Can you still walk with a dislocated hip?

You will never be able to walk with a dislocated hip caused by a traumatic event. It takes a lot of energy to dislocate a hip (such as in a car crash), and it is extremely painful. You will not be able to stand up, or bear any weight at all on the affected hip. In fact, it is usually so painful that any movement at all will be excruciating. A native hip dislocation (meaning that there is no hip replacement present) is one of the few true emergencies in all of orthopedics. We do not see many hip dislocations here at Easy Orthopedics in Colorado, because most go straight to the emergency room.

How do you know if your hip is dislocated?

You will know if your hip is dislocated because you will have had a major accident, and are unable to stand or move your leg at all. It is also possible that your hip is not dislocated, and that you may have just broken your leg. Usually these sorts of injuries require a direct trip to the emergency room. There are some with a condition called hip dysplasia which means that their hip socket never developed properly. Those with bad hip dysplasia may have a chronically dislocated hip (usually in children), that they may be able to walk on and isn’t super painful.

Is a hip dislocation serious?

A native hip dislocation (no joint replacement present) is a very serious condition. It requires a direct trip to the emergency room so they can put your hip back into place. Without doing this within a few hours, the head of your hip may die. Those with a joint replacement won’t have to worry about their hip dying, but they will also need to go to the ER to get it back into place because they usually aren’t able to walk with a dislocated prosthetic hip.

Can you pop your hip back into place?

In almost every case, you will not be able to pop your own hip back in place. Getting a hip back in place requires sedation in the emergency room or operating, and usually significant force. You may find that your hip pops, which can be from your IT band or iliopsoas muscle. Hip popping is generally benign, while hip dislocations are very serious.

I hope we were able to answer some of your questions about if you can still walk with a dislocated hip. If you would like us to evaluate your hip and are in the Colorado area, contact us below to make an appointment.