Snapping Hip Syndrome

Snapping hip syndrome is identified as a snapping or clicking sensation (and possible sound) in the hip joint that may or may not cause pain. The hip may also feel unstable and may give a sensation like your hip will give out. In most cases, the condition is more of an annoyance than anything serious but repeated snapping or popping may induce worsening pain, irritation and damage in the iliopsoas tendon. There is greater risk of an occurrence of bursitis due to snapping hip syndrome.

Snapping hip syndrome occurs when a tendon running along the front or side of the hip flexor pops or snaps over a bone. This occurs when the leg moves from flexion to extension with the iliopsoas, or hip flexor, muscle. Snapping hip syndrome can be divided into different types: external, internal or intra-articular, which depend on where the snap is occurring.

External Snapping Hip

This occurrence of snapping hip syndrome and is often referred to as an external clicking hip. It happens when either: (1) the Iliotibial band (IT band) slides over the greater trochanter at the top of the femur, or (2) when the gluteus maximus muscle slides over the greater trochanter. During hip flexion, when the leg moves forward, the gluteus maximus contracts and the tendon or muscle is pulled over the greater trochanter along with the iliotibial tract (IT band). When the gluteus medius tendon or IT band thickens or frays, it is more likely to catch on the bone.

Due to tightness over the trochanteric bursa and irritation in the area, trochanteric bursitis may also develop with this type of snapping hip syndrome. With trochanteric bursitis, pain and tenderness will manifest itself on the outside of the hip. If a person is suffering from external snapping hip, it may also be a sign that the IT band or gluteus maximus muscle is tight - a condition known as IT band syndrome.

Internal Snapping Hip

This type of snapping hip is considered to be the most common type of snapping hip. It occurs when either (1)the iliopsoas tendon snaps over the iliopectineal eminence (a protrusion of the pelvic bone), or (2) the rectus femoris (one of the main quadriceps muscles) snaps over the femoral head of the hips ball and socket joint.

There is typically a gradual onset of internal snapping hip over a few months before the clicking may become noticeable. Internal snapping hip syndrome may cause or be triggered by iliopsoas bursitis which is a painful bursitis located at the front of the hip joint.

Intra-articular Snapping Hip

Loose bodies in the hip joint or other tissue catching (such as tissue from a labral tear) can cause intra-articular snapping hip syndrome. This type of syndrome is basically a snapping hip problem due to a cartilage injury.

A snapping hip may be caused by:

• An acetabular labral tear
• Injuries to articular cartilage
• loose bodies of tissue or material in the hip

The labrum is a unique piece of cartilage that lines the inside of the hip socket. If it becomes damaged or torn, as is the case when an acetabular labral tear occurs, then it can cause a snap or pop in the hip joint itself as it moves. A study* published in 2005 indicates that approximately 80% of Intra-Articular Snapping Hip cases were caused by acetabular labral tear.
*Reference: Yamamoto, Yasuhiro & Hamada, Yoshiki & Ide, Takatoshi & Usui, Ikuo. (2005). Arthroscopic Surgery to Treat Intra-articular Type Snapping Hip. Arthroscopy : the journal of arthroscopic & related surgery : official publication of the Arthroscopy Association of North America and the International Arthroscopy Association. 21. 1120-5. 10.1016/j.arthro.2005.05.021.

Risks or Causes of Snapping Hip Syndrome

• Being between 15 and 40 years of age.
• Taking part in sports or activities involving repetitive hip flexion such as running, cheerleading, gymnastics, ballet, or soccer.
• Having tight IT bands, torn labrum or leg length discrepancy.

Treating Your Snapping Hip Syndrome

The treatment for snapping hip syndrome should focus on resting your hip and reducing inflammation to relieve pain.

PT can assist you in stretching the gluteus maximus tendon and IT band if they are tight. If the gluteus maximus tendon or iliotibial tract have thickened, frayed and/or become inflamed you can treat the injury to heal your tissue and repair the cause of your snapping hip syndrome. Once swelling is reduced with application of a Cold Compress or Ice Pack, treating the gluteus maximus tendon and IT band injury with a Back/Hip TShellz Wrap^® will speed healing due to increased blood circulation. This should help alleviate the symptoms of snapping hip syndrome quite quickly as soft tissue in the irritated muscles and tendons begin to heal. In most cases, utilizing home conservative treatments such as a Cold Compress or Ice Pack and the TShellz Wrap^®, combined with rest will heal or -at minimum- reduce the severity of snapping hip syndrome in a big way.

In severe cases of snapping hip syndrome, surgery may be required to trim the catching piece of labrum, remove a loose piece in the joint, or lengthen the tendon that is too tight.

If You Are Having Snapping Hip Surgery

Conservative treatment therapies such as cold therapy and the use of the Back/Hip TShellz Wrap^® will help keep hip joint tissue and surrounding muscles as healthy as possible preceding surgery. This is beneficial for 2 reasons. First, with less inflammation and healthier tissue in the joint, your surgery will be less invasive and will require less time to heal. More importantly, it will minimize your risk of suffering future hip conditions such as osteoarthritis, chronic hip pain, and trochanteric bursitis (which is a common condition immediately following surgery due to irritation during the procedure). Following your surgery, continued use of these therapies will result in a faster recovery and more complete healing. There isn't a better way to treat your hip at home before and after arthroscopic surgery.

Cold Compress or Ice Pack Cold Compression

To decrease inflammation and relieve the pain of snapping hip syndrome doctors recommend the application of cold and compression. Cold within the first 72 hours of injury to the tendon or labrum or following surgery is an effective way to relieve pain and swelling. Cold will also limit the amount of damage done to your tissue and can reduce, or even eliminate, the need for NSAIDs that can be harmful to your body.

Cold compression works by interrupting and slowing nerve and tissue function in soft tissue in the hip joint. It also reduces swelling that can block blood vessels. This is important because once blood vessels are blocked or damaged, they can no longer carry oxygen and nutrients to the tissue in your hip joint and the cells begin to break-down. Without cold compression, damage continues as tissues break-down - they cannot get the oxygen they need to survive.

By limiting the amount of damage done to your tissue, you limit the amount of healing that needs to occur. This is a very important step to heal your hip faster and with less pain!

TShellz Wrap^®: Circulatory Boost for Snapping Hip

After severe inflammation and swelling is reduced, it is time to take the next step in your soft tissue tear treatment. Use a Back/Hip TShellz Wrap^® to improve blood flow while simultaneously helping surrounding soft tissue to become elongated and more elastic. What this means is that not only is increased blood flow helping maximize the body's capability to heal tissue, the treated tissues are now longer and more elastic due to the heat side effect from the application of a TShellz Wrap^®. The TShellz Wrap^® is the perfect home treatment - helping to increase flexibility while simultaneously boosting the body's capability to heal via stimulated blood flow.

In addition, the improved blood flow obtained by using the TShellz Wrap helps reduce the risk of atrophy in your muscles. When you stop moving your leg and hip due to pain, your muscles and other tissue become weaker, and dead tissue and toxins in the area build up due to lack of circulation. This can cause further tissue deterioration and lead to atrophy in your quadriceps, hamstrings and other leg muscles. By clearing the area of toxins and increasing the amount of oxygen and nutrients to your labrum and other tissue, the risk of atrophy(muscle weakness and/or deterioration) is greatly reduced.

Keeping your upper leg and hip joint tissue as healthy and limber as possible throughout the healing process will allow you to improve hip strength again once your pain has gone and your labral tear has healed. Dedicated use of a TShellz Wrap^® will help you achieve this.

Rehabilitation Exercise for Soft Tissue Injuries

PT is a beneficial way to restore atrophied muscles and improve strength and mobility after significant periods of reduced mobility (usually due to a soft tissue tear or injury). The type of PT and the duration will be dependent on the tissue damage and your symptoms. When you are treating or recovering from atrophy or tears or strains in muscles, tendons or ligaments, it is important to adhere to the instructions of the physical therapist to ensure you are doing exercises properly and not under-doing it or overdoing it, as this will increase your risk of soft tissue re-injury.

Once pain starts to diminish, a physiotherapist will usually set up an individualized strengthening and stretching exercise program for you to perform at home or in the gym. This will be based on your needs and abilities, and will help you return to performing your normal routines.

Individuals will often lift weights on their own, to try and build up their strength. However, in doing so, they can do more damage to their joint. It is extremely important to strengthen your muscles properly, as they may have weakened during the period of non-use. A trained therapist will help to ensure your rehabilitation process is appropriate and effective. For best, long term results use TShellz Wraps^® at home, in conjunction with PT and an exercise program.

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TShellz Wraps^® contain a unique Carbon Fiber Energy Pad which is flexible and will shape to conform to your body. This Energy Pad emits a uniform wave of perfectly safe energy over its entire surface. This energy is absorbed by soft tissue in the treatment area, opening blood vessels, resulting in an increase in blood flow. Increased blood circulation is what your body needs to maximize its cabability of healing soft tissue and this is why we recommend the TShellz Wrap^®.

The Back/Hip TShellz Wrap^® is an FDA Registered Medical Device and is suitable for use in therapeutic clinics and FROM HOME. It is completely safe for people and patients to use for themselves.

The technology found in a TShellz Wrap^® has been used for decades in the worlds of professional and amateur sports - a contributing factor as to why athletes seem to recover from injuries so quickly.

Have you ever wondered by an athlete can return to activity after 4 or 5 weeks following a hip injury - while your average person takes much longer to return back to normal? The secret isn't really that much of a secret - it involves consistent treatments (meaning multiple times a day) using a treatment like the TShellz Wrap^® to stimulate blood flow to the injured tissues. Most athletes have the luxury of using in-house facilities many times per day.

How many us can afford the time and money to visit a clinic multiple times a day? Very few indeed. This is how you can gain some of the advantages that athletes enjoy in their injury recovery - by using a device like the Back/Hip TShellz Wrap^® two or three times a day on a consistent basis.

What Else Makes the Back/Hip TShellz Wrap^® So Special?

We believe the TShellz Wrap^® to be one of the most effective home treatments to increase localized blood flow to soft tissue in and around the treatment area.

We can promise that you will receive a product that is designed to be safe and does what it is supposed to do... reduce pain (as stated in "Therapeutic Heat and Cold", 4th edition. - Ed. Justus F. Lehmann, M.D., Williams, and Wilkin) temporarily increase length & flexibility of soft tissue (as stated in "Therapeutic Heat and Cold", 4th edition. - Ed. Justus F. Lehmann, M.D., Williams, and Wilkin) and aid your body in recovering from tendon, muscle and other soft tissue injuries via enhanced blood flow.

The unit plugs into a standard wall outlet to get its power. The nice thing about the power supply is that the same unit can be used in North America and overseas as well. It has the capability to operate between 110v and 230v.

The TShellz Wrap^® has a special signal controller that can be set for 3 different power levels of application (3=High, 2=Medium, 1=Low). The cord is long enough that you can sit or lie comfortably and watch TV, read or surf the net while you're using it.

Treatments are max 30 minutes in duration and the device can be worn over clothing. This allows you to use the device at work, at home, or really anywhere you have access to an electrical outlet.

Conservative treatment tools just like these have been used successfully by thousands of hip injury sufferers - just like you.

We believe the use of TShellz Wraps^® for boosting blood flow to soft tissue in the area of application is one of the most under-utilized home treatment options available on the market today. We have client after client that have tried many options out there and have been amazed at how effective and fast the TShellz Wrap treatment can relieve pain and increase blood flow in the hip.

With regular use of the Back/Hip TShellz Wrap:

• Your pain due to soft tissue strain will be reduced*.
• Due to increased blood flow, soft tissue in the treatment area on the hip will be expected to recover at an accelerated rate. Increased extensibility of soft tissue due to the heat application will also help reduce the risk of worsening the injury while mobile*.
• Tissue in the treated area should experience a larger range of motion and increased extensibility of collagen tissue* due to the heat effect on soft tissue. This should translate into a reduced rate of re-injury occurrence as soft tissue is known to lengthen and become more flexible when exposed to warm temperature. (*Chapter 9 of "Therapeutic Heat and Cold", 4th edition. (amazon.com link - Ed. Justus F. Lehmann, M.D., Williams, and Wilkin)

Our customer service lines are open 5 days a week helping people understand their injuries and how to treat them. Simply call toll free 1-866-237-9608 to talk or place an order with one of our knowledgeable Product Advisers. They have the ability to answer questions and even put together a treatment plan for you.

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During your recovery, you will probably have to modify and/or eliminate any activities that cause pain or discomfort at the location of your soft tissue injury until the pain and inflammation settle. Always consult your doctor and/or Physical Therapist before using any of our outstanding products, to make sure they are right for you and your condition. The more diligent you are with your treatment and rehabilitation, the faster you will see successful results!