Your femur trochanter is defined as the proximal, or area closest to your body, femoral head that inserts into your hip joint. This portion of your femur can be fractured as a result of the tearing of a ligament or tendon in your hip or from direct trauma to this area of your body. Physical therapy is usually incorporated into your treatment of this injury as a means to rehabilitate the affected area. Rehabilitation includes strengthening your leg and hip muscles as well as promoting full range of motion within the hip joint.
Femur and Hip
Your hip joint -- also referred to as the acetabulo-femoral joint -- is the most structurally sound and strongest joint in your body. Your femur inserts into your pelvis via the greater trochanter to form this joint. Hip fractures can often involve an avulsion, or blunt trauma fracture, to this area of your femur and pelvis, causing a great deal of pain and a dramatic loss of range of motion within the joint itself.
Surgery and Therapy
Most hip fractures of this magnitude will require pre-therapy surgery to help set the femoral trochanter bone properly to allow for adequate movement within the hip joint. Physical therapy is then prescribed to include walking exercises and manual mobilizations to stretch the muscles surrounding your joint and to help you regain coordination in balance when walking. You are also likely to wear a cast or other support around your hip joint as your bone continues to heal.
Daily Activity Training
Your physical therapy treatment plan to rehabilitate your hip or femur trochanter fracture will also include exercises to help you regain full use of your joint in order to return to activities of daily living. These movements can include sitting and standing from a seated position, climbing stairs, squatting to pick something up from the ground, and other similar daily hip joint movements. These exercises will be done under the supervision and assistance of your therapist to start, gradually leading you to unassisted execution of the movements.
Later Therapy
As you continue to recover during physical therapy, your treatment exercises will focus more on helping you regain full use of your hip up to and including any athletic activity you participated in prior to injury. Your therapist will also prescribe additional home exercises to complete when you are not in therapy and to continue after you are discharged from your treatment program.
