Expert: Gerald Anzalone, D.C. - 1/16/2012

Question
Lately...when I've been sitting at my computer for a couple of hours my hips will start to hurt (one side at a time...never both together).  I have added pillows and foam to the seat of my chair and even purchased an inflatable donut (usually for hemorrhoid sufferers) but nothing seems to help.  Could this be something other than me needing to buy a new chair with better padding on the seat?

Answer
Candy,

To answer your question, if you only notice pain in the sacro-iliac joints (the area often incorrectly referred to as the hips, but actually the region pelvis that roughly corresponds to the back pocket area) or the femeroacetabluar joints (the true hips on the sides of the pelvis) when using one particular chair, the it is likely that you simply have a chair that is not appropriate for you. Substituting a better chair will reveal if your problem is corrected.

If you notice hip pain when sitting regardless of where you sit, then I would recommend seeing a musculoskeletal-based chiropractor for further evaluation.

Often times, people create hip pain when they cross their legs or when they sit turned to one side.

Sacro-iliac joint pain sufferers also often benefit from a foam wedge cushion (not the doughnut cushion) with a cut-out in the rear of the cushion to accomodate the sacrum and coccyx. This evaluation is made with physical examination. Men tend to suffer from this problem when they sit with a wallet in their back pocket.

Femeroacetabular joint pain may be due to an inflammed bursa (a fluid-filled sac overlying joints which cushions tendons against friction), muscle problems, impingement syndrome, or degenerative joint disease. This evaluation is made with plain-film radiographs (x-rays) and physical examination.

I hope that this helps to answer your question.