Here at MAPS Centers for Pain Control, we provide non-surgical, minimally invasive hip pain treatments designed to deliver lasting relief. These treatments can be especially positive if you are an athlete dealing with injury-related hip pain. When left unaddressed, hip pain can seriously impede your mobility. To mitigate it, many people turn to surgical solutions. Not only are these treatments invasive, but they can also be ineffective. That’s why more and more people are opting for alternative methods, such as the solutions offered at MAPS. Let’s examine the root causes of pain and how our hip pain specialists can help.

What Causes Hip Pain in Athletes?

Hip pain is often associated with older age. While your risk does increase with age, anyone can experience hip pain—especially athletes. The high activity levels associated with sports can lead to the following injuries:

• Muscle strains and fractures: Frequent, intense movements may strain the muscles around the hips. In more severe cases, the entire hip joint can fracture.
• Labral tears: Your hip socket is surrounded by a ring of cartilage. Known as the labral, this area may tear after repetitive movements.
• Hip flexor tendinitis: Movements such as sprinting and jumping can cause inflammation in the hip tendon, which connects the hip to the knee.
• Osteoarthritis: This degenerative disease makes joints break down over time. Athletes experience lots of wear and tear, which may increase the chances of osteoarthritis.

While any athlete can experience hip pain, it’s more common in sports that exert pressure on the hips. These include soccer, hockey, running and gymnastics.

How Can I Treat Hip Pain?

No matter the cause of hip pain, it’s important to seek treatment. At MAPS, we provide effective, non-surgical solutions that help you achieve a pain-free life. Here’s a brief overview of our top treatments.

Interventional Pain Procedures

Using the latest medical technology, our interventional procedures intercept pain signals before they reach the brain. We offer two main types:

• Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA): RFA uses heat energy to disrupt pain signals.
• Spinal Cord Stimulator Implantation: In this treatment, electrical impulses are delivered to the spine to interrupt pain signals.

Injection-Based Therapy

Many patients achieve long-lasting results through one of the following injections:

• Lumbar and cervical injections: Target the lower back area providing localized relief from pain and inflammation associated with conditions such as herniated discs.
• Sacroiliac joint injection: Targets the sacroiliac joint at the base of the spine,offering targeted relief for athletes experiencing pain or dysfunction in this area.
  Trigger point injections: Trigger point injections are designed to address tight muscle knots, known as trigger points, which can contribute to localized pain and restricted mobility in athletes.
• Lumbar sympathetic block: Targets the sympathetic nerves near the lower back, providing targeted relief for athletes experiencing chronic pain conditions.
• Intra-articular joint injections: Target the hip joint, delivering therapeutic medication directly into the affected area to alleviate pain and inflammation commonly experienced by athletes. By precisely targeting the hip joint, these injections can provide targeted relief, allowing athletes to manage hip pain effectively and facilitate their return to optimal performance levels.
• Hyaluronic Acid Injections: Targets the hip joint using hyaluronic acid (a natural substance found in the fluid of joints). This treatment aims to restore joint function and alleviate discomfort, enabling athletes to regain mobility and pursue their athletic endeavors with ease.
• Viscosupplementation for arthritic joints: Targets arthritic joints using hyaluronic acid, allowing athletes to experience enhanced mobility and reduced pain, facilitating their return to athletic activities with improved comfort and performance.
• Epidural steroid injection: Targets the spinal cord using corticosteroids, these injections can provide effective relief from nerve-related pain, allowing athletes to manage spinal issues and resume their athletic pursuits with greater comfort and mobility.
• Ganglion impar block: Targets nerves near the tailbone, this procedure aims to interrupt pain signals and provide relief for athletes experiencing discomfort in this area.

Alternative Medicine

In addition to our standard injections, we offer an alternative, innovative injection therapy solution that uses growth elements. More specifically, it utilizes natural body fluids that possess healing abilities.

Physical Therapy

Our treatments are paired with personalized physical therapy. Through a variety of exercises, our physical therapists can speed recovery, improve mobility and restore functionality.

Achieve Long-Term Pain Relief at MAPS

If you’re suffering from hip pain after an athletic injury, the MAPS team can help. As a leading Chicagoland medical practice, we specialize in long-lasting, effective results. After an evaluation, our hip pain doctors will devise a personalized treatment rooted in non-surgical solutions. Contact our team today for a consultation!