticed that going up and down the stairs in his home had become harder over time.

"I had been a moderately active person, but I slowed down too much this past winter,” says Mike. It happens to a lot of us!

So, he decided to slowly build his stamina again through exercise, which is always a great choice. It’s never too late to get back in shape, after all! In fact, staying fit is extremely important at all ages, and can even help us prevent injuries in the future. But like a lot of folks coming back to working out after an extended time of less activity, Mike tweaked something. 

“My issue started in February 2024,” explains Mike. “I started doing home exercise again. I had been fairly sedentary and wanted to increase my stamina, flexibility, and balance. So, I started with just a few squats daily.”

Things were going well initially, he says. “Over two weeks, I slowly added more reps and increased the depth of the squats.” And then it happened: “Finally, I either pinched a nerve or overtaxed a muscle deep within my left hip, creating enough continuous pain to make it difficult to sleep. It was time for help."

Hip Pain Relief: Connecting the Dots with Strength and PT

Mike, who loves a good Italian meal with pasta, chicken, and sauce (yum), is not one to accept that the pain is just part of life, and we agree with him. He reached out to us at A Life in Balance when he realized he needed help. Dr. Paula ran a full evaluation to figure out where Mike’s strength imbalances were and how his compensations in movement were leading to discomfort.

 “Compensation is a normal part of movement, but over time, if the body adapts to those compensations, overuse injuries occur,” explains Dr. Paula. Mike was adjusting his movement to avoid hip pain, and “He worked hard to address compensations in his movement that lead ultimately to discomfort.”

Dr. Paula then developed a strengthening exercise program to help Mike with his hip pain and overall fitness. She adds, “Mike’s hip pain was ultimately addressed by looking at the way his core muscles provided a baseline for his movement. We were then able to train his other muscles to engage and sequence to generate power and get rid of pain.”

“They call it homework,” Mike laughs. He laughs about it in hindsight, but Mike worked diligently on his strengthening homework every day, as Lauren, our Physical Therapist Assistant who works with Mike twice a week, explains:

“Mike was religious about doing his exercises and progressed fairly quickly,” says Lauren. “He also admitted that he needed to do more fitness exercises and was excited when we spoke about going back to the gym and using pain as a guide. We honed on core and hip-specific strengthening and correcting compensations from one hip to the other. We also corrected his form with exercises he was already doing. He was also excited and willing to try yoga here in the office with Dr. Aurora. He continues to go weekly!"

Yoga and Holistic Physical Therapy for Hip Pain

Variety and balance are two of the things Mike has enjoyed about doing physical therapy in Flemington, and it’s really helped him overcome his hip pain while getting stronger, more limber, and more active.

“It’s so important to get your body in balance and maintain it,” says Mike. “I was amazed as I progressed through the homework at how much better I felt overall.”

We love that Mike has a good understanding of balance and body strength in his recovery. “My favorite activity is walking! Two years ago, my wife and I were walking together 3-4 days a week for 3 miles along the canal on the PA side of the Delaware River,” he says. “And right now, I like the rowing machine, but I’ve found that any single exercise can become tedious, so you need to keep trying different things.”

To help Mike with more variety and balance, while continuing to improve his body strength to prevent further injury, Dr. Paula recommended he try yoga, as Lauren earlier explained. Mike adds, “So far, I've made my way through 3 yoga classes and realize, that if I stick with it, I can achieve some serious improvement in both balance and flexibility. Dr. Aurora teaches a great class, and she's definitely a great person to work with, even if you have never done yoga previously, which I hadn't.”

July Functional Movement Challenge: Pull!

Mike is also enjoying our ALIB functional movement challenge during this hot month of July: a strength booster called “Pull!” It’s an excellent abdominal stabilizer that relies on the grip strength in your hand. The stronger your grip, the stronger the pull. A strong grip boosts vitality and enhances your core strength too, which is always a good thing!

To test your grip strength, we'll be using a “Dynamometer”. This handy device, popular among Olympic athletes, coaches, trainers, and physical therapists worldwide, lets you measure your grip strength instantly. Just squeeze the handle, and it shows your strength.

The best part of the challenge is that it doesn’t require any modifications for different fitness levels. Anyone can do it! Just grab hold and squeeze! It’s that easy. Try it throughout the month to see if you can beat your record each time! And then let everyone know how you’re doing on our Facebook or Instagram!

Try Hunterdon County Physical Therapy for Hip Pain

When Mike first came to visit us here at our Hunterdon County physical therapy office, he could barely sleep at night because of the hip pain. But he has a message for everyone in pain out there:

“Don’t accept your problem. Do something about it. I can now sleep much better through the night since the pain is mostly gone. At ALIB, they look at your entire body to get you moving again.”

So, if you’re struggling with hip pain or any other injury, schedule an appointment today! We’re eager to help!