The appearance of pain in the hip is a reason for an early visit to the doctor. The sooner the cause of the discomfort is established and treatment is prescribed, the more likely the pain will completely disappear.
The largest joint in the body is the hip. It represents the largest and longest daily load. Its main function is to provide a person with movement and maintain their balance. Pain in the hip joint complicates life, brings a lot of discomfort and trouble.
It is necessary to urgently consult a doctor for help if unpleasant symptoms appear. They can be caused by various diseases. In the first position among the causes of pain are injuries to the extremities.
Less obvious factors that cause pain in the hip joint include the development of pathological processes. The main pathological causes of pain are the presence of:
- arthritis;
- osteoarthritis;
- infectious arthritis;
- inflammatory processes in the tendons;
- coxarthrosis and others.
If treatment is not started on time, all these diseases lead to complications, degenerative processes in the joint. These changes mainly include:
- damage to the cartilage surface;
- damage to structures located near the joint;
- decreased amount of fluid in the joint.
Often there are no obvious causes of hip joint pain, and the pain does not go away and grows every day. These are signs that an already developed disease is present. In order to find out what disease has developed, you need to visit a doctor, but if this is not possible, then you can first determine the symptoms, and, accordingly, the pathology itself and the methods of getting rid of it.
joint injury
The most obvious causes of hip joint pain are injuries. The most common fracture is that of the femoral neck. It is the most common because the neck is the thinnest part of the thigh. If the pain is caused by a fracture, then you need to be very careful, since this condition is very dangerous. Older people are more prone to this injury.
Hip pain caused by a fracture should only be treated under medical supervision. In advanced cases, resort to prosthetic or endoprosthetic methods.
Arthritis
This disease mainly affects the elderly. With age, the development of degenerative, dystrophic and inflammatory processes in the joints is often observed. This disease will cause pain in the hip and groin area, pain in the side of the thigh, up to the knee, can appear at night. Leaning on a leg with a sore joint, the patient feels increased pain, and when he gets up from a sitting position, the leg seems to shoot out.
The pathology is common in elderly people. During this period of life, many people can cope with all the degenerative, dystrophic and inflammatory processes of the joints. One of the first to undergo changes is the hip joint.
The main symptoms of arthritis are:
- limb pain;
- pain in the inguinal region, radiating down the leg, reaching the knee region;
- increased symptoms when walking;
- firing when rising from a sitting position.
What to do if the first signs of arthritis appear? With severe pain, elevated temperature, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs should be taken. With their help, you can eliminate or eliminate the symptoms of the inflammatory process. Children are prescribed children's medicines.
It is also necessary to give rest to the sore leg, placing it comfortably. It is strictly forbidden to do any development exercise. Treatment at the beginning of the development of the disease is conservative. The prosthesis or endoprosthesis operation is performed in advanced cases.
coxarthrosis
Coxarthrosis (deforming osteoarthritis) is a frequent pathology. The disease occurs mainly in people over 40 years of age. With coxarthrosis, the first symptoms can be seen from the very beginning of its development. Pain sensations appear both in one and in both joints, developing gradually. Coxarthrosis is divided into primary (a disease of unknown origin) and secondary, the causes of which are the consequences:
- congenital dislocations of the hip;
- necrosis and tissue destruction of the femoral head;
- malformed hip joint;
- Perthes disease;
- injury;
- inflammation.
In primary coxarthrosis, the spine and knee joint may also be affected. Changes in the fluid that should lubricate the joint lead to the development of this disease. This causes the surface of the cartilage to dry out, resulting in roughness and cracks. There is a thinning of the cartilage during friction, the bones are subjected to great pressure, which causes their deformation in coxarthrosis.
The joint begins to ache a little, but with the development of the pathology, the discomfort begins to manifest itself with greater intensity. At the second stage of the development of the disease, severe pain appears with:
- every time you get up from a sitting position;
- upper body movements;
- the beginning of the walk;
- in the walk itself.
The pain radiates to the groin and knee area. There is a constant muscle tone in the affected area. This explains the appearance of pain at night.
Over time, blood circulation is disturbed, which causes a slowdown in metabolism. This leads to gradual muscle atrophy. Symptoms of coxarthrosis in stages 2 and 3:
- pain in the hip joint, groin area, knee;
- restricted movements;
- the appearance of lameness;
- the length of the leg with the affected joint decreases;
- atrophy of the thigh muscles.
With coxarthrosis, pain can appear even at night. Treatment should be prescribed by a doctor after a complete examination. The sooner the patient seeks help, the better and faster the results will be. They also resort to prosthetic and endoprosthetic methods.
When pain occurs when walking, caused by osteoarthritis, drug treatment is possible only in stages 1 and 2 of development. Stage 3 requires surgery. You should not wait for complete healing (except for arthroplasty). But it is possible to relieve discomfort and pain and stop the development of osteoarthritis. Medical treatment is carried out:
- analgesics;
- anti-inflammatory;
- compresses with dimexide;
- physiotherapy.
But this treatment is not enough, complex therapy is needed. So, the doctor can prescribe massage, diet, gymnastics, take chondroprotectors.
Trochanteric bursa tendonitis and bursitis
The trochanteric bursa lies above the prominence of the femur. Inflammation of this part of the musculoskeletal system leads to pain in the hip joint and buttocks. If you lie on the side with which the bag of fluid is affected, the pain will intensify. The inflammatory process can also develop in the iliac comb or ischial bags, but this occurs much less often. The development of the disease can begin after prosthetics and arthroplasty of the joint.
Tendinitis is an inflammatory process in the tendons. The risk of this pathology is in people who are subjected to stress on a regular basis. Basically, this pathology appears in athletes.
Inflammation of the tendons causes pain in the joints during active movements or when walking. In a calm state and light loads, there may be no discomfort.
What to do when pain when walking is caused by bursitis or tendonitis should be determined by an orthopedist or traumatologist. To save the patient from these pathologies, the specialist prescribes a therapy aimed at relieving inflammation. The affected limb must rest completely. To eliminate pain, punctures are prescribed. During the procedure, fluid is pumped out of the bag and antibiotics are injected into it.
In advanced situations, surgical intervention is necessary.
To relieve pain, if chronic pelvic pain syndrome or mild forms of the disease are observed, treatment with alternative methods will help. Keep a few Kalanchoe leaves in the refrigerator for a day, then squeeze the juice out of them. Make a compress from it, which must be changed 6 times in the first days, then you can apply it only at night.
Chronic pelvic pain syndrome from bursitis is relieved by compresses made from fresh cabbage or burdock leaves. These sheets must be applied with the inside in a place previously lubricated with oil or cream. Then it is necessary to wrap the compress with polyethylene, wrap it with a cloth. If such treatment is carried out daily, then the inflammation will disappear after 1-2 months.
infections
The causes of infectious arthritis are influenza viruses, streptococci, staphylococci and other pathogens. If the pain is caused by an infectious disease, the development of other symptoms will not take long. Pain and swelling in the area of the diseased joint will not do. Fever may develop, and pain will torment not only when walking, but also with the slightest movement. Even light touches will bring suffering.
Tuberculous arthritis, which most often affects the hip joint, causes slightly different symptoms:
- The pain appears for the first time when walking. It is not strong, extending to the knee region or mid-thigh.
- Afterwards, hip movements are limited.
- There is swelling in the area of the affected bone.
Inheritance
Chronic pelvic pain syndrome is inherited. This is Perthes disease, which is more common in boys, but in girls it is much more serious. The disease affects one side of the hip joint, sometimes knee pain may appear.
The cause of the development of the disease is myelodysplasia (underdeveloped lumbar spinal cord). Pathology may not bother you all your life. But gross violations provoke various orthopedic pathologies. Perthes disease can cause such causes:
- inflammation of the joint;
- injury;
- Increased stress on the joints.
Symptoms of the disease:
- limp;
- sharp pain for no reason in the knee joint;
- pain in the hip joint;
- change in gear;
- temperature increase;
- blood test shows inflammation.
Treatment should be carried out under the supervision of a doctor and in accordance with his recommendations. Patients with Perthes disease are prescribed long-term complex therapy.
tumors
An articular bone tumor will cause pain in the hip joint. Its nature depends on the location and quality of education in the tissues.
The causes of pain in the joint, spreading to the leg, may lie in the defeat of the joint itself. This includes neoplasms in the muscles or bones. The intensity and area of manifestation of pain is different. This is due to the nature of the tumors (benign or malignant) and their location.
When joint pain appears, it is essential to seek medical help, regardless of the cause that caused this symptom. After all, any joint disease at the initial stage can be cured conservatively, without resorting to surgery. But home treatment of the tumor process is unacceptable.