Why do you need physical therapy for a hip labral tear?

Waking up at night with hip pain. An aching hip that feels worse when you walk or bend forward. Clicking or popping noises when your hip moves. People dealing with such symptoms likely have an injury known as a hip labral tear. 

The hip labrum is a thin ring of cartilage that coats the outer rim of your hip socket, and a medical study found that nearly 39% of those surveyed had a hip labral tear. Your primary care doctor may recommend that you have physical therapy for a hip labral tear. However, you might not be sure why this type of care can help your hip injury. 

Four reasons you need physical therapy when you have a hip labral tear

Physical therapists are trained to treat a wide range of musculoskeletal disorders. This includes providing physical therapy for injuries like hip labral tears. Here are four key reasons why people with this issue should seek a physical therapist’s help: 

1. Building hip muscle strength — Weak hip muscles can make injuries like a hip labral tear more likely. Your physical therapist can use therapeutic exercises to help build hip muscles up. A study of patients who used therapeutic hip exercises found that the exercises helped: 

• Boost hip flexor strength by 24.4%
• Increase hip extensor strength by 47.8%
• Improve strength of hip abductors by 41.2% 

2. Reducing hip pain — Hip pain is the most common symptom of a hip labral tear. A therapy specialist can use techniques like dry needling to reduce this pain. One dry needling study reveals that it decreased patients’ worst level of pain by almost 53 points. 

3. Improving hip function — Hip injuries typically lead to reduced hip function; this can make walking and other normal daily activities harder to do. Working with a physical therapist can help boost your hip function after an injury. One study of a therapy method called manual therapy reports that it helped improve hip function by 44 points in 12 sessions. 

4. Decreasing risk of future hip injury — A comprehensive physical therapy plan can address all the symptoms of your hip labral tear. Such a plan can also help address underlying issues that could lead to a repeat of this injury. Even better, it can help reduce your risk of post-injury issues like hip osteoarthritis. 

SSOR offers physical therapy for hip labral tears

Ready to find effective physical therapy for your hip labral tear? Our SSOR therapy team can help you get the top-notch therapeutic care you need for this injury. We can perform a comprehensive screening to confirm that you have a hip labral tear. Then, our specialists will create a personalized rehab plan for you. This plan will be designed to help you get all four of the benefits discussed above. 

Is your hip injury keeping you stuck at home? No worries! You don’t have to leave home to get help from our team. We offer at-home care and virtual therapy services that you can use right from your home. 

Contact us today for more information about our hip injury treatment services or to schedule an initial appointment.