Massage For Hip Pain Factors, Part 1

The hips are vital central points in the body, structural supports that provide balance and coordination for several other important muscles and areas. For this reason, hip pain can come in a variety of forms, and may be due to several different primary causes. 

At Jenna Baker LMT, we can help with several forms of massage services, including deep tissue massage, to help identify the sources of your hip pain and help relieve your symptoms. In part one of this two-pat blog, we’ll go over several areas that may relate to your hip pain, plus how massage can help relax these areas. 

Leg Muscles

The hips play a big role in how we move around, most importantly the leg muscles. These are two strongly linked parts of the body – it’s common for issues in one to trickle down to the other, or vice versa. One good example here is flat foot arches, which may not seem directly connected to the hips, but can lead to feet rolling in (over-pronating) while you walk. This in turn can cause pressure on the knee and the hip, as the muscles in these joints are pulled or shortened as the body compensates for the flat feet. 

Massage, however, can help restore the balance between these areas. It can release muscles that are too tight, particularly gastrocnemius muscles. 

Glutes

Short for gluteal muscles, the glutes are the single largest muscle found in the human body. For this reason, tightness or spasms in the glutes can lead to major pain symptoms in many cases. 

You may not have considered it important for glute-related therapy, but some of our massage solutions here might include work on your elbows. Control over the angle and pressure of the elbow has a significant effect on tightness in glute muscles, and can help you apply static pressure to deep muscle fibers. The effects of this pressure will be felt in the hips. 

Hamstrings and Quads

In many cases, hip pain originates in tight hamstrings or quadriceps muscles. Tight hamstrings pull the pelvic bone down, while tight quads actually pull these same pelvic bones forward, tilting them out of balance and toward the hips. 

Luckily, both these muscle areas do very well with massage. They both respond well to slow, deep massage formats that help lengthen muscle fibers. 

Lateral Rotators

Lateral rotators are a group of muscles that help rotate the leg laterally, with the toes out. But they also contain a passageway where the sciatic nerve runs, and if tightness takes place in the rotators, it may also transfer to the sciatic nerve and cause sciatic hip pain. 

Once again, the elbows are a prominent massage area that can help here. We can help apply pressure to release tightness in rotators, combined with stretches and lateral movements. 

For more on how massage can help with hip pain, or to learn about any of our injury massage services, speak to the staff at Jenna Baker LMT today.