The hip joint is a large bone joint that connects the femur and pelvic bones, giving the limb the ability to bend, 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 greatly, so a thorough diagnosis is indispensable.
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 of age, although they can occur even in children. The causes of hip pain vary greatly. The most common is coxarthrosis, a degenerative disease with wear and tear of articular cartilage, in which the bones begin to move closer to each other and become deformed.
Pain in the right and left hip joint may have other causes:
- injuries - fractures, cracks, dislocations;
- connective tissue damage and autoimmune pathologies;
- osteochondropathy;
- skeletal development disorders;
- inflammation.
Sometimes the cause of quite severe pain is damage to other parts of the body (for example, the spine, sacrum, intestines). In this case, treatment should address the underlying problem, only then will the hip joint stop bothering the person.
Injuries as a cause of pain
Sharp pain involving 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 if you have osteoporosis, this happens regularly. Basically, the diagnosis of "femoral neck fracture" is given to women over 60-65 years of age, in whom the cause of osteoporosis is menopause and disturbances in the functioning of hormone-producing organs. If your femoral neck hurts after a fall or bruise, you should definitely carry out instrumental diagnostics!
A car accident can cause a pertrochanteric femoral fracture. A sharp pain appears in the hip joint as the nerves are pinched.
Also, pain on the right or left appears against the background of:
- bruise of a bone joint due to a fall or direct blow;
- traumatic hip dislocation;
- congenital hip dislocation.
Birth injuries and bone deformations during intrauterine development can provoke congenital dislocation. Without treatment, the child’s legs may have different lengths in the future, and coxarthrosis develops early.
Provoking diseases in adults and children
If symptoms recur, or pain in the hip joint becomes chronic, they are 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. Any movement becomes impossible due to acute pain, the affected area turns red and swells.
- Aseptic necrosis of the femoral head.The reason is poor circulation in the hip joint. The disease occurs mainly at a young age. Without treatment, there is a risk of muscle and tendon atrophy, and the person becomes disabled.
- Myositis ossificans.It comes from inflammation of muscles and connective tissue, is associated with heredity or occurs after injury.
- Ankylosing spondylitis.Causes inflammatory damage to the bone joint, leading to limited mobility due to fusion of the articular cavity.
- Osteochondritis dissecans of the femur.The cartilage of the hip joint delaminates, and tissue necrosis often develops.
- Bursitis and synovitis.In this case, severe pain in the hip joint area is associated with inflammation of the synovial bursa or capsule.
Why do hip joints hurt on one or both sides, what other reasons are there?
The following diseases may be the cause:
- Reiter's syndrome;
- rheumatoid arthritis;
- spinal lesions with radicular syndrome;
- deformities of the feet, legs, knees;
- enthesopathy.
In pregnant women, the cause of pain in the joint on the right or left is often symphysitis - inflammation of the pubic symphysis when the pubic bones diverge. In rare cases, tumors and gout of the hip joint can trigger symptoms in people.
Symptoms of pathologies
Signs of diseases, as well as treatment procedures, vary greatly. Pain in the hip joint after a serious injury is strong, sharp, and localized in the thigh area. The surrounding tissues swell, and lameness is observed. The latter, with a slight bruise, goes away quickly. If there is a dislocation, fracture, leg movements are limited or impossible.
For a hip fracture, the symptoms are:
- increased pain when moving;
- irradiation of sensations into the inner surface of the leg;
- swelling, bruising;
- lameness;
- joint clicking;
- muscle numbness.
When the bursa or synovial membrane is inflamed, the pain is accompanied by a burning sensation and intensifies when walking. With osteochondrosis, tingling and goosebumps appear in the hip joint. Coxarthrosis is accompanied by aching pain, which is stronger in the morning and goes away during the day. With rheumatoid arthritis, the hip joint hurts with lumbago, the temperature inside it rises, and muscle stiffness appears.
Burning, nagging pain can be signs of ankylosing spondylitis, and the sensations radiate to the pelvis, sacrum, and become stronger at night. The hip joint area ache in chronic inflammatory diseases - arthritis, gout (not exacerbation).
Diagnosis of diseases
Treatment for any of these symptoms should begin immediately after diagnosis by an orthopedist, surgeon, or traumatologist. The doctor will be able to suggest damage to the left or right hip joint during the initial examination. During passive flexion and extension, pain, burning sensation appears, movements are limited, abduction to the sides is especially difficult.
The hip joint is located quite deep, so instrumental examinations become the main diagnostic methods:
- CT;
- MRI;
- radiography.
In some cases, it is necessary to carry out additional diagnostic measures. Thus, in case of infectious and purulent processes, a study of 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 with Doppler ultrasound will be required. Before treatment for pain in the hip joint, a rheumatoid factor test must be performed to rule out rheumatism.
Treatment of 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 reduction of the bone will have to be performed.
For a hip fracture, surgical treatment is indicated, since conservative measures most often do not help. Pins, screws are installed or endoprosthetics are performed. Only if there are contraindications, bandages are applied to the leg from the waist to the heel. Unfortunately, in old age this rarely leads to fusion of the hip bone, and the patient cannot walk or even sit normally.
What to do if the hip joint area hurts severely due to infectious inflammation? In this case, treatment with antibiotics is performed. The drugs are given as injections, administered by drip or directly into the cavity of the hip joint. Treatment also involves limiting the mobility of the leg to speed up recovery. To relieve symptoms, analgesics and anesthetics are injected into the joint. For purulent arthritis, surgery is performed to remove abscesses and wash the joint cavity with antibiotics.
Medication measures
The choice of drug treatment methods is carried out only by a doctor, depending on the type of disease. Aching pain is usually well relieved by taking analgesics, although the sensations often return quickly. If your leg hurts sharply and severely, blockades with anesthetics will have to be introduced into the hip joint area. Treatment of chronic hip pathologies should be carried out with regular courses of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs - only they will remove recurring symptoms, although they will not affect the course of the disease itself. For coxarthrosis, hormonal medications are usually administered, which relieve inflammation and pain for a long time.
Treatment of diseases of the hip joint can be carried out using the following means:
- Muscle relaxants.Used to reduce muscle spasm, which increases pain.
- Diuretics.Help relieve severe swelling affecting soft tissues.
- Vitamin preparations.Improves nutrition of the hip joint, accelerates biochemical reactions.
- Chondroprotectors.They replenish the deficiency of chondroitin and glucosamine and help restore damaged cartilage.
If a child regularly has pain in the hip joint, and the diagnosis of avascular necrosis is confirmed, the basis of treatment is the intake and injections of vascular drugs. Medicines enhance blood microcirculation, metabolism and help tissues regenerate.
Orthopedic devices and physical therapy
Treatment for diseases of the hip joint includes the use of orthopedic products. Most often they are used after injuries, when complete or partial immobilization is needed for several weeks or even months. Thus, for fractures, a rigid fixation orthosis is used, which, unlike plaster, does not cause irritation and allergies.
If a person has to lie down for a long time, he definitely needs an anti-bedsore mattress. During rehabilitation after an injury, walkers, 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 during treatment and for prevention to wear orthopedic shoes that relieve the load on the foot.
Physiotherapy is also indicated to improve the condition of the hip joint. This treatment eliminates symptoms, relieves pain, and optimizes blood circulation. During course therapy, inflammation decreases, swelling goes away, and the process of tissue repair begins. Laser therapy has proven itself best - laser beams heat tissue up to 10 cm thick, quickly relieve pain, and relieve inflammation.
Other physiotherapy techniques used are:
- electrophoresis;
- darsonval;
- magnetic therapy;
- shock wave therapy;
- balneotherapy;
- microcurrents;
- turpentine baths.
It is also recommended to regularly use a needle applicator at home - it increases blood circulation and helps reduce pain. In the acute stage of the disease, it is used 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 pain in the hip joint
Traditional medicine can also answer how to treat diseases of the hip joint. Unconventional treatment must be combined with conservative treatment, otherwise it will not bring the desired effect. External methods are less effective, because the location of this bone articulation is very deep. External measures can be applied through massage.
Treatment is carried out as follows:
- mix equal parts mint, hop cones, St. John's wort;
- pour 100 ml of Vaseline melted in a water bath onto a spoon;
- leave in a warm place for 2 days;
- Heat the mass again, strain;
- Apply for gentle rubbing with massage movements.
Baths can be used in the treatment of 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, a bath is taken for 15 minutes, the procedures are repeated every other day, 10 sessions are performed. You should also take the following pain medications internally:
- Pour ½ cup of lilac flowers into 250 ml of vodka, leave for 10 days, 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, 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 it will produce a larger volume of intra-articular fluid. As a result, the quality of nutrition and the rate of tissue restoration will increase. The set of exercises is selected individually; it is different for different diseases (according to the permissible load). At first the number of repetitions is small, after which it 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 required. It is indicated for injuries, advanced forms of coxarthrosis, rheumatoid arthritis, which cause severe bone deformation. They also operate on a limb when abscesses (ulcers) appear in the joint cavity or in 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 preventive measures are taken in time. It is necessary to avoid serious loads on the femur and joint, protect yourself from impacts, falls, and do not lift heavy objects. Already at the initial stage, it is necessary to treat any inflammatory diseases in the body, as well as keep vascular problems under control.
Gymnastics, exercise therapy, yoga, and swimming will 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. It is also beneficial for the hip joint to wear preventive bandages, comfortable shoes and insoles. When the first unpleasant symptoms appear, you should immediately consult a doctor and receive timely treatment - this will help avoid surgery.