Hip pain

Hip pain is localized where the femur meets the pelvis. It is this connection of the bones that provides a person with the normal movement of the legs in any plane. The hip joint is considered to be the largest movable joint in the human body and helps it to move fully.

Like many other joints in the body, the femur and pelvis can be damaged. When labor is interrupted, the patient feels pain in the hip joints. Bones, muscles, joint circumference, cartilage, vessels, tendons, nerves, and adjacent joints can be affected by pain syndrome. In this case, a person suffers from unpleasant symptoms that interfere with normal life. When such pains are felt, a person is immediately interested in the question of how the syndrome developed and what to do to eliminate it.

Etiology

Pain in the hip joint has various causes. The junction of the femur and pelvis can become inflamed due to injuries, diseases of the joints and tendons, the manifestation of systemic diseases, infectious processes.

The reasons for the formation of the pain syndrome can be such non-traumatic factors:

• osteoarthritis;
• osteoarthritis;
• failure of blood supply to bones and joint formation.

With the development of such ailments in the hip joints, degenerative changes in the joint surfaces occur. In humans, the cartilage and the periarticular bag are damaged, the synovial membrane of the joint is destroyed, the amount of joint fluid decreases, which leads to severe pain and disruption of the joint.

To get rid of an unpleasant syndrome, the patient needs to identify why the hip joint hurts. To make the correct diagnosis, the patient must undergo a comprehensive examination. Clinicians have determined that pain in the hip joint when walking has a fairly simple cause. The following indicators were assigned to the category of most common provoking factors:

• infectious inflammation;
• degenerative changes;
• dislocations;
• fractures;
• aseptic necrosis of the femoral head;
• bursitis;
• inflammation of a non-infectious nature with autoimmune diseases of connective tissues;
• tuberculosis.

It is quite difficult to establish the cause of the onset of pain, since it can be triggered not only by injuries and ailments, but also by pathological processes in the abdominal cavity, lumbar region and genitals.

Pain in the hip joint when walking is often caused by damage to the junction of the bones. Injuries that can cause a similar syndrome include not only dislocation or fracture, but also other reasons:

• contusion of the pelvis;
• rupture of the acetabulum;
• elongation;
• violation of the structure of ligaments and capsule of the joint.

In addition, the causes of the appearance of the pain syndrome can be toxic synovitis, primary and secondary oncological pathologies, osteomalacia and osteomyelitis.

Unlike adults, children have slightly different exacerbations. If the hip joint hurts, the reason most likely lies in the epiphysis, Legg-Calve-Perthes, Still's disease, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, etc.

For women during pregnancy, there are also characteristic pains in the hip joint. During this period, the female body changes significantly and the functionality of many organs changes, so pregnant women can often experience pain in various areas of the body. Pain syndrome in the movable joint of the pelvic region can develop for the following reasons:

• hormonal changes;
• growth of the uterus, which increases the load on the hip joint;
• increased load on the legs;
• exacerbation of early injuries;
• lack of calcium;
• the appearance of a focus of inflammation in another area, radiating to the groin.

All of the above etiological reasons can be identified after a comprehensive examination and examination by a doctor. During pregnancy, pain in the hip joint is a significant inconvenience for a woman, but after childbirth all syndromes go away.

Classification

The unpleasant sensations that a person experiences are associated with intra-articular and extra-articular factors. The first category of reasons includes the formation of an effusion in the joint, increased stress, fractures of the spans and rupture of intra-articular ligaments, stretching of the joint capsule, inflammation of the synovial membranes.

Extra-articular factors include muscle spasms, impaired venous flow, which causes congestion of the subchondral bone and inflammation in the periarticular tendon area.

Clinicians also identified types of pain by type:

• mechanical - is manifested by a load on the joint, increases in the evening and decreases after sleep;
• starting pains - are formed with reactive synovitis, progress with physical activity, then subside a little or, as a rule, disappear;
• against the background of tendonitis or tendo-bursitis - exacerbate in places where damaged tendons and muscles are involved;
• based on the spasm of the periarticular muscles;
• pain in the hip joint at night - decreases with movement. The syndrome of stagnation of blood in the subchondral parts of the bone is aggravated;
• Syndrome of damage to the synovial surface by osteophytes.

Symptoms

The causes and treatment of the syndrome are interrelated. Therefore, in order to determine the method of treatment, the doctor must identify the clinical picture.

During damage to the hip joint, cartilage and cartilage fragments become thinner, causing inflammation of the inner surface of the pelvis and femur. It is this process that causes the onset of pain. If there is no cartilage in the joint, the exposed femoral bone rubs against the pelvic bone, which manifests as severe pain syndrome.

Quite often the patient has sensations that pass from one part of the body to another. Often, patients experience hip pain when walking, which can move to the knee, but also to the gluteal and lumbar regions. At first, the syndrome may be unstable and mild, however, as the damage progresses, the intensity of the symptom increases. At this time, the pain becomes constant, it can manifest itself both during movement and in a calm state.

Depending on the location of the focus of inflammation, pain in the hip joint has different manifestations and symptoms:

• in case of injury to the hip joint - the syndrome worries the patient not only in the joint, but also in the entire thigh and extends to the lower leg. It also often happens that inflammation of the lumbar spine can manifest itself in the hip joint;
• the patient's mobility decreases - the possibility of hip flexion decreases;
• lameness may appear on the right or left, or one leg will be slightly shorter than the other;
• the joint becomes tight and inactive;
• movements can be particularly painful after prolonged sitting;
• fatigue due to the inability to walk long distances.

If the symptom is manifested by serious illnesses, the patient may have more severe symptoms of the disease - high fever, swelling, headache, weakness, redness of the inflamed area.

Diagnostic

If a person continues to hurt themselves on the right or left side of the hip joint, they should definitely seek the advice of a specialist. With a similar problem, the patient may be referred to a rheumatologist, traumatologist, physiotherapist or neurologist.

Before treating any symptom, you should assess the condition and identify the suspected cause of the syndrome. In addition to the visible features of severe inflammation, the condition of the hip joint can be assessed by the following methods:

• supine, look at the lower extremities - in case of dislocation or fracture, they take a forced position, and not parallel to the axis of the body;
• to identify the mobility of the joint, you can perform several active movements forwards and backwards - if the pelvic area is damaged, the patient feels severe pain;
• when lying down, passive movements of the movable joint can be detected - clicks, crunches and muscle tension can occur;
• when examining the patient, the doctor should describe in detail all the manifestations of the syndrome.

A symptom of pain in the hip area can form from various pathological processes, therefore it is important for the clinician to make a differential diagnosis of the disease. To establish the cause of pain in the hip joint when sitting and walking, the patient undergoes laboratory and instrumental examinations:

• X-ray of the spine, hip region;
• tomography of the spine, pelvis and hip;
• examinations of vascular permeability - dopplerography, angiography and other methods;
• electromyography;
• general, biochemical, bacteriological, immunological blood test.

Processing

If nighttime pain in the hip joint does not develop very quickly in a person and goes away after rest, the cause may be a minor injury or joint load. In this case, doctors recommend using minor therapeutic measures:

• reduce loads;
• provide rest to the joint;
• use a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug;
• lie on the healthy side.

With severe, intense, constant and prolonged pain, you can not do without the help of a doctor, especially if there is a noticeable deformation of the joint, redness of the thigh, a change in thethigh complexion and low sensitivity. In these circumstances, self-medication can harm the patient and cause the symptom to progress.

Pain in the hip joint, radiating to the leg, may subside after the doctor prescribes different treatment methods. To eliminate the syndrome, doctors prescribe conservative therapy to patients:

• medications;
• sports with a minimum load;
• weight control;
• physiotherapy;
• auxiliary devices - canes, walkers, crutches;
• avoid heavy loads;
• balance the emotional state;
• take vitamins.

The treatment process necessarily consists of drug therapy. For this purpose, doctors prescribe the following drugs to patients:

• diuretics;
• anti-inflammatory;
• muscle relaxants;
• improvement of microcirculation;
• chondroprotectors;
• vitamins and minerals.

If the pain in the hip joint during pregnancy started suddenly in a woman, then she should definitely see a doctor. He can be prescribed the use of multivitamin complexes, calcium intake, moderate physical activity and the wearing of a bandage. In order to reduce symptoms and prevent the development of complications, the doctor advises the expectant mother to adhere to simple rules:

• reduce the number of stair climbs and long walks;
• do not sit for more than an hour;
• it is forbidden to sit and lie down on a hard surface;
• with nighttime pains, it is recommended to turn the body in several parts, first the upper part, then the pelvis;
• eat foods that contain a lot of calcium and vitamin complexes;
• control the weight;
• wear a bandage;
• reduce the load on the pelvis and hips.

However, in addition to these methods, there are other technologies in medicine to eliminate the symptom. Therefore, what else can be done to reduce the pain syndrome, says the doctor at the reception. For mild pain on the left or right side of the hip joint, these methods can be used without consulting your doctor:

• massage;
• physiotherapy;
• manual therapy.

Treatment of pain in the hip joint with folk remedies is still used in medicine, but doctors resort to such remedies in some cases and only as an additional therapeutic method. Patients can apply compresses, make tinctures, decoctions and lotions. Each of these agents has an analgesic effect and helps to improve the patient's condition. Patients are advised to use the following herbs and ingredients:

• lilac leaves;
• my dear;
• lemon;
• saber;
• pork fat;
• ficus leaves;
• Garlic;
• celery.

All the ingredients are quite familiar and are often used in folk medicine, but they can be used after consulting a doctor. If you do the wrong proportion, you can harm the body and cause complications. In the treatment of such a syndrome, it is also very important to observe the restrictions of physical activity so as not to provoke an increase in an unpleasant symptom.