The hip joint is a large bony joint that connects the femur and pelvis, allowing the limb 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 vary greatly, so a thorough diagnosis is essential.
Causes of hip pain
Joint pain in the hip area is variable - acute and regular, constant and intermittent. Unpleasant sensations most often occur in people over 50 years of age, although they can also occur in children. The causes of hip pain vary widely. The most common is coxarthrosis, a degenerative disease associated with wear and tear of joint cartilage, in which the bones begin to move closer together and begin to deform.
Pain in the right and left hip joint can have other causes:
- injuries - fractures, cracks, dislocations;
- connective tissue damage and autoimmune pathologies;
- osteochondropathy;
- skeletal malformations;
- 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, the treatment must address the underlying problem, only then will the hip joint disorder in the affected person cease.
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, women over 60-65 years of age are diagnosed with "fracture of the femoral neck", whose osteoporosis is caused by menopause and the dysfunction of the hormone-producing organs. If the femoral neck hurts after a fall or bruise, be sure to have an instrumental diagnosis!
A car accident can cause a pertrochanteric femur fracture. Sharp pain occurs in the hip joint when the nerves are pinched.
In addition, pain on the right or left side appears against the background of:
- bone joint bruise due to fall or direct impact;
- traumatic hip dislocation;
- congenital hip dislocation.
Birth injuries and bone deformities during intrauterine development can cause congenital dislocation. Without treatment, the child's legs may have different lengths in the future, and coxarthrosis may develop early.
Inducing diseases in adults and children
If symptoms recur or hip pain becomes chronic, it is often caused by systemic pathologies or diseases of the hip joint itself.
In addition to coxarthrosis, the hip joint hurts for the following reasons:
Suppurative arthritis. It occurs due to infection of the thigh area with pyogenic bacteria. Because of the acute pain, all movement becomes impossible, the affected area becomes red and swollen.Aseptic necrosis of the femoral head. This is due to poor circulation in the hip joint. The disease occurs mainly at a young age. Without treatment, there is a risk of muscle and tendon atrophy, and the person becomes disabled.Myositis ossificans. It originates from muscle and connective tissue inflammation, is linked to heredity, or occurs after an injury.Ankylosing spondylitis. It causes inflammatory damage to the bone joint, which leads to limited movement due to fusion of the joint cavity.Osteochondritis dissecans in the femur. The cartilage of the hip joint detaches 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 the hip joints hurt on one or both sides, what other reasons are there?
The following diseases can cause it:
- Reiter's syndrome;
- rheumatoid arthritis;
- spinal injuries with radicular syndrome;
- deformities of the feet, legs, and knees;
- enthesopathy.
In pregnant women, the cause of pain in the right or left joint is often symphysitis - inflammation of the pubic symphysis, when the pubic bones diverge. In rare cases, hip joint tumors and gout can cause symptoms in people.
Symptoms of pathologies
The signs of the diseases as well as the treatment procedures are very different. The pain in the hip joint after a serious injury is strong, sharp and localized in the thigh area. The surrounding tissues swell and lameness is observed. The latter goes away quickly with a slight bruise. In case of displacement or fracture, leg movement is limited or impossible.
Symptoms of a hip fracture include:
- increased pain during movement;
- irradiation of sensations in the inner surface of the foot;
- swelling, bruising;
- lameness;
- joint clicking;
- muscle numbness.
If the bursa or synovial membrane is inflamed, the pain is accompanied by a burning sensation and is intensified when walking. In case of 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 case of rheumatoid arthritis, the hip joint hurts with lumbago, the temperature inside rises, and muscle stiffness appears.
Burning, throbbing pain can be a sign of ankylosing spondylitis, and the sensations radiate to the pelvis, sacrum, and worsen at night. The hip joint hurts in chronic inflammatory diseases - arthritis, gout (not aggravated).
Diagnosing diseases
Treatment of any of these symptoms should be started immediately after diagnosis by an orthopedist, surgeon or traumatologist. During the initial examination, the doctor can suggest damage to the left or right hip joint. During passive bending and stretching, pain and a burning sensation appear, movements are limited, and abduction to the side is particularly difficult.
The hip joint is located quite deep, so instrumental tests become the main diagnostic methods:
- CT;
- MRI;
- radiography.
In some cases, additional diagnostic measures should be performed. Thus, in case of infectious and purulent processes, an examination of the synovial fluid 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 necessary. Before treating hip pain, a rheumatoid factor test should be performed to rule out rheumatism.
Treatment of hip pain caused by injuries and infections
Congenital dislocation of the hip joint is treated in infants. For this, they use a 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, if it does not help, surgical bone reduction must be performed.
In case of a hip fracture, surgical treatment is recommended, as conservative measures most often do not help. Screws and screws are installed or endoprostheses are performed. 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 bone and the patient is unable to walk or sit normally.
What to do if the area of the hip joint hurts a lot due to infectious inflammation? In this case, antibiotic treatment is carried out. Medicines are administered by injection, drip or directly into the cavity of the hip joint. Treatment also includes limiting the mobility of the leg to speed healing. Painkillers and anesthetics are injected into the joint to relieve symptoms. In case of purulent arthritis, surgery is performed to remove abscesses and wash the joint cavity with antibiotics.
Medicinal measures
The choice of drug treatment methods is made only by the doctor, depending on the type of the disease. The aching pain is usually well relieved by taking pain relievers, although the sensations often return quickly. If the leg hurts sharply and severely, anesthetic blocks should be introduced in the area of the hip joint. Treatment of chronic hip pathologies should be carried out with regular treatment of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs - only these will remove recurring symptoms, although they will not affect the course of the disease itself. In case of coxarthrosis, hormonal drugs are usually administered, which relieve inflammation and pain for a long time.
Hip joint diseases can be treated with the following tools:
Muscle relaxants. It is used to reduce muscle spasm, which increases pain.Diuretics. It helps relieve severe swelling affecting soft tissues.Vitamin preparations. It improves the nutrition of the hip joint and accelerates biochemical reactions.Chondroprotectors. It replaces the lack of chondroitin and glucosamine and helps restore damaged cartilage.
If a child regularly has pain in the hip joint, and the diagnosis of vascular necrosis is confirmed, the basis of treatment is the intake and injection of vascular drugs. Medicines increase blood microcirculation, metabolism and help tissue regeneration.
Orthopedic devices and physical therapy
Treatment of hip joint diseases includes the use of orthopedic products. It is most often used after injuries, when full or partial immobilization is required for several weeks or even months. Thus, in case of fractures, a rigid fixing orthosis is used, which, unlike plaster, does not cause irritation and allergies.
If you have to lie down for a long time, you absolutely need an anti-bedsore mattress. During post-injury rehabilitation, walking wheels, canes and crutches are used as support. For symphysitis, pregnant women should wear a pelvic girdle with stiff ribs. It is equally important to wear orthopedic shoes during treatment and for prevention, which relieves the load on the foot.
Physiotherapy is also recommended to improve the condition of the hip joint. This treatment eliminates symptoms, relieves pain and optimizes blood circulation. During the therapy, the inflammation decreases, the swelling goes away, and the tissue repair process begins. Laser therapy has proven to be the best - laser beams heat tissue up to 10 cm thick, quickly relieve pain and reduce inflammation.
Other applied physiotherapy techniques:
- electrophoresis;
- with darson;
- magnet therapy;
- shock wave therapy;
- balneotherapy;
- microcurrents;
- turpentine baths.
It is also recommended to use a needle applicator regularly at home - it increases blood circulation and helps reduce pain. In the acute stage of the disease, it is used up to 5 times a day for 5 minutes, in the chronic stage, the time is increased to 20 minutes three times a day.
Traditional treatment of hip joint pain
Traditional medicine can also provide answers on how to treat hip joint diseases. Non-traditional treatment must be combined with conservative treatment, otherwise it will not have the desired effect. External methods are less effective because the location of this bone joint is very deep. External measures can also be applied with massage.
The treatment is carried out as follows:
- mix mint, hop cones, St. John's wort in equal proportions;
- pour 100 ml of petroleum jelly melted in a water bath onto a spoon;
- leave in a warm place for 2 days;
- The mass is reheated and filtered;
- Apply with gentle massaging movements.
Baths can be used in the treatment of the hip joint - they quickly relieve pain. Pour the decoction of mint and pine needles (50 g raw material per liter of water) into warm water, take a bath for 15 minutes, repeat the procedures every other day, perform 10 sessions. You should also take the following pain relievers internally:
- Pour ½ cup of purple flowers into 250 ml of vodka, let it stand for 10 days, drink one teaspoon three times a day for 14 days;
- mix a tablespoon of birch buds and linden flowers, boil 300 ml of boiling water, drink 150 ml twice a day for a month;
- boil 1 kg of beef bones, pour the broth into serving containers, consume 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, in which case a larger volume of intra-articular fluid is produced. As a result, the quality of nutrition and the rate of tissue recovery are improved. The series of exercises is selected individually, it is different for different diseases (depending on the permissible load). At first, the number of repetitions is small, then it increases. You should not make sudden movements - they can trigger 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, rheumatic arthritis, which cause severe bone deformation. A limb is also operated upon when abscesses (ulcers) appear in the joint cavity or soft tissues.
The most popular types of operations:
- endoprostheses;
- installation of studs;
- arthroscopy;
- osteotomy;
- osteosynthesis.
Prevention of joint diseases
Pain in the hip joint can be prevented if preventive measures are taken in time. You should avoid heavy loads on the femur and the joint, you should protect yourself from blows and falls, and you should not lift heavy objects. It is necessary to treat inflammatory diseases occurring in the body, as well as to keep vascular system problems under control, already in the initial stage.
Gymnastics, exercise therapy, yoga and swimming help strengthen the hip joint. It is important to maintain a normal body weight so as not to overload the femoral neck 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 beneficial for the hip joint. When the first unpleasant symptoms appear, you should immediately consult a doctor and treat them in time - this helps to avoid surgery.