Question
A chiropractor told me that my hip was 'locked'.  I don't understand what that means, or how it something like that would happen.  

Answer

Fabere-Patrick Test Dear Jessica,

"locked hip" is a very non-descriptive diagnosis given to you by your chiropractor. It is likely that the chiropractor is trying to simplify his diagnosis for you in terms that you understand... and if that is the case, he wasn't successful.

In my world of treating patients, I often get complaints of "pain in the hip".  This usually means one or more of several things:

1) Pain in the lower back.
2) Pain in the buttock region.
3) Pain in the groin region.

The patient typically doesn't understand or know what the "hip" is.

The true hip joint is the ball and socket joint where the leg bone attaches to the pelvis. For this joint to "lock up", in my mind, it would mean that the hip has lost motion or function... again due to one or more of these reasons:

1) Muscle tightness around the hip joint.
2) Tightness of the tissues around the hip, or joint capsule contraction.
3) Internal joint injury, resulting in cartilage damages.
4) Degenerative arthritis in the hip joint.

A good test for your "hip" would be to lie back on your back, then take your right ankle and place it over your left knee, with the right hip opening up into a frog-leg like position. You should be able to do this with no difficulty and no pain. Repeat the same thing for the other leg.  This is called the Fabere-Patrick test, and if you have degenerative joint disease of the hip, there would be restriction of the movement and/or pain in the groin, and maybe in the lower back region.

It is possible that when your chiropractor says you have a locked hip that he could be referring to the sacroiliac joint. You have one of these on each side of pelvis, where the sacrum attaches to the pelvic bones.  http://eastmesachiropractor.com/index.php?p=97799  This is a link where you could learn about this joint. Sometimes patients will develop a fixation or restricted joint movement in one of these joints. It can cause lower back pain and pain in the buttocks. When adjusted, if it is the cause of your pain, it can relieve your back symptoms.

Often patients are misdiagnosed with having sacroiliac joint problems when in fact they are suffering from lower back facet inflammation or lower back disc problems.

Without doing an examination on you,it would be impossible to try and determine exactly what your doctor is trying to explain through using the term "locked hip".  I would recommend that you return to your chiropractor and have him/her clarify the diagnosis for you. A good chiropractor should be very willing to engage you in a more in-depth conversation regarding your condition.  If not, time to find another chiropractor!

Jessica, I hope that this gives you some ideas of what your chiropractor might have meant when he said that you have a "locked hip". I wish you the best of health and hope for an excellent and beneficial relationship with your chiropractor.

Keith Biggs, DC
http://www.eastmesachiropractor.com
http://www.biggschiropractic.blogspot.com
http://www.therapeuticfoods.blogspot.com