Treatment
Hip Pain
Your hip pain isn't just in your hip. It's a kinetic chain reaction.
Hip pain relief brings our restorative, protocol-driven approach to the hip joint. It blends hands-on care with targeted therapies to reduce pain and restore movement. Because the hip is closely tied to the knees and back, we treat it as part of the whole chain.
After a thorough exam, care targets both the painful hip and the related areas that may be contributing. Therapies calm pain and support tissue healing, while movement work rebuilds strength and stability. You progress through clear stages with measurable goals.
A painful hip changes how you move and shifts strain onto nearby joints. Treating it properly eases pain and helps the whole lower body work better together. Dr. Sarah Scharf applies the same outcomes-focused care she uses for knees to the hip.
A hip rarely struggles alone
Your hip is the main anchor for your core and lower body, so your brain will do whatever it takes to protect it: shifting how you walk, tightening your pelvis, and transferring strain into your lower back or knees.
If you feel a deep ache stepping out of the car, stiffness that interrupts your sleep, or a pinch when you walk or squat, your lower body is asking for better balance.
At Marin Joint Health, Dr. Sarah Scharf looks at the whole picture. Our multi-tiered protocol gently unloads the joint, coaxes locked muscles to relax, and supports healing at the cellular level to get you moving smoothly again.
Unloading the mechanics and decompressing the joint
Before your tissues can rest and heal, we take the mechanical pressure off. A slightly rotated pelvis or compressed lower back puts constant, uneven friction on the hip.
Targeted pelvic chiropractic care
We start with the foundation. Gently restoring balance to your pelvis and SI joints takes the extra leverage and pressure off your hip socket.
Non-surgical lumbar decompression
The nerves that talk to your hip muscles live in your lower back. Gentle lumbar decompression creates light negative pressure in the lower spine, soothing those nerve roots, turning off protective muscle guarding, and letting the whole leg relax.
Releasing the soft tissue lock
When a hip feels vulnerable, the powerful muscles around it, like the psoas and deep hip flexors, tighten to brace the area. Regular stretching can't always break this cycle. We help the nervous system let go.
Graston Technique®
Using smooth, specialized instruments, we gently scan and treat the hip capsule and surrounding tendons, smoothing out tight fascial restrictions and micro-scar tissue so you move with more ease.
Myofascial cupping
Gentle negative pressure over tight hip flexors and the IT band creates a light lifting effect between tissue layers. This decompresses tight areas, calms overactive pain receptors, and brings fresh circulation to the area.
High-tech bio-stimulation and cellular healing
True recovery means helping your tissues rebuild at the cellular level. We combine advanced, non-invasive therapies to soothe inflammation and support repair.
Focused shockwave therapy (ESWT)
Gentle, high-energy acoustic waves reach deep into the hip's supportive ligaments, creating a subtle stimulus that signals your body to restart its natural healing response right where it's needed.
Class IV deep tissue laser
Soothing therapeutic wavelengths of light reach deep into the hip muscles, boosting cellular energy production, flushing out deep-seated inflammation, and providing comfortable, drug-free relief.
The home acceleration protocol
Your healing shouldn't pause when you leave our office.
Targeted home red light therapy
We give you simple home protocols using red and near-infrared light. This stimulates the natural creation of tiny new blood vessels in tight tissues, keeping oxygen and blood flowing to your hip and shortening your recovery time.
Stop managing hip stiffness. Restore your kinetic chain.
You don't have to watch your mileage decrease, give up your favorite Marin trails, or accept stiffness as your new normal. Let's look at your hip, spine, and pelvis as one connected system and build your roadmap back to fluid, comfortable movement.
Schedule your multi-tiered hip evaluationFAQFrequently Asked Questions
It is for patients with hip pain, stiffness, or limited movement who want a non-surgical path to relief.
Care is hands-on and non-invasive. Many patients feel movement improving as their plan progresses.
Your timeline depends on the cause and severity of your hip pain, which the exam helps clarify.
Because the hip connects to the knees and back, your plan may address more than the hip alone.
There is no downtime. Comfort and mobility often improve steadily across your care.
Marin Joint HealthLasting relief from knee and joint pain without surgery
If knee or joint pain is holding you back, our doctors treat the root cause, not just the symptoms, without surgery or drugs.