The hip joint is a large bony 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 are very different, so a thorough diagnosis is essential.
Causes of hip pain
Pain in the hip joint varies – acute and regular, constant and periodic. Most often, unpleasant sensations occur in people over 50 years of age, although they can also occur in children. The causes of hip pain are very different. The most common is coxarthrosis, a degenerative disease with wear and tear of joint cartilage, in which the bones begin to move closer to each other and deform.
Pain in the right and left hip joint can have other causes:
- injuries - fractures, cracks, dislocations;
- connective tissue damage and autoimmune pathology;
- osteochondropathy;
- disorders in skeletal development;
- inflammation.
Sometimes the cause of quite severe pain is damage to other parts of the body (for example, spine, sacrum, intestines). In this case, treatment should solve the underlying problem, only then will the hip joint stop bothering the person.
Injuries as a cause of pain
Sharp pain affecting only one hip joint can be a symptom of a traumatic injury. It is difficult for a healthy person to break a hip joint, but if you have osteoporosis, it happens regularly. Basically, the diagnosis of "fracture of the femoral neck" is given to women older than 60-65 years, in whom the cause of osteoporosis is menopause and disorders of the organs that produce hormones. If your femur neck hurts after a fall or a bruise, you should definitely do instrumental diagnostics!
A car accident can cause a pertrochanteric fracture of the femur. There is a sharp pain in the hip joint due to compression of the nerves.
Also, pain on the right or left side appears on the background:
- a bone joint bruise due to a fall or a 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 have different lengths in the future, and coxarthrosis develops early.
Provocation of disease in adults and children
If the symptoms are repeated, or the 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. It is caused by infection of the thigh area with pyogenic bacteria. Any movement becomes impossible due to acute pain, the affected area becomes red and swollen.Aseptic necrosis of the femoral head. The reason is poor circulation in the hip joint. The disease occurs mostly 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 the muscles and connective tissue, is linked to heredity or occurs after an injury.Ankylosing spondylitis. It causes inflammatory damage to the bony joint, leading to limited mobility due to fusion of the joint cavity.Osteochondritis dissecans of the femur. The cartilage of the hip joint becomes delaminated 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 are the other reasons?
The following diseases can be the cause:
- Reiter's syndrome;
- rheumatoid arthritis;
- spinal lesions with radicular syndrome;
- foot, leg, knee deformities;
- enthesopathy.
In pregnant women, the cause of joint pain on the right or left side 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 people.
Symptoms of pathologies
The signs of the disease, as well as the treatment procedures, vary widely. Pain in the hip joint after a serious injury is strong, sharp and localized in the thigh area. Surrounding tissues swell, and lameness is observed. The latter, with a slight bruise, quickly disappears. If there is a dislocation, fracture, leg movements are limited or impossible.
For a hip fracture, the symptoms are:
- increased pain when moving;
- radiation of sensation on the inner surface of the leg;
- swelling, bruising;
- lameness;
- clicking in the joints;
- muscle numbness.
When the bursa or synovial membrane 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, which is stronger in the morning and disappears during the day. In rheumatoid arthritis, the hip joint hurts from lumbago, the temperature inside it rises and muscle stiffness appears.
Burning, nagging pain can be a sign of ankylosing spondylitis, and the sensations spread to the pelvis, sacrum and become stronger at night. The hip joint area hurts in chronic inflammatory diseases - arthritis, gout (not exacerbations).
Disease diagnosis
Treatment of any of these symptoms should be started immediately after diagnosis by an orthopedist, surgeon or traumatologist. During the initial examination, the doctor will be able to suggest damage to the left or right hip joint. During passive flexion and extension, there is pain, burning, movements are limited, abduction to the sides is particularly 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. Therefore, in the case of infectious and purulent processes, a synovial fluid study 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 treating hip pain, a rheumatoid factor test should be performed to rule out rheumatism.
Treatment of hip pain due to injuries and infections
Congenital dislocation of the hip joint is treated in infants. To do this, they use the 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, and if it does not help, surgical reduction of the bone will have to be performed.
For hip fractures, surgical treatment is indicated, as conservative measures usually do not help. Needles, screws or endoprosthetics are inserted. Only if there are contraindications, bandages are placed on the leg from the waist to the heel. Unfortunately, in old age, this rarely leads to fusion of the hip bones, and the patient cannot walk or even sit normally.
What to do if the hip joint area hurts a lot due to infection? In this case, treatment with antibiotics is carried out. Medicines are given in the form of injections, applied by drip or directly into the cavity of the hip joint. Treatment also involves limiting the mobility of the leg to speed up recovery. Analgesics and anesthetics are injected into the joint to relieve symptoms. In case of purulent arthritis, surgery is performed to remove the abscess and wash out the joint cavity with antibiotics.
Medication measures
The choice of drug treatment methods is made only by the doctor, depending on the type of disease. Painful pain is usually well relieved by taking analgesics, although the sensations often return quickly. If your leg hurts sharply and badly, you will need to introduce blocks with anesthetics in the area of the hip joint. 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. Hormonal drugs are usually given for coxarthrosis, which relieve inflammation and pain for a long time.
Treatment of hip joint disease can be carried out using the following means:
Muscle relaxants. It is used to reduce muscle spasm, which increases pain.Diuretics. It helps relieve severe swelling that affects soft tissues.Vitamin preparations. It 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 the child regularly has pain in the hip joint, and the diagnosis of avascular necrosis is confirmed, the basis of treatment is taking and injecting vascular drugs. Medicines promote blood microcirculation, metabolism and help in tissue regeneration.
Orthopedic devices and physical therapy
Treatment of hip joint disease involves the use of orthopedic products. They are most often used after injuries, when complete or partial immobilization is required for several weeks or even months. Thus, rigid fixation orthosis is used for fractures, 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-prolapse mattress. During rehabilitation after an injury, walkers, canes and crutches are used for support. For 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 reduce the load on the feet.
Physiotherapy is indicated to improve the condition of the hip joint. This treatment removes symptoms, relieves pain and optimizes blood circulation. During the therapy, the inflammation decreases, the swelling disappears and the tissue regeneration process begins. Laser therapy proved to be the best - laser rays heat tissue up to 10 cm thick, quickly relieve pain and inflammation.
Other physiotherapy techniques used are:
- electrophoresis;
- darsonval;
- magnetic therapy;
- shock wave therapy;
- balneotherapy;
- microcurrents;
- turpentine baths.
Regular use of the needle applicator at home is also recommended - 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 hip pain
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 bony articulation is very deep. External measures can be applied through massage.
Treatment is carried out as follows:
- mix equal parts of mint, hop cones, St. John's wort;
- pour 100 ml of petroleum jelly dissolved in a water bath onto a spoon;
- leave in a warm place for 2 days;
- Heat the mass again, filter;
- Apply for gentle rubbing with massaging 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, bathed for 15 minutes, the procedures are repeated every other day, 10 sessions are performed. You should also take the following pain relievers internally:
- pour ½ cup of lilac flowers with 250 ml of vodka, leave for 10 days, drink a teaspoon three times a day for 14 days;
- mix a spoonful of birch buds and linden flowers, boil 300 ml of boiling water, drink 150 ml twice a day for a month;
- cook 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 speed of tissue regeneration will increase. The set of exercises is chosen 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 cause 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, rheumatoid arthritis that cause severe bone deformations. They also operate on the extremity 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 preventive measures are taken in time. It is necessary to avoid serious loads on the femur and wrist, protect yourself from blows, falls and do not lift heavy objects. Already in the initial phase, it is necessary to treat all inflammatory diseases in the body, as well as to 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 neck of the femur 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 receive timely treatment - this will help to avoid surgery.