In recent years, physical therapists and orthopedic surgeons have noticed a new demographic in their offices, and it’s not the one they were expecting. With the rise in high intensity workouts, including CrossFit, heavy weightlifting, and metabolic conditioning classes, more young adults under 35 have been suffering from overwhelming hip pain.
New research in the Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy says that while there is no official correlation, these exercises seem to be increasing the risk of hip osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint disease, in otherwise physically healthy adults. An article in The Washington Post also reported that at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, more Millennials are diagnosed with femoral acetabular impingement, where the ball of the femur fuses abnormally into the hip socket due to high levels of activity. Unfortunately, this is not a new phenomenon: when the CrossFit phenomena took off a few years ago, Shane Nho, an orthopedic surgeon at Chicago’s Rush University Medical Center, noticed an increase in hip, shoulder, and knee injuries.
However, the detrimental wear-and-tear most likely isn’t entirely the fault of the workout. Experts, such as Nho, suggest that the injuries result from people pushing themselves beyond their limits, often ignoring form, mechanics, fatigue levels, flexibility, and baseline conditioning. Weaknesses in certain muscle groups, or neuromuscular imbalances, result, causing the pain. Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean that all high-intensity workouts should be avoided.
Improving stability and flexibility through yoga or Pilates can help people ensure their bodies are properly conditioned for such extreme exercising. Flexibility helps protect against injury and strengthen underused, smaller stabilizing muscles that are critical to ensuring longterm health. However, if people ignore the potential damage and don’t seek advice from a physical therapist or orthopedic physician, joint replacement surgery may become necessary.
If hip or joint pain is impairing your ability to lead an active life, consult with one of POA’s orthopedic surgeons in Renton, Covington, and Maple Valley. Our western Washington orthopedic physicians can help you through both surgical and non-surgical options. Call us at (425) 656-5060 for an appointment.