Question
I have been seeing a chiropractor for years.  I see one monthly to maintain my alignment.  I recently had a motor car accident and injured my hip.  I opted for the chiropractor rather than going to a physio because they had helped me cope with injuries from a car car accident when I was much younger.  After two visits the chiropractor said I could go back to full activities but my hip is persisting with causing me discomfort.  It has improved, but I have since gone to a physio to assist with its strengthening and repair.  I am not sure whether I am doing the right thing, it's been four months since the car accident and I still have some ache or discomfort.  Is there something else I should be checking, something does not feel right?

Answer
Suzanne,

First off, the chiropractor must use due diligence in thoroughly examining and diagnosing your hip.   It is common to damage cartilage deep in the hip with injuries from a car crash.    A chiropractor is a doctor, and as such should have a diagnosis list of possible and likely causes for your pain.   If the DC went through a thorough examination of motion, strength, and orthopedic joint maneuvers, and came up negative, then that's one thing.    If he/she simply dismissed your pain believing it's just a strain while not doing any examination, that's something altogether different.      Any deep pain in the hip that is vague, where you cannot exactly put your finger on it (unlike a cut, a pimple, or a muscle tear), and where there might be a catching or giving way of the hip, points to a tear in the cartilage the lines the socket of your hip joint (look up "hip labral tear").     If you only have a muscle/tendon strain, then stuff like ultrasound along with deep massage and exercise should be helpful.    Also, is your pain truly in the ball/socket hip, or is it deep in the buttock or the base of your spine that you refer to as hip?   Some folks say "hip" and point to their lower back,  butt, or their sacro-iliac joint of their pelvis.     Bottom line: if you have a hip labral tear, then your physio is not going to help and your DC missed the diagnosis.   You would need an MRI-arthrogram of the hip to determine if a labral tear is present, but first you need to be sure you had a thorough exam.   Run this by your DC.  

'Hope this helps,

Dr. G