Approximately 50% of older adults report experiencing hip or knee pain at some point in their lifetimes. Hip pain can be extremely discouraging for those who experience it on a daily basis. It can interfere with daily activities and make it hard to stay active. It can also make it hard during your less active moments, like sleep. If you feel hip pain when sleeping on either side, here are a few things physical therapy can do for you.

3 things physical therapy can do to help people who feel hip pain when they’re trying to sleep

• Hip stretching — Your physical therapist can give you a variety of hip exercises and stretches to complete during your session and additional stretches to try at home, right before bed. Doing these stretches can help reduce any muscle or tissue tension you might have that could be affecting your quality of sleep. For conditions like osteoarthritis, stretching can be particularly helpful.

• Strength and range-of-motion exercises — Your physical therapist may recommend strength-building exercises or range-of-motion exercises depending on your condition. If you have inflammation in your hip from overuse, for example, your physical therapy can help you recover so that sleep is more restful. These types of exercises are meant to target weaker muscles and joints within the hips to improve your overall mobility and reduce pain.

• Electrical stimulation — During PT, your provider might recommend using electrical stimulation via a TENS unit. This type of treatment helps release tension in muscles and soft tissue. It can quickly help alleviate hip pain on either side of your body.

Rehab Access can help alleviate hip pain when sleeping on either side

At Rehab Access, we want to do the most we can to help you get the sleep you need. With the help of hip stretching, strength-building and range-of-motion exercises, and electrical stimulation, your hip pain when sleeping on either side can be reduced as much as possible. Our physical therapists are specially trained in helping you work toward recovery.

Contact our team today for more information or to schedule an initial appointment.