How is it diagnosed?
When you seek help for pain after your total hip replacement, we will perform a comprehensive evaluation and ask questions about your pain and your daily activities.
These may include:
- How and when the pain started: Did the pain begin spontaneously or was there any trauma or injury experienced in the area?
- Where are the symptoms located, and have they changed location or intensity since the onset?
- What things make the symptoms better or worse?
- What type of work do you perform?
- What hobbies or household activities do you regularly perform?
- What is the worst your pain gets throughout the day?
- What activities throughout your day make your pain worse?
One of our board-certified physical therapists will perform a thorough assessment of your evaluation, testing: movement, a range of motion, joint mobility, strength, muscle activation, nerves, and functional movement. The therapist will also check your reflexes, do a medical screening (to rule out medical red flags and serious pathologies), and conduct special tests on your primary area of pain to determine what specifically may be involved and to rule out other conditions. The key to getting an accurate and correct diagnosis is the reproduction of your pain during the evaluation. We want to find out if we change (or even decrease) your pain during the evaluation. This is the key! To provide a definitive diagnosis, your therapist may also collaborate with an orthopedist or other healthcare providers. The orthopedist may order further tests, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or electromyography (EMG) if medical red flags are present. After the evaluation, you will know exactly what your diagnosis is and what exactly is causing your pain. You will have plenty of time to ask questions to ensure that you fully understand what is going on. The next step, then, is to determine what is the best way to treat it.
How can a Physical Therapist treat it?
Your physical therapist will use treatment strategies to focus on:
Range of motion
Often, abnormal motion of the hip and knee and foot joint can cause ITBS because of how the band attaches to hip muscles. Your therapist will assess the motion of your injury leg compared with expected normal motion and the motion of the hip on your uninvolved leg.
Muscle strength
Hip and core weakness can contribute to ITBS. The “core” refers to the muscles of the abdomen, low back, and pelvis. Core strength is important, as a strong midsection will allow greater stability through the body as the arms and legs go through various motions. For athletes performing endurance sports, it is important to have a strong core to stabilize the hip and knee joints during repetitive leg motions. Your physical therapist will be able to determine which muscles are weak and provide specific exercises to target these areas.
Manual therapy
Many physical therapists are trained in manual therapy, which means they use their hands to move and manipulate muscles and joints to improve motion and strength. These techniques can target areas that are difficult to treat on your own.
Functional training
Even when an individual has normal motion and strength, it is important to teach the body how to perform controlled and coordinated movements so there is no longer excessive stress at the previously injured structures. Your physical therapist will develop a functional training program specific to your desired activity. This means creating exercises that will replicate your activities and challenge your body to learn the correct way to move.
Your physical therapist will also work with you to develop an individualized treatment program specific to your personal goals. He or she will offer tips to help you prevent your injury from reoccurring.
“After at least three years of doctor-hopping […] looking for someone to alleviate my constant dizziness and neck pain, I finally found Dr. Miller. I have more energy and less pain, and have halved my dependence on painkillers. He shouldn’t be the last stop on your road to recovery, he should be the first.”
How long does it take for recovery?
Recovery time for a failed total hip replacement depends on multiple factors:
- The severity and chronicity of your pain
- Whether your pain is an easy or complex case
- If the root cause of your pain was solved or if it was missed (this is the key to getting a great recovery!)
- How long you have been in pain for and when you need to be pain-free by
- Other therapies and treatments you have tried
- Which medical professional(s) you saw prior to seeing us
- How active you are in trying to resolve your pain
- Which treatment approach is chosen and if it is proven to work for your pain
There are many factors that influence your recovery time and every patient’s recovery time is different. If you do nothing and don’t pursue treatment, it could gradually get better on its own, you could continue to have the same pain persist, or it could continue to get worse. As stated earlier, most acute cases may or may not resolve in 4-8 weeks. If you get expert treatment that solves the root cause of your pain, some cases resolve in 1-3 weeks! Then you can get back to sports, exercise, and your favorite activities without flare-ups and recurrences. Some of our patients are pain-free in 1-3 visits and back to 100% in 2 weeks!
If it is a complex case with chronic pain, your recovery may take longer, but you can still get a good outcome. Some chronic cases can resolve as fast as 2 months but can take as long as 4-6 months. It varies with every patient because every case of pain after a total hip replacement is different. Every patient’s recovery varies depending on the factors listed above. After a thorough evaluation here at Pursuit Physical Therapy, you will know your exact timeline of recovery, your prognosis, and when you should reach your goals.
How much does it cost?
The average cost of care for a case of spine pain in the US is $1800-$6600. This high price is due to many factors: the over-inflated cost of healthcare, the over expensive cost of unwarranted imaging (x-rays, CT scans, and MRIs) that is not needed, over-utilization of care (which increases the number of visits needed to be treated, requiring multiple visits to different doctors and physical therapists for the same diagnosis), and getting billed for unnecessary and unproven treatments that you don’t even need. All of these factors increase cost and this is why healthcare is so expensive. We strive to end that unnecessary, expensive cycle. In fact, we are currently publishing our first-year data with the University of Central Florida that shows the cost-effectiveness of our treatment approach.
This year, the average cost of our care was shown to be $814-$1141. Some of our patients get even as low as $315 for the full treatment! So if you have a deductible of $3,000-$10,000 and you have to pay out of pocket for your treatment, we can save you lots of money.
Remember, every case of pain is different and not all hip pain from a total hip replacement is the same. It is hard to predict exactly how much your treatment is going to cost you. But after a thorough evaluation, we can tell you exactly what is causing your pain, how long it is going to take, what the best way to treat it will be, and exactly how much it is going to cost. We have no hidden fees, no co-pays, and no miscellaneous bills that you will be surprised by 3 months after you receive treatment. Your pain, your diagnosis, your goals, and what is best for you dictate your treatment and how much it will cost, and while it varies for every patient, treatment at Pursuit is still much more affordable than standard healthcare.
How long are sessions?
Our evaluations are always one-on-one with one of our board-certified specialists and 60-90 minutes long. We like to perform thorough evaluations so we can solve the root cause of your pain, identify all risk factors, and make sure that we do it right. After the evaluation, you will know your diagnosis, the root cause of why you have your pain and symptoms, your prognosis, an expected timeline of when you should see results, what the best way to treat your pain is, how much it will cost, and your expected recovery outcome. We want you to fully understand everything about your pain and injury. What is best for you and will get you the best outcome is what will dictate your care and treatment. There will be plenty of time for you to ask questions so we can make sure you fully understand why you have your pain and what the best way to treat it will be. After the evaluation is completed, all treatment sessions are 60 minutes going forward and still one-on-one with your physical therapist. You and your physical therapist will design a customized treatment plan that works for you and that will achieve your goals.
How can it be prevented?
Maintaining core and lower extremity strength and flexibility and monitoring your activity best prevents ITBS. It is important to modify your activity and contact your physical therapist soon after first feeling pain. Research indicates that when soft tissues are irritated and the offending activity is continued, the body does not have time to repair the injured area. This often leads to persistent pain, and the condition becomes more difficult to resolve.Once you are involved in a rehabilitation program, your physical therapist will help you determine when you are ready to progress back to your previous activity level. He or she will make sure that your body is ready to handle the demands of your activities so that your injury does not return. You will also receive a program to perform at home that will help you maintain the improvements that you gained during rehabilitation.
What are the next steps?
Getting started is simple. The first step, and the key to getting you pain free again, is to solve the root cause or your case of pain. Remember, not all pain is the same. Your pain is different than someone else’s pain, even though it may be in the same area. If you’re ready to get pain free, give us a call at (407) 494-8835 or fill out the form below. The next step is to schedule your evaluation so we can solve the root cause for you. We’re happy to answer any questions you may have and we would love the opportunity to help you.