Acupuncture for Hip Pain in Alpine, WY

At Teton AIM, acupuncture for hip pain begins by asking a different question: why is the hip being overloaded? Then treatment focuses on correcting it.

Treatments are drug-free, non-invasive, and rooted in science.

Schedule Appointment

307-226-4404

Find out if acupuncture is a good fit for your hip pain.

Teton Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine takes a root-cause approach to hip pain relief. Dr. Melissa Franklin, DACM, evaluates the entire kinetic chain- the foot, the ankle, the knee, the pelvis, the core, and the glutes that stabilize the hip- and treats what is actually overloading the joint, not just where it hurts.

Our clinic is located in Alpine, Wyoming.

Serving patients from Jackson, Star Valley, and across the region.

Why Hip Pain Isn’t Always a Hip Problem

Hip pain usually doesn’t start in the hip. The hip connects your upper body and lower body, and pain there is often the result of poor movement patterns, not just damaged tissue.

If you have rested, stretched, or treated the sore spot and your hip pain keeps coming back, the problem may not be the painful tissue alone. A stiff ankle, poor pelvic control, or muscles that are not doing their share can change how you move and force the hip to compensate.

That is why Dr. Franklin looks beyond where it hurts.

At Teton AIM, the goal is to identify what keeps overloading the hip, treat the painful tissue, and address the movement pattern that keeps putting stress back into it.

Schedule Your Consultation

307-226-4404

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to treating hip problems.

Hip Conditions We Treat

Where you hurt is not always the muscle that is failing. The painful muscle is often doing too much work, not because it is weak, but because other muscles are not doing their job.

If your symptoms cross more than one category, that is normal. Your hip pain assessment with Dr. Franklin is designed to sort that out.

Acupuncture

Lateral Hip Pain & Glute Tendinopathy (Often Called Bursitis)

Pain on the outside of the hip usually gets labeled bursitis, but many cases are really tendinopathy of the glute med and glute min, muscle trigger points, or poor pelvic stability. It tends to flare lying on that side at night or climbing stairs. Treatment addresses the tendon and the pelvic control behind it, not just the sore spot.

Hip Flexor Pain

A pinch or tightness at the front of the hip, especially with sitting or driving, often points to hip flexor pain. When the glutes do not fire well, the hip flexors, the tensor fasciae latae, and the low back compensate and become tight and overworked, which is why lower back and hip pain so often show up together. Treatment restores glute function, so the flexors stop carrying the load.

Piriformis & Deep Hip Rotator Pain

The piriformis and the deep hip rotators sit beneath the glutes and help control the position of the hip. When they are tight or overworked, they can refer pain into the buttock and down the leg in a pattern that feels like sciatica. Care focuses on releasing the deep rotators while addressing the stability problem underneath them.

Hip Bursitis

When the bursa is genuinely inflamed, it produces a deep ache at the outer hip that worsens with pressure and can wake you at night. Anti-inflammatories may quiet it, but the relief rarely lasts if the mechanics that created the pressure stay in place. Treatment reduces the inflammation and corrects the load driving it.

Groin & Inner Hip Pain

Pain in the groin and inner hip often comes from the adductors, the muscles that bring the legs together. Like arthritis and lateral hip pain, it can stem from the same underlying imbalance rather than a single injured spot. The focus is on identifying what is overloading the inner hip, then reducing that load.

Hip Arthritis & Hip Joint Pain

Hip arthritis and hip joint pain usually build slowly: morning stiffness, hip pain when walking any distance, less tolerance for stairs, activities that now cost you a recovery day. Acupuncture calms the pain response, reduces the muscular guarding around the joint, and improves circulation to the tissue, while movement work reduces the load that keeps driving the wear.

Are you ready to address the root of the problem?

Request Your Appointment

307-226-4404

How We Treat Hip Pain at Teton AIM

Dr. Franklin builds every treatment plan from assessment findings, not symptom location. She is direct about one thing: acupuncture alone will not solve hip pain. Lasting change comes from restoring movement, gait, and stability.

Most hip cases combine the following:

Acupuncture & Electroacupuncture

Acupuncture is the foundation of every hip plan. Dr. Franklin targets motor points and the muscles that drive hip mechanics: the glute max, med, and min, the piriformis and deep rotators, the hip flexors, the psoas, the adductors, and the low back.

Electroacupuncture is added when a muscle needs more stimulus to reactivate.

Gua Sha and Tuina

Gua Sha and Tuina are hands-on manual therapy techniques used to release tight, overworked, or restricted tissue around the hip and pelvis.

Freeing up that tissue helps the corrective work hold, so the muscles that were compensating can let go while the ones that should be working take over.

Postural & Functional Movement (Egoscue, ELDOA)

Postural alignment and functional movement work restore the position the hip needs to load and move efficiently.

Dr. Franklin uses Egoscue and ELDOA to improve pelvic control and the way force moves through the leg, so the hip stops absorbing stress that belongs to the whole chain.

Schedule Appointment

307-226-4404

Every plan includes individualized rehabilitation built for your body: glute activation, core stability, single-leg stability, balance from side to side and front to back, gait and walking retraining, and functional movement training. This is what turns short-term relief into a hip that holds up to how you actually live out here.

What To Expect From Your Hip Pain Treatment Plan

Healing is not linear, and hip recovery takes time to shift — but it follows a clear path when the right structures are being treated.

Here's what that looks like at Teton AIM:

Your first visit includes a thorough orthopedic-style evaluation of your hip, pelvis, gait, and the chain above and below it. Most patients choose to begin their treatment plan the same day.

Sessions typically start at 2x per week for the first 2–3 weeks, allowing the nervous system and soft tissues to begin adapting before spacing out.

Progress is tracked at every visit, including pain, range of motion, and how you move, so you always know where you stand, and the plan adjusts as your hip responds.

You'll leave most visits with specific homework like glute activation or single-leg stability work, because what you do between sessions is a significant part of what makes the clinic work last.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can acupuncture help hip pain?

For many patients, yes, but lasting improvement depends on treating why the hip became overloaded in the first place. Acupuncture reduces pain signaling, improves circulation to tissue that is not getting enough blood flow, and lowers local inflammation. Just as important, Dr. Franklin’s plans address the pattern behind the overload, so treatment is not only reducing pain at the joint, it is correcting what caused it.

What causes hip pain that won’t go away?

Pain is often the last thing to develop, and the movement problem usually started long before the pain arrived. Hip pain that does not respond to rest is usually a sign that something in the chain, weak glutes, poor pelvic control, or a stiff ankle, is overloading the joint, and it will keep returning until that is corrected.

Should I keep walking with hip pain?

Gentle movement is usually better than complete rest, but it depends on how you are walking. If your gait has changed to work around the pain, you may be reinforcing the pattern that caused it. This is exactly what a gait assessment sorts out, so you can keep moving without feeding the problem.

Can sciatica cause hip pain?

It can, and hip problems can also mimic sciatica. Because the deep hip rotators sit right next to the sciatic nerve, tension in that area can send symptoms into the buttock and leg that read as sciatica. That overlap is one reason Dr. Franklin assesses the whole chain instead of treating a single label.

What’s the fastest way to relieve hip pain?

Treatment often reduces pain quickly, but the fastest durable result comes from finding what is overloading the hip and unloading it. Anything that only chases the sore spot tends to come back, because the painful muscle is usually compensating for something else that has not been addressed.

How many acupuncture sessions will I need for hip pain?

It depends on how long the pattern has been present and whether the mechanics are addressed along the way. Most patients start at two sessions per week for the first few weeks, then space out as the hip stabilizes. Dr. Franklin gives you a realistic timeline after your first assessment, not a generic number.

Can acupuncture help before or after hip surgery?

Some patients work with Dr. Franklin around a planned hip procedure. When you have been compensating for a hip problem, the opposite leg, the knee, and the low back all adapt around it. Prehab works on those patterns before surgery so the body is as balanced as possible going in, and posthab addresses the muscles that were compensating beforehand and are still adjusting afterward. Dr. Franklin is honest about what she sees, and not every hip needs surgery in the first place.

Is acupuncture covered by insurance for hip pain?

Coverage varies by plan. Medicare currently covers acupuncture only for chronic low back pain, not hip pain. Teton AIM does not bill insurance directly but can provide a superbill for you to submit for possible reimbursement. Many patients use HSA or FSA funds to cover treatment.

Ready to Get Your Hip Moving Again?

When a hip problem gets ignored, the body compensates.

Other muscles take on work that is not theirs, your gait shifts, and the longer that goes on, the more there is to untangle alongside the original problem.

A hip issue left long enough can even start showing up as knee pain.

Dr. Franklin’s advice: come in when it’s a 2, not a 10.

Early treatment consistently produces faster results.

Request Your Appointment

307-226-4404