The hip joint is a large joint that connects the femur and pelvis, giving the limb the ability to bend, extend, and abduct. Hip pain is a symptom of many inflammatory, infectious, degenerative and other diseases. The causes of hip pain vary widely, so a thorough diagnosis is indispensable.
Causes of hip pain
Joint pain in the hip area is very diverse - acute and frequent, constant and periodic. Most often, unpleasant sensations occur in people over 50 years old, although they can occur even in children. The causes of hip pain vary widely. The most common is coxarthrosis, a degenerative disease that causes wear and tear of joint cartilage, in which bones begin to move closer together and become deformed.
Right and left hip pain can be caused by other causes:
- injuries - fractures, cracks, dislocations;
- connective tissue damage and autoimmune diseases;
- osteoarthritis;
- bone growth 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 patient.
Trauma is the cause of pain
Sharp pain that involves only one hip joint may be a symptom of injury. It is very unlikely for a healthy person to break a hip joint, but if you have osteoporosis this happens often. Basically, the diagnosis of "femoral neck fracture" is applied to women over 60-65 years old, the cause of osteoporosis is menopause and dysfunction of hormone-producing organs. If your femoral neck hurts after a fall or bruise, you should definitely get an instrumental diagnosis!
An automobile accident can cause a pertrochanteric femur fracture. A sharp pain occurs in the hip joint when the nerve is compressed.
In addition, pain in the right or left side appears against the background of:
- Bruised joints due to falls or direct impact;
- Hip dislocation due to trauma;
- Congenital hip dislocation.
Birth trauma and bone deformities during intrauterine development can cause congenital dislocations. Without treatment, the child's legs may have different lengths in the future and coxarthrosis will develop early.
Causes illness in adults and children
If symptoms recur or hip pain becomes chronic, it is often caused by systemic diseases or diseases of the hip joint itself.
In addition to coxarthrosis, the hip joint also hurts for the following reasons:
- Purulent arthritis.Occurs because the thigh area is infected 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 cause is poor circulation in the hip joint. The disease occurs mainly at a young age. Without treatment, the patient will be at risk of muscle and tendon atrophy and disability.
- Skeletal myositis.It results from inflammation of the muscles and connective tissue, is linked to genetics, or occurs after injury.
- Ankylosing spondylitis.Causes inflammatory damage to joints, leading to limited movement due to joint space adhesion.
- Osteochondritis dissecans the femur.The hip cartilage is sloughed off and tissue necrosis often develops.
- Bursitis and synovitis.In this case, severe pain in the hip joint area is associated with inflammation of the bursa or synovium.
Why does the hip joint hurt on one side or both sides? Are there any other causes?
The following diseases may be the cause:
- Reiter's syndrome;
- rheumatoid arthritis;
- spinal lesions with radicular syndrome;
- foot, leg, and knee deformities;
- mental illness.
In pregnant women, the cause of joint pain on the right or left side is often due to pubic symphysis - inflammation of the pubic joint when the pubic bones diverge. In rare cases, tumors and gout in the hip joint can cause symptoms in people.
Pathological symptoms
Signs of the disease as well as treatment procedures vary widely. The pain in the hip joint after a serious injury is strong, sharp and localized in the thigh area. Surrounding tissues swell and limping occurs. After this, with a slight bruise, it will disappear quickly. If a joint is dislocated or a bone is broken, leg movement is limited or impossible.
For hip fractures, symptoms are:
- pain increases when moving;
- radiation of sensation to the inner surface of the leg;
- swelling, bruising;
- lame;
- joint click;
- muscle numbness.
When the bursa or synovial membrane becomes inflamed, the pain is accompanied by a burning sensation and gradually increases when walking. With osteonecrosis, tingling sensations and goosebumps appear in the hip joint. Coxarthrosis is accompanied by aching pain, which is stronger in the morning and disappears during the day. With rheumatoid arthritis, the hip joint suffers from low back pain, the internal temperature increases and muscle stiffness appears.
Burning, persistent pain can be a sign of ankylosing spondylitis. The feeling spreads to the pelvis and sacrum and becomes stronger at night. Pain in the hip joint in chronic inflammatory diseases - arthritis, gout (not severe).
Diagnostic
Treatment of any of these symptoms should begin immediately after diagnosis by an orthopedist, surgeon, or traumatologist. Your doctor will be able to suggest damage to the left or right hip joint during the initial examination. During passive flexion and extension, pain and burning sensations appear, movement is limited, and it is especially difficult to move to the side.
The hip joint is located quite deep, so instrumental examination becomes the main diagnostic method:
- CT;
- MRI;
- X-ray.
In some cases, it is necessary to perform additional diagnostic measures. Therefore, in case of infectious and purulent processes, a study of synovial fluid is indicated. If malignancy is suspected, a biopsy will be performed. If the vessels of the hip joint are affected, an ultrasound with Doppler ultrasound is required. Before treating hip pain, a rheumatoid factor test must be performed to rule out rheumatism.
Treatment of hip pain caused by injury and infection
In infants, congenital hip dislocation is treated. To do this, they use Freik pillows and pads - special orthopedic devices that help keep the legs in the correct position. Treatment time can be 6-8 months, if there is no improvement, bone removal surgery will be required.
For hip fractures, surgical treatment is indicated because conservative measures usually do not help. Pins and screws are installed or endoscopy is performed. Only if there are contraindications, the bandage is applied to 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 has severe pain due to infection? In this case, antibiotic treatment is performed. The drug is administered as an injection, drip or directly into the hip joint cavity. Treatment also involves limiting leg mobility to speed recovery. To relieve symptoms, pain relievers and anesthetics are injected into the joint. For purulent arthritis, surgery is performed to remove the abscess and flush the joint cavity with antibiotics.
Medication measures
The choice of drug treatment is made only by a doctor, depending on the type of disease. The pain often subsides with pain relievers, although the feeling often returns quickly. If your leg is in severe and severe pain, you will have to inject anesthetic 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 eliminate recurring symptoms, although they will not affect the course of the disease. For coxarthrosis, hormonal medications are often used to reduce inflammation and pain over the long term.
Treatment of diseases of the hip joint can be carried out using the following methods:
- Muscle relaxants.Used to reduce muscle spasms, which increase pain.
- Diuretic.Helps reduce severe swelling affecting soft tissues.
- Vitamin preparations.Improve nutrition for hip joints, accelerate biochemical reactions.
- Chondroprotectors.They replenish chondroitin and glucosamine deficiencies and help restore damaged cartilage.
If a child frequently has hip pain and the diagnosis of avascular necrosis is confirmed, the basis of treatment is oral and vascular medication injections. The drug enhances blood microcirculation, metabolism and helps tissue regeneration.
Orthopedic and physical therapy equipment
Treatment of diseases of the hip joint includes the use of orthopedic products. Most often, they are used after an injury, when complete or partial immobilization is required for several weeks or even months. Therefore, for fractures, a rigid orthopedic fixation is used, which, unlike plaster, does not cause irritation and allergies.
If a person has to lie down for a long time, he or she definitely needs an anti-ulcer mattress when lying down. During recovery from injury, walkers, canes, and crutches are used for support. When suffering from sympathetic arthritis, pregnant women should wear corsets with stiff ribs. It is equally important during treatment and prevention to wear orthopedic shoes to reduce the load on the feet.
Physical therapy is also indicated to improve hip health. This treatment helps eliminate symptoms, relieve pain and optimize blood circulation. During treatment, inflammation decreases, swelling disappears, and tissue repair begins. Laser therapy has proven to be the best - the laser beam heats tissue up to 10 cm thick, quickly relieves pain and reduces inflammation.
Other physical therapy techniques used are:
- electrophoresis;
- Darsonval;
- magnetic therapy;
- shock wave therapy;
- balm therapy;
- micro current;
- turpentine bathtub.
You should also regularly use a needle applicator at home - it increases blood circulation and helps relieve 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 hip joint disease. Unique 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 joint is very deep. External measures can be applied through massage.
Treatment is performed 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;
- Reheat the mass, filter;
- Apply to rub gently with massage movements.
Baths can be used to treat hip joints - they provide quick pain relief. A decoction of mint and pine needles (50 g of raw materials per liter of water) is poured into warm water, bathed for 15 minutes, the procedures are repeated every other day, making 10 sessions. You should also take the following pain relievers 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 spoonful of birch buds and linden flowers, mix 300 ml of boiling water, drink 150 ml twice a day for a month;
- Boil 1 kg of beef bones, pour the broth into each divided box, eat 250 g of this jelly every day.
Other treatments
If the hip joint is affected, therapeutic exercises are prescribed. If the joints have to move, a large amount of fluid will be created in the joints. Thanks to this, the quality of nutrition and the speed of tissue recovery will increase. The set of exercises is selected individually, different for different diseases (according to the permissible load). The number of repetitions is small at first, then increases. You should not make sudden movements - they can cause a new pain.
In some cases, treatment with hip surgery is required. It is indicated for injuries, progressive forms of coxarthrosis, rheumatoid arthritis, causing severe bone deformities. They also act on a limb when an abscess (ulcer) appears in the joint cavity or in the soft tissues.
The most common types of operations are:
- Endoscopic;
- foot installation;
- arthroscopy;
- bone removal;
- bone synthesis.
Prevent joint diseases
Hip pain can be prevented if timely preventive measures are taken. It is necessary to avoid severe loads on the femur and joints, protect yourself from impacts, falls and do not lift heavy objects. In the early stages, it is necessary to treat any inflammatory diseases in the body, as well as control vascular problems.
Gymnastics, calisthenics, yoga and swimming will help strengthen your hip joints. It is important to maintain a normal weight so as not to overload the femoral neck and entire hip joint. To reduce body weight, follow a diet that avoids fatty, sweet, starchy foods, smoked meats, and salty foods. Wearing preventative bandages and comfortable shoes and insoles are 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 avoid the need for surgery.