Hip Pain – Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis & Treatment

hip pain causes

Hip pain causes: The Hip joint is a ball-and-socket joint. It is your body’s largest joint, and therefore, subjected to a huge amount of wear and tear. It withstands repeated and regular movements.

Hip Pain Symptoms

Hip Pain: It is often felt in and around the hip joint. The pain is not confined to the hip itself as it radiates to the groin and is also felt in the thigh. Hip pain is a common complaint.

Knowing the exact location of the pain is important because hip pain is caused by a wide range of health issues. The type of hip pain, location, and severity give valuable information about the underlying cause.

In general, your hip pain can be due to problems with the ligaments, muscles, tendons, bones, and soft tissues that surround your hip joint. You feel hip pain on the inside or outside of your hip on the outer buttock or upper thigh.

Problems with your hip joint cause pain in the groin, down the front of the legs, and in the knees

Radiated or Referred Hip Pain: In some cases, knee pain is the only prominent sign of hip problems. This type of pain is known as radiated or referred hip pain. This is a very common type of hip pain. Sometimes, the pain you feel in your buttocks and outside of your hip can be caused by problems in your lower back.

Any condition disease or disorder in other parts of the body can cause hip pain. For instance, lower back pain can cause hip pain (referred pain). This is seen in sciatica.

Hip Pain Causes

Cushion-like cartilage acts like a shock absorber and prevents friction when you move your hip bones in the socket. In general, with aging and use or excessive use, the cartilage between the hip bones wears down and gets damaged. The soft tissues such as ligaments, tendons, and muscles can get overused. A hip injury and falls can break a hip bone. If you have any of these conditions, you may experience hip pain.

Short-term and long-term Hip Pain

Hip pain causes: Overuse or exertion can cause short-term hip pain due to strained or inflamed soft tissues – tendons, ligaments, and muscles. However, long-term hip pain is caused by specific health conditions such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and so on.

Hip Pain Causes

  • Osteoarthritis
  • Sciatica (pinched nerve condition)
  • Sacroiliitis (pinched nerve)
  • Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (juvenile idiopathic arthritis)
  • Rheumatoid arthritis and septic arthritis
  • Tendinitis, Sprains
  • Hip fracture, Bursitis and hip labral tear
  • Osteoporosis
  • Osteomyelitis (bone infection)
  • Avascular necrosis (Osteonecrosis)
  • Synovitis

Diagnosis of Hip Pain

For the diagnosis of hip pain and to accurately determine the cause of your hip pain, your orthopedic doctor will order a few blood tests and imaging tests such as X-rays. To know finer details and views of the internal structure of your hip joint, your doctor may also recommend ultrasound or CT scans.

Hip Pain Treatment – How to get relief from Hip Pain?

Over-the-counter medications offer help in relieving hip pain caused by tendinitis or osteoarthritis.

If you have rheumatoid arthritis, then prescription medicines including anti-inflammatory medicines and corticosteroids can help.

Taking rest and warm water bath and application of cold and warm compressors can also help in relieving pain.

Low-impact exercises and stretching can improve mobility. Physical therapy can also improve a wide range of motions.

Hip fractures need surgery to fix. In other cases, wherein hip pain doesn’t improve after a week’s time or lasts longer than a week, then you must see your Orthopedic doctor, and they will come out with a pain management plan to treat your condition.

When is hip replacement surgery recommended?

In some cases, osteoarthritis becomes very severe. When the hip joint becomes completely deformed due to osteoarthritis, hip replacement may be recommended.

When should you see an Orthopedic Doctor for hip pain?

When you have severe hip pain with swelling, redness, or warmth around the hip joint, you should take medical help. If you experience sudden hip pain or joint pain after a fall or injury or if your joint looks deformed, then you must see an Orthopedic doctor immediately.

If you hear a popping sound in your joint or you cannot move your hip joint or put weight on your joint or if your hip pain becomes severe, fix an appointment with Dr. Praharsha Mulpur.