Question for all my PT and doctor minded people!! HIP

[ehirsch83]

Ok, little background to the problem- I am a horseback riding instructor and went to go look at a horse for a client on Friday. Turns out the cute little 5y.o. mare had not been riden in almost 2 weeks! Needless to say she was very fresh and ended up bucking me off. I hit the ground hard, but being the pig headed me- I got back on(I was at an old colleagues farm so he thought I should get back on and "fix" the mares problem!) As I was trotting her around the ring someone moved a garbage can lid and she exploded into the air! After a big explosion again she unseated me! Another hard fall occured. I knew I would be body sore but my hip is in some pain and my question is,
how long should I wait to get it checked out? If it is just bruising will it pass?
I can walk with minimal pain, but when the pain really sets in is when I am sitting or laying down or have anything on my lap. I am laying on the sofa right now with my laptop on my lap, and it is causing consant pain throughout my left hip. I tried to move my leg in a peddling motion(going to try to get on the trainer in a little bit) and that causes pain as it passes through the downstroke.

Since I can walk with only minimal pain I am thinking it is probably just bruised and I should wait to get it looked at.
But on the other hand... the pain that occurs when I am sitting and have a little bit of weight on top of it makes me worried. I would describe it is a dull aching that won't go away- but I also have an abnormal pain tolerance and in all reality the pain feels similar to when I fractured one of the bones in the base of my thumb the other year.

Any advice would be great on hip bruising,etc...

[Biciclista]

I'm no PT, but the last time I fell off a horse and it hurt badly (and i was 25 years old) I went to a doctor and had xrays. What are you waiting for? there are many small bones in your hips.

[Trek420]

I'm no PT

That's true, you're not. ;) Neither am I.

I've fallen off a horse once, and had my foot stepped on too. I think it was the same day and same horse ;).

ehirsch, get thee to a doctor right quick, best to have things checked out.

[aicabsolut]

Hard to say. Bruises on your hip like that can be horrible. I've had a few big butt and hip bruises from falling off horses and wrecking bikes, and they all sucked. It could be that you also pulled smaller muscle or something (or the inflammation is knotting up some muscles). If you have a high pain tolerance and think it could be worse, there's no harm in getting it checked out. A good bruise will probably swell and start turning interesting colors pretty quickly, so at least you could locate the point of the problem and go from there..

[trickytiger]

Well, I'm not YET a PT, just in the process of becoming one... but my vote would be to get in and have your hip assessed. Pain that occurs while you are NOT moving is usually an indicator to get checked out, as is the cause of your injury (falling hard twice). In other words, it can't hurt to see your doc, and may help. Even if you didn't fracture or strain anything, he or she may be able to help you heal faster.