The appearance of pain in the hip is a reason to see a doctor early. The sooner the cause of the discomfort is identified and treatment is indicated, the more likely it is to completely eliminate the pain.
The largest joint in the body is the hip. It occupies the largest and longest daily load. Its main function is to provide a person with movement and maintain his balance. Hip pain complicates life, bringing a lot of discomfort and trouble.
It is urgent to consult a doctor for help if unpleasant symptoms appear. They can be caused by various diseases. In the first place among the provocateurs of pain are injuries to the limbs.
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 in time, all these diseases lead to complications, degenerative processes in the joints. These changes mainly include:
- damage to the cartilage surface;
- damage to structures located near the joint;
- reduce the amount of fluid in the joints.
There is often no obvious cause for pain in the hip joint and the pain does not go away and increases with each day. These are signs that an illness has developed. To know which disease has developed, you need to visit a doctor, but if that is not possible, you can first identify the symptoms and, accordingly, the pathology itself and the methods of its elimination.
joint injury
The most obvious cause of pain in the hip joint is trauma. The most common fracture is the femoral neck. It is most common because the neck is the thinnest area of the thighs. If the pain is caused by a broken bone, you need to be very careful, because this condition is very dangerous. Older adults are more likely to have this injury.
Hip pain caused by a fracture should only be treated under medical supervision. In advanced cases, resort to prosthetic or endoscopic methods.
Arthritis
This disease mainly affects older people. 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, pain on one side of the thigh, up to the knee, which can appear at night. When leaning on the leg with joint pain, the patient feels increasing pain, when getting up from the sitting position, the leg seems to be shot through.
The disease is common in elderly people. During this period of life, many people may experience all sorts of degenerative, dystrophic and inflammatory processes. One of the first changes was the hip joint.
The main symptoms of arthritis are:
- aching limbs;
- pain in the groin area that radiates down the leg, to the knee area;
- increased symptoms when walking;
- Taken while standing up from a sitting position.
What to do if the first signs of arthritis appear? With severe pain, elevated temperature, it is recommended to take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. With their help, you can eliminate or eliminate the symptoms of the inflammatory process. Children are prescribed pediatric forms of medicine.
It is also necessary to give the sore leg rest, put it comfortably. It is strictly forbidden to perform any development exercises. Treatment at the onset of disease development is conservative. Prosthetic or internal operation is carried out in advanced cases.
Coxarthrosis
Coxarthrosis (joint deformity) is a common pathology. The disease occurs mainly in people over the age of 40. With coxarthrosis, the first symptoms can be seen from the very beginning of development. Pain occurs in both one and both joints, developing gradually. Coxarthrosis is divided into primary (a disease of unknown origin) and secondary, which causes consequences:
- congenital hip dislocation;
- necrosis and destruction of tissues of the femoral head;
- improperly formed hip joints;
- Perthes disease;
- wound;
- inflammation.
In primary coxarthrosis, the spine and knee joints may be further affected. Changes in the fluid that lubricates the joints lead to the development of this disease. This causes the surface of the cartilage to dry out, leading to roughness and cracking. There is a thinning of cartilage during friction, the bones are under great pressure, which causes their deformation in coxarthrosis.
The joint begins to be a little sore, but with the development of the pathology, the discomfort begins to appear with increasing intensity. In the second stage of the development of the disease, severe pain appears with:
- every time you get up from a sitting position;
- movement of the upper body;
- start walking;
- in its own walk.
The pain radiates to the groin and knee area. There is a constant muscle tone in the affected area. This explains the occurrence of pain at night.
Over time, the blood circulation is disturbed causing the metabolism to slow down. This leads to gradual muscle atrophy. Symptoms of coxarthrosis in stages 2 and 3:
- pain in the hip, groin, knee;
- limited movement;
- the appearance of a limp;
- the length of the leg with the affected joint is reduced;
- thigh muscle atrophy.
With coxarthrosis, pain can be present even at night. Treatment should be prescribed by a doctor after a complete examination. The sooner a patient seeks help, the better and quicker the outcome. They also resort to sham and endoscopic methods.
When pain occurs when walking due to arthritis, then drug treatment is only possible at stages 1 and 2 of the development. Stage 3 requires surgery. You shouldn't wait for a complete cure (with the exception of joint replacement surgery). But it is possible to reduce discomfort and pain and prevent the development of arthritis. Medical treatment is carried out:
- analgesic;
- Anti-inflammatory;
- compression with dimexide;
- physical therapy.
But this treatment is not enough, complex treatment is necessary. Therefore, the doctor may prescribe massage, diet, exercise, medication to protect cartilage.
Tendonitis and trochanteric bursitis
The trochanteric synovial sac is located above the protrusion of the femur. Inflammation of this part of the musculoskeletal system causes pain in the hip and buttock joints. If you lie on the side where the fluid sac is affected, the pain will be more intense. Inflammation can also develop in the comb or pelvic sac, but this happens less often. The development of the disease may begin after joint and joint replacement.
Tendonitis is an inflammatory process in the tendon. The risk of this pathology is in people who are constantly stressed. Basically, this pathology appears in athletes.
Tendonitis causes joint pain with movement or walking. In a state of calm and light load, there may be no discomfort.
What to do when pain when walking due to bursitis or tendonitis should be determined by an orthopedist or traumatologist. To save the patient from these pathologies, the therapist prescribes therapy aimed at reducing inflammation. The affected limb must be completely rested. To eliminate pain, perforations 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.
For pain relief, 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 out the juice. Make a gauze pad from it, which needs to be changed 6 times in the first few days, then you can apply it only at night.
Chronic pelvic pain syndrome due to bursitis is relieved by applying a compress made from fresh cabbage leaves or burdock. These leaves must be applied from the inside to the place where the oil or cream was previously applied. After that, it is necessary to wrap compression with polyethylene, wrapping with cloth. If such treatment is carried out daily, then the inflammation should subside after 1 to 2 months.
infection
The causes of septic arthritis are influenza viruses, streptococcus, staphylococcus, and other pathogens. If the pain is caused by an infectious disease, then the development of other symptoms will not take long. Pain and swelling in the affected joint will not go away. A fever may develop and pain will be excruciating not only with walking but also with light movement. Even light touches bring suffering.
Tuberculosis arthritis, which usually affects the hip joint, causes slightly different symptoms:
- The first pain occurs when walking. It is not strong, extending to the knee or mid-thigh area.
- After that, hip movement is restricted.
- There is swelling in the affected bone area.
genetic
Chronic pelvic pain syndrome is inherited. This is Perthes disease, which is common in boys but much more severe in girls. It affects one side of the hip, and sometimes pain in the knee.
The cause of the development of the disease is myelodysplasia (underdeveloped lumbar spinal cord). The illness may not bother you for the rest of your life. But severe violations cause various orthopedic pathologies. Perthes disease can cause such causes:
- arthritis;
- wound;
- increased stress on the joints.
Symptoms of the disease:
- lameness;
- unexplained sharp pain in the knee joint;
- hip joint pain;
- change in gait;
- increased temperature;
- Blood tests show inflammation.
Treatment must be carried out under the supervision of a doctor and according to his recommendations. Patients with Perthes disease are indicated for long-term complex therapy.
tumor
Osteoarthritis will cause pain in the hip joint. Their nature depends on the location and quality of education in the tissues.
The cause of pain in the joints, extending to the legs, may lie in the defeat of the joints themselves. This includes tumors in muscle or bone. The intensity and area of manifestation of the pain is different. This is due to the nature of the tumors (benign or malignant) and their location.
When joint pain occurs, it is necessary to seek medical help, regardless of the cause of this symptom. After all, any joint disease in its early stages can be cured conservatively without resorting to surgery. But home treatment of the tumor process is unacceptable.