Hip Pointers

I recently had a patient a few weeks ago that came into the clinic with a hip pointer.  We often do not see many hip pointers in outpatient clinics because they generally occur during sports and on the field.  For those of you unfamiliar with a hip pointer, it is basically a contusion to the iliac crest.  I've seen them typically during football games and they can be very painful.  These are injuries that often from a direct blow to the side of the hip.  

My patient was a street hockey player that had no history of hip trauma prior to his injury.  He was hit from the side during a game and fell to the ground.  He presented with lateral hip pain at the iliac crest, bruising in the quad/hip, and pain.  He did not have pain with AROM of the hip but with trunk movement.  It is important to understand that with the attachments to the iliac crest pain can occur with trunk movement or just sitting.  

So how do we treat hip pointers?  Typically rest is the most important for this type of injury.  In addition, soft tissue mobility, ultrasound, ice, and k-tape can be very useful.  With K-tape I like to use it for pain relief and feedback.  Below is an example video of how to apply k-tape to the hip for multiple conditions, including a hip pointer.  

- Brian