Hip pain is localized where the femur joins the pelvis. It is this connection of bones that provides a person with the normal movement of the legs in any plane. The hip joint is considered the largest movable joint in the human body and helps it to move fully.
Just like many other joints in the body, the femur and pelvis can be damaged. In case of any disruption of work, the patient feels how the hip joints hurt. Bones, muscles, joint circumference, cartilage, vessels, tendons, nerves and adjacent joints can be affected by pain syndrome. In that 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 a variety of causes. The junction of the femur and pelvis can become inflamed due to injuries, diseases of the joints and tendons, from the manifestation of systemic ailments, infectious processes.
The reasons for the formation of pain syndrome can be such non-traumatic factors:
- osteoarthritis;
- osteoarthritis;
- failure in the blood supply to bones and forming joints.
With the development of such ailments in the hip joints, degenerative changes in the articular surfaces occur. In humans, the cartilage and 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 needs to undergo a full examination. Clinicians have determined that pain in the hip joint when walking has a fairly simple cause. The following indicators were attributed to the category of the 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 in the genitals.
Pain in the hip joint when walking is often caused by damage to the junction of the bones. The injuries that can provoke a similar syndrome include not only dislocation or fracture, but also other reasons:
- contusion of the pelvis;
- rupture of the acetabulum;
- stretching;
- violation of the structure of the ligaments and the capsule of the joint.
Also, the causes of the appearance of pain syndrome can be toxic synovitis, primary and secondary oncological pathologies, osteomalacia and osteomyelitis.
Unlike adults, children have slightly different exacerbation factors. If the hip joint hurts, then most likely the reason lies in 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 woman's body changes significantly and the functionality of many organs changes, so pregnant women can often feel 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 occurrence of a focus of inflammation in another zone, radiating to the groin.
All of the above etiological reasons can be identified after a full 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 disappear.
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 effusion in the joint, increased stress, fractures of the trabeculae and rupture of the intra-articular ligaments, stretching of the joint capsule, inflammation in the synovial membranes.
Extra-articular factors include muscle spasm, impaired venous outflow, which provokes congestion in the subchondral bone and inflammation in the area of the periarticular tendon.
Clinicians have also identified the types of pain by type:
- mechanical - manifests itself with a load on the joint, increases in the evening and subsides after sleep;
- starting pains - are formed with reactive synovitis, progress with physical activity, and then subside a little or, in general, disappear;
- against the background of tendinitis or tendobursitis - exacerbate in places where damaged tendons and muscles are involved;
- based on 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 from 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 therapy, the doctor needs to identify the clinical picture.
During damage to the hip joint, cartilage and cartilage fragments become thinner, which causes inflammation of the inner surface of the pelvis and femur. It is this process that provokes the appearance of pain. If there is no cartilage in the joint, then the exposed femoral bone rubs against the pelvic bone, which manifests itself in severe pain syndrome.
Quite often, the patient has sensations that pass from one part of the body to another. Often, patients feel pain in the hip while walking, which can move to the knee, but also to the gluteal and lumbar regions. At first, the syndrome may be unstable and not very pronounced, however, as the damage progresses, the intensity of the symptom increases. At this moment, the pain becomes constant, it can manifest itself both during movement and in a calm state.
Depending on the localization of the inflammation focus, pain in the hip joint has different manifestations and symptoms:
- in case of damage to the hip joint - the syndrome worries the patient not only in the joint area, but also throughout the thigh and goes to the lower leg. It also often happens that inflammation in the lumbar spine can manifest itself in the area of 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;
- movement can be especially painful after prolonged sitting;
- fatigue due to the inability to walk long distances.
If the symptom manifested itself from serious illnesses, then the patient may have more severe symptoms of the disease - high fever, swelling, headaches, weakness, redness of the inflamed area.
Diagnostics
If a person continues to hurt on the right or left side in the area of the hip joint, then he must 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 a symptom, you need to assess the condition and identify the presumptive cause of the syndrome. In addition to the visible characteristics of severe inflammation, the condition of the hip joint can be assessed by the following methods:
- in the supine position, 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 make several active movements forward and backward - if the pelvic region is damaged, the patient feels severe pain;
- in the supine position, passive movements in the movable joint can be detected - clicks, crackling and muscle tension can occur;
- during the examination of the patient, the doctor needs to fully describe all the manifestations of the syndrome.
A symptom of pain in the hip region can form from various pathological processes, so it is important for the clinician to carry out 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 for vascular patency - dopplerography, angiography and other methods;
- electromyography;
- general, biochemical, bacteriological, immunological blood test.
Treatment
If nocturnal pain in the hip joint does not develop very rapidly in a person and disappears after rest, then perhaps the cause was a minor injury or joint load. In this case, doctors recommend using minor therapy measures:
- reduce loads;
- provide rest to the joint;
- use a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug;
- lie on the healthy side.
With severe, severe, constant and prolonged pain, you cannot do without the help of a doctor, especially if there is a noticeable deformation of the joint, redness of the thigh, a change in skin tone on the thigh and poor sensitivity. Under these circumstances, self-medication can harm the patient and cause the symptom to progress.
Pain in the hip joint, radiating to the leg, can subside after the doctor prescribes different methods of therapy. To eliminate the syndrome, doctors prescribe conservative treatment to patients:
- medicines;
- sports with a minimum load;
- weight control;
- physiotherapy;
- auxiliary devices - walking sticks, walkers, crutches;
- avoid heavy loads;
- balancing the emotional state;
- taking vitamins.
The treatment process necessarily consists of drug therapy. For this purpose, doctors prescribe the following drugs to patients:
- diuretics;
- anti-inflammatory;
- muscle relaxants;
- improving microcirculation;
- chondroprotectors;
- vitamins and minerals.
If pain in the hip joint during pregnancy began suddenly in a woman, then she should definitely consult a doctor. She may be prescribed the use of multivitamin complexes, calcium intake, moderate physical activity and wearing 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 prohibited to sit and lie on a hard surface;
- with night pains, it is recommended to turn the body in parts, first the upper one, and then the pelvis;
- eat foods with a lot of calcium and vitamin complexes;
- control 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 pain syndrome, the doctor tells at the reception. For mild pain in 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 method of therapy. 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 plants and ingredients:
- lilac leaves;
- honey;
- lemon;
- saber;
- pork fat;
- ficus leaves;
- garlic;
- celery.
All of the ingredients are fairly familiar and are often used in traditional medicine, but they can be used after consulting a doctor. If you make the wrong proportion, you can harm the body and provoke complications. In the treatment of such a syndrome, it is also very important to adhere to restrictions on physical activity so as not to provoke an increase in an unpleasant symptom.