The hip joint is a large bone joint that connects the bones of the thigh and pelvis, giving the limb the ability to flex, extend, and abduct. Hip joint pain is a symptom of many inflammatory, infectious, degenerative and other diseases. The causes of hip pain are very different, so a thorough diagnosis is essential.
Causes of thigh pain
Joint pain in the hip area is different - acute and regular, constant and periodic. Most often, unpleasant sensations appear in people over the age of 50, although they can occur even in children. The causes of hip pain are very different. The most common is coxarthrosis, a degenerative disease with wear and tear of articular cartilage, during which the bones begin to move closer together and become deformed.
Pain in the right and left hip joint can have other causes:
- injuries - fractures, cracks, dislocations;
- connective tissue damage and autoimmune pathologies;
- osteochondropathy;
- disorders of skeletal development;
- inflammation
Sometimes the cause of quite strong pain is damage to other parts of the body (for example, spine, palate, intestines). In this case, the treatment should address the underlying problem, only then will the hip joint stop bothering the person.
Injuries as a cause of pain
Sharp pain that involves 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. Women over 60-65 years of age are diagnosed with "fracture of the femoral neck" mainly, in whom the cause of osteoporosis is menopause and dysfunction of hormone-producing organs. If you have pain in the femoral neck after a fall or a bruise, you should definitely conduct an instrumental diagnosis!
A car accident can cause a pertrochanteric hip fracture. A sharp pain occurs in the hip joint because the nerves are pinched.
Also, pain on the right or left appears in the background:
- Bleeding of the bone joint due to a fall or direct blow;
- traumatic dislocation of the hip;
- 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 develops at an early stage.
Provoking the disease in adults and children
If the symptoms are repeated, or the pain in the hip joint becomes chronic, they are often caused by systemic pathologies or diseases of the hip joint itself.
In addition to coxarthrosis, the hip joint hurts for the following reasons:
Purulent arthritis. Occurs due to infection of the thigh area with pyogenic bacteria. Any movement becomes impossible due to severe pain, the affected area becomes red and swollen.Aseptic necrosis of the femoral head. The reason is poor circulation in the hip joint. The disease mainly appears at a young age. Without treatment, there is a risk of muscle and tendon atrophy and the person becomes disabled.Myositis ossificans. It is caused by inflammation of the muscles and connective tissue, is associated with heredity, or occurs after an injury.Ankylosing spondylitis. Causes inflammatory damage to the bone joint, which leads to limitation of movement due to fusion of the joint cavity.Dissecting osteochondritis of the femur. The cartilage of the hip joint breaks down 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 my hip joints hurt on one or both sides, what other reasons are there?
This can be caused by the following diseases:
- Reiter's syndrome;
- rheumatoid arthritis;
- Spinal injuries with radicular syndrome;
- deformities of legs, feet, knees;
- Enthesopathy.
In pregnant women, the cause of joint pain on the right or left side is often symphysis - inflammation of the pubic symphysis, when the pubic bones separate from each other. In rare cases, tumors and gout in the hip joint can cause symptoms in humans.
Symptoms of pathology
Symptoms of the disease, as well as treatment procedures, vary greatly. Pain in the hip joint after a serious injury is severe, sharp and localized in the thigh area. The surrounding tissues are swollen and lameness is observed. The latter quickly disappears with a small bruise. If there is a dislocation, a fracture, the movement of the leg is limited or impossible.
The symptoms of a hip fracture are:
- increased pain during movement;
- Irradiation of sensations on the inner surface of the foot;
- swelling, bruising;
- lameness
- joint click;
- Numbness of the muscles.
When the bursa or synovial membrane is inflamed, the pain is accompanied by a burning sensation and worsens when walking. With 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 rheumatoid arthritis, the hip joint hurts with lumbago, internal temperature rises and muscle stiffness appears.
Burning, aching pain can be a sign of ankylosing spondylitis, and the sensations radiate to the pelvis, palate and intensify at night. Pain in the hip joint area during chronic inflammatory diseases - arthritis, gout (not exacerbation).
Diagnosis of 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 will be able to suggest an injury to the left or right hip joint. During passive flexion and extension, there is pain, a burning sensation, limited movements, it is especially difficult to abduct on the sides.
The hip joint is located quite deep, so instrumental examinations become the main diagnostic methods:
- CT;
- MRI;
- Radiography.
In some cases, it is necessary to carry out additional diagnostic measures. Thus, during infectious and purulent processes, the study of synovial fluid is prescribed. If a malignant tumor is suspected, a biopsy is performed. If the blood vessels of the hip joint are affected, a Doppler ultrasound will be necessary. Before starting treatment for hip pain, a rheumatoid factor test should be performed to rule out rheumatism.
Treatment of hip pain due to injuries and infections
Congenital dislocation of the hip joint is treated in infants. For this, they use a Freak pillow and spacers - special orthopedic devices that help keep the legs in the right position. The duration of treatment can be 6-8 months, if this does not help, surgical bone reduction should be performed.
Surgical treatment is indicated for hip fractures, as conservative measures most often do not help. Pins, screws or endoprosthetics are installed. Only if there are contraindications, a bandage is placed on the leg from the waist to the heel. Unfortunately, in old age this rarely results in fusion of the femur and the patient is unable to walk or even sit normally.
What to do if the area of the hip joint hurts a lot due to infectious inflammation? In this case, treatment with antibiotics is carried out. Medicines are given as injections, drip or directly into the hip joint cavity. Treatment also includes limiting the mobility of the leg to speed recovery. Analgesics and anesthetics are injected into the joint to relieve symptoms. In 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 disease. Acute pain usually resolves well with analgesics, although the sensation often returns quickly. If your leg hurts sharply and strongly, a block with anesthetics should be injected into the area of the hip joint. Treatment of chronic hip pathologies should be carried out with regular courses of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs - only they will remove recurring symptoms, although they will not affect the course of the disease itself. Hormonal drugs are usually prescribed for coxarthrosis, which relieve inflammation and pain for a long time.
Hip joint diseases can be treated using the following means:
Muscle relaxants. It is used to reduce muscle spasms that increase pain.Diuretics. Help relieve severe edema affecting soft tissues.Vitamin preparations. Improves nutrition of the hip joint, accelerates biochemical reactions.Chondroprotectors. They supplement the deficiency of chondroitin and glucosamine and help restore damaged cartilage.
If the child regularly has pain in the hip joint and the diagnosis of avascular necrosis is confirmed, the basis of treatment is the administration of vascular preparations and injections. Medicines enhance blood microcirculation, metabolism and promote tissue regeneration.
Orthopedic devices and physiotherapy
Treatment of hip joint diseases includes the use of orthopedic products. Most often they are used after injuries, when complete or partial immobilization is required for several weeks or even months. Thus, a rigid fixation orthosis is used for fractures, which, unlike plaster, does not cause irritation and allergies.
If a person has to lie down for a long time, he definitely needs an anti-sleep mattress. During rehabilitation after injury, walkers, crutches and crutches are used as support. During symphysitis, pregnant women are advised to wear a pelvic corset with rigid ribs. It is equally important to wear orthopedic shoes during treatment and for prevention, which relieves the load on the foot.
Physiotherapy is also indicated to improve the condition of the hip joint. This treatment eliminates symptoms, relieves pain and improves blood circulation. During the course of therapy, inflammation decreases, swelling disappears and the process of tissue recovery begins. Laser therapy has proven to be the best - laser rays heat the tissue up to 10 cm thick, quickly relieves pain and relieves inflammation.
Other methods of physiotherapy are:
- electrophoresis;
- Darsonval;
- magnetic therapy;
- shock wave therapy;
- balneotherapy;
- microcurrents;
- Turpentine baths.
Regular use of the needle applicator at home is also recommended - it increases blood circulation and helps reduce pain. In the acute stage of the disease, it is used for 5 minutes 5 times a day, in the chronic stage, the time increases to 20 minutes three times a day.
Traditional treatment of hip joint pain
Traditional medicine can also answer how to treat hip joint diseases. Non-traditional treatment should be combined with conservative treatment, otherwise it will not bring the desired effect. External methods are less effective because the location of this bone articulation is very deep. External measures can be applied through massage.
Treatment is carried out as follows:
- Mix equal parts of mint, hop cones, St. John's wort;
- pour 100 ml of vaseline melted in a water bath on a spoon;
- leave in a warm place for 2 days;
- Heat the mass again, drain;
- Apply with massaging movements for gentle scrubbing.
Baths can be used to treat the hip joint - they quickly relieve pain. A decoction of mint and pine needles (50 g of raw materials per liter of water) is poured into warm water, a bath is taken for 15 minutes, the procedures are repeated every other day, 10 sessions are carried out. You should also take the following pain relievers orally:
- Pour ½ cup of lilac flowers into 250 ml of vodka, leave for 10 days, drink 1 teaspoon three times a day for 14 days;
- Mix a tablespoon of birch buds and lime 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 a serving dish, eat 250 grams of this "jelly" daily.
other treatment
If the hip joint is damaged, therapeutic exercises are indicated. The joint of the bones must move, then it produces a larger volume of synovial fluid. As a result, the quality of nutrition and the speed of tissue recovery will increase. A set of exercises is selected individually, it is different for different diseases (depending on the permissible load). Initially, the number of repetitions is small, after which it increases. You should not make sudden movements - they can provoke a new attack of pain.
In some cases, surgical treatment of the hip joint is required. It is indicated for injuries, advanced forms of coxarthrosis, rheumatoid arthritis, which cause severe bone deformation. They also act on the limb when abscesses (sores) appear in the joint cavity or soft tissues.
The most popular types of operations are:
- endoprosthesis;
- Installation of pins;
- arthroscopy;
- osteotomy;
- osteosynthesis.
Prevention of joint diseases
Hip joint pain can be prevented if preventive measures are taken in time. It is necessary to avoid serious load on the hip and joint, protect yourself from blows, falls and do not lift heavy objects. Already at the initial stage, it is necessary to treat any inflammatory disease in the body, as well as to control vascular problems.
Gymnastics, exercise therapy, yoga and swimming will help strengthen the hip joint. It is important to maintain a normal 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 underwear is 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 to avoid surgery.