The hip joint is a large bone joint that connects the femur and pelvic bones, giving the limb the ability to flex, extend, and abduct. Pain in the hip joint is a symptom of many inflammatory, infectious, degenerative and other diseases. The causes of hip pain vary widely, so a thorough diagnosis is essential.
Causes of hip pain
Pain in the joint in the hip area varies - acute and regular, constant and periodic. Most often, unpleasant sensations occur in people over 50 years old, although they can also occur in children. The causes of hip pain are very different. The most common is coxarthrosis, a degenerative disease involving wear and tear of the articular cartilage in which the bones begin to converge and become deformed.
Pain in the right and left hip joints can have other causes:
- Injuries – fractures, tears, dislocations;
- connective tissue damage and autoimmune diseases;
- osteochondropathy;
- Disorders of skeletal development;
- Inflammation.
Sometimes the cause of quite severe pain is damage to other parts of the body (e. g. spine, sacrum, intestines). In this case, treatment should address the underlying problem, because only then will the hip joint no longer bother the person.
Injuries as a cause of pain
Stabbing pain that affects only one hip joint may be a symptom of a traumatic injury. It is difficult for a healthy person to break a hip joint, but with osteoporosis it happens regularly. Basically, the diagnosis of "femoral neck fracture" is made in women over 60-65 years old, in whom the cause of osteoporosis lies in menopause and dysfunction of hormone-producing organs. If your femoral neck hurts after a fall or a bruise, you should definitely carry out instrumental diagnostics!
A car accident can result in a pertrochanteric femoral fracture. The pinching of the nerves causes a stabbing pain in the hip joint.
In addition, pain on the right or left occurs against the background of:
- Bruise of a bone joint from a fall or direct blow;
- traumatic hip dislocation;
- congenital hip dislocation.
Birth injuries and bone deformations during intrauterine development can cause congenital dislocation. Without treatment, the child's legs may be of different lengths in the future and coxarthrosis may occur at an early stage.
Cause illness in adults and children
If the symptoms reoccur or pain in the hip joint becomes chronic, it is often caused by systemic pathologies or diseases of the hip joint itself.
In addition to coxarthrosis, the hip joint hurts for the following reasons:
- Purulent arthritis.Occurs due to infection of the thigh area with pyogenic bacteria. The acute pain makes all movement impossible and the affected area turns red and swells.
- Aseptic necrosis of the femoral head.The reason is poor blood circulation in the hip joint. The disease mainly occurs at a young age. Without treatment, there is a risk of muscle and tendon atrophy and the person becomes disabled.
- Myositis ossificans.It is caused by inflammation of the muscles and connective tissue, is hereditary or occurs after an injury.
- Ankylosing spondylitis.Causes inflammatory damage to the bone joint, resulting in limited mobility due to fusion of the joint cavity.
- Osteochondrosis dissecans of the femur.The cartilage of the hip joint dissolves and tissue necrosis often occurs.
- Bursitis and synovitis.In this case, severe pain in the hip joint area is accompanied by inflammation of the bursa or joint capsule.
Why do the hip joints hurt on one or both sides, what other reasons are there?
The following diseases can be the cause:
- Reiter's syndrome;
- Rheumatoid arthritis;
- spinal lesions with radicular syndrome;
- deformities of feet, legs, knees;
- Enthesopathy.
In pregnant women, the cause of pain in the right or left joint is often symphysitis - inflammation of the pubic symphysis when the pubic bones diverge. In rare cases, tumors and gout of the hip joint can cause symptoms in humans.
Symptoms of pathologies
Symptoms of the disease and treatment procedures can be very different. Pain in the hip joint after a serious injury is severe, sharp and localized in the thigh area. The surrounding tissue swells and lameness occurs. The latter with a slight bruise quickly disappears. If there is a dislocation or fracture, leg movements are limited or impossible.
In the case of a hip fracture, the symptoms are:
- increased pain when moving;
- Radiation of sensations into the inner surface of the leg;
- swelling, bruising;
- lameness;
- collective clicking;
- Muscle numbness.
If the bursa or the inner lining of the joint is inflamed, the pain is accompanied by a burning sensation and increases when walking. With osteochondrosis, tingling and goosebumps appear in the hip joint. Coxarthrosis is accompanied by aching pain that is worse in the morning and disappears throughout the day. In rheumatoid arthritis, the hip joint hurts due to lumbago, the temperature inside rises and muscle stiffness occurs.
Burning, stabbing pain can be a sign of ankylosing spondylitis and the sensations radiate to the pelvis and sacrum and become more severe at night. The hip joint area hurts in chronic inflammatory diseases – arthritis, gout (no exacerbation).
Diagnosis of diseases
Treatment of any of these symptoms should begin immediately after diagnosis by an orthopedist, surgeon or traumatologist. During the initial examination, the doctor may point out damage to the left or right hip joint. During passive flexion and extension, pain and burning occur, movements are restricted, and lateral abduction is particularly difficult.
The hip joint is located quite low, so instrumental examinations become the main diagnostic methods:
- CT;
- MRI;
- Radiography.
In some cases, additional diagnostic measures may be required. Therefore, in infectious and purulent processes, an examination of the synovial fluid is prescribed. If a malignant tumor is suspected, a biopsy is performed. If the vessels of the hip joint are affected, an ultrasound examination using Doppler ultrasound is required. Before treating pain in the hip joint, a rheumatoid factor test must be carried out to rule out rheumatism.
Treating hip pain due to injuries and infections
In infants, congenital dislocation of the hip joint is treated. To do this, they use a Freik pillow and spacers - special orthopedic devices that help keep the legs in the correct position. The duration of treatment can be 6-8 months, if it does not help, surgical bone reduction must be carried out.
If you have a hip fracture, surgical treatment is indicated as conservative measures usually do not help. Pins, screws are installed or endoprosthetics are performed. Only in the presence of contraindications are bandages applied to the leg from the waist to the heel. Unfortunately, as we get older, the hip bone rarely stiffens and the patient can no longer walk or even sit normally.
What to do if the hip joint area hurts badly due to infectious inflammation? In this case, treatment with antibiotics is carried out. The medication is administered as an injection, drip or directly into the hip joint cavity. Treatment also includes limiting mobility of the leg to speed recovery. To relieve the discomfort, painkillers and anesthetics are injected into the joint. With purulent arthritis, an operation is performed to remove abscesses and wash the joint cavity with antibiotics.
Medication measures
Depending on the type of illness, the choice of drug treatment methods is solely the responsibility of a doctor. Aching pain is usually well relieved by taking painkillers, but the sensations often return quickly. If your leg hurts strongly and severely, blocks with anesthetics must be applied to the hip joint area. The treatment of chronic hip diseases should be carried out with regular treatments with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs - only these eliminate recurring symptoms, but have no influence on the course of the disease itself. In the case of coxarthrosis, hormonal drugs are usually administered that provide lasting relief from inflammation and pain.
Treatment of diseases of the hip joint can be carried out with the following means:
- Muscle relaxants.Used to reduce muscle spasms that increase pain.
- Diuretics.Help relieve severe soft tissue swelling.
- Vitamin supplements.Improves nutrition of the hip joint, accelerates biochemical reactions.
- Chondroprotectors.They compensate for the lack of chondroitin and glucosamine and help restore damaged cartilage.
If a child regularly experiences pain in the hip joint and the diagnosis of avascular necrosis is confirmed, the basis of treatment is taking and injecting vascular drugs. Drugs improve blood microcirculation, metabolism and support tissue regeneration.
Orthopedic devices and physiotherapy
The treatment of diseases of the hip joint includes the use of orthopedic products. Most often they are used after injuries when complete or partial immobilization is required for several weeks or even months. For fractures, a rigid fixation orthosis is used, which, unlike plaster, does not cause irritation or allergies.
If you have to lie down for a long time, you definitely need an anti-decubitus mattress. During rehabilitation after an injury, walking frames, canes and crutches are used for support. With symphysitis, pregnant women are recommended to wear a pelvic corset with rigid ribs. It is equally important to wear orthopedic shoes that relieve pressure on the foot during treatment and for prevention.
Physiotherapy is also indicated to improve the condition of the hip joint. This treatment eliminates symptoms, relieves pain and optimizes blood circulation. During the treatment, inflammation decreases, swelling disappears and the process of tissue repair begins. Laser therapy has proven to be best - laser beams heat tissue up to 10 cm thick, quickly relieve pain and relieve inflammation.
Other physiotherapeutic techniques include:
- electrophoresis;
- darsonval;
- magnetic field therapy;
- shockwave therapy;
- balneotherapy;
- microcurrents;
- Turpentine baths.
It is also recommended to regularly use a needle applicator at home - it increases blood circulation and helps relieve pain. In the acute stage of the disease, the application is carried out for 5 minutes up to 5 times a day, in the chronic stage the time is increased to 20 minutes three times a day.
Traditional treatment for hip joint pain
Conventional medicine can also provide answers to the treatment of hip joint diseases. Unconventional treatment must be combined with conservative treatment, otherwise it will not have the desired effect. External methods are less effective because the location of this bone joint is very deep. External measures can be applied through massage.
The treatment is carried out as follows:
- Mix equal parts mint, hop cones and St. John's wort;
- Pour 100 ml of petroleum jelly melted in a water bath onto a spoon;
- Leave in a warm place for 2 days;
- Heat the mixture again, strain;
- Apply to gently rub in with massage movements.
Baths can be used to treat the hip joint - they quickly relieve pain. A decoction of mint and pine needles (50 g of raw material per liter of water) is poured into warm water, bathed for 15 minutes, repeating the procedures every other day and carrying out 10 sessions. You should also take the following painkillers internally:
- Pour half a cup of lilac flowers into 250 ml of vodka, leave for 10 days and drink a teaspoon three times a day for 14 days.
- mix a tablespoon of birch buds and linden flowers, brew 300 ml of boiling water, drink 150 ml twice a day for a month;
- Boil 1 kg of beef bones, pour the broth into portioned containers and eat 250 g of this "jelly" daily.
Other treatments
If the hip joint is affected, therapeutic exercises are indicated. The joint of the bones must move, then a larger volume of intra-articular fluid is produced. This increases the quality of nutrition and the speed of tissue recovery. The set of exercises is selected individually and is different for different diseases (depending on the permissible load). The number of repetitions is initially small, then increases. You should not make sudden movements - they can provoke a new attack of pain.
In some cases, surgical treatment of the hip joint is necessary. It is indicated for injuries, advanced forms of coxarthrosis and rheumatoid arthritis, leading to severe bone deformities. They also operate on limbs when abscesses (ulcers) appear in the joint cavity or soft tissues.
The most popular types of operations are:
- endoprosthetics;
- installation of pins;
- arthroscopy;
- osteotomy;
- Osteosynthesis.
Prevention of joint diseases
Pain in the hip joint can be prevented if preventative measures are taken in a timely manner. It is necessary to avoid heavy loads on the femur and joint, protect yourself from shocks and falls, and not lift heavy objects. Even at the initial stage, it is necessary to treat inflammatory diseases of the body and keep vascular problems under control.
Gymnastics, exercise therapy, yoga and swimming help strengthen the hip joint. It is important to maintain a normal weight so as not to overload the femoral neck and the entire hip joint. To reduce body weight, use a diet that avoids fatty, sweet, floury foods, smoked meats and salty foods. Wearing preventive bandages, comfortable shoes and insoles is also beneficial for the hip joint. When the first unpleasant symptoms appear, you should immediately consult a doctor and seek treatment in a timely manner - this way you can avoid surgery.