Hip pain assessment in Melbourne

Where hip pain actually comes from

Hip pain is a location, not a diagnosis. The true source can be the hip joint itself, the bursa (a small fluid-filled cushion over the joint) or the gluteal tendons that attach the buttock muscles to the outer hip, or it can be referred, meaning it starts elsewhere and is felt at the hip. The lower back and the sacroiliac joint (where the base of the spine meets the pelvis) are the two most common sources of pain that people mistake for a hip problem.

Because several structures overlap in the same area, working out which one is actually driving your pain is the point of the assessment, not something a person can reliably tell from where it hurts alone.

Why long sitting loads the hip

Sitting for long stretches keeps the hip in a flexed position, shortens the muscles at the front of the hip and puts sustained load through the gluteal tendons at the outer hip and the joints of the lower back and pelvis. Standing back up after hours at a desk, then asking the hip to suddenly bear full load and range of motion, is a common trigger for the ache many people notice by mid-afternoon.

This is a large and growing part of who we see: people spending most of the day seated for work, then wondering why the hip complains on the walk to the car or the school pickup.

The nervous system picture

Dr Arthur Kaganovitch (Chiropractor) sees hip pain follow the same pattern as pain elsewhere in the body: a joint or set of tendons under sustained load, with the surrounding area guarding and the nervous system holding tension around it. Treating only the sore spot without addressing the load pattern feeding it, whether that is a stiff lower back, a rotated pelvis or hours of sitting, tends not to hold.

Care is directed at what the examination and scans actually find, whether that means the hip joint, the pelvis, the lower back, or a combination, rather than assuming the hip is always the source because that is where it hurts.

When hip pain needs medical assessment

Some hip pain needs medical attention rather than chiropractic care. See a doctor promptly for a fall in an older adult, an inability to bear weight on the leg, hip pain with fever, or sudden severe pain after an injury. These can signal a fracture or infection that needs urgent medical management.

What we do

Your assessment includes a full case history, a spinal and neurological examination, and specific testing to help tell whether the hip, the lower back or the pelvis is driving your pain. Dr Arthur uses Gonstead analysis to examine the pelvis and lumbar spine in detail, since a rotated or restricted pelvis often changes how load moves through the hip.

We measure your nervous system with heart rate variability and thermographic scans, then explain plainly what we found before any care begins. If a gluteal tendon or bursa issue needs care beyond what we offer, we will tell you directly.