Localized hip pain where the femur joins the pelvis. It is the connection of the bones that provides a person with normal movement of the legs in any plane. The hip joint is considered to be the largest movable joint in the human body and provides full range of motion.
Just like many other joints in the body, the femur and pelvis can be injured. In case work is interrupted, the patient feels how painful the hip joint is. 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 a normal life. When feeling such pains, a person is immediately interested in the question of how the syndrome develops and what to do to get rid of it.
Etiology
Hip pain has many different causes. The junction of the femur and pelvis can become inflamed due to trauma, diseases of the joints and tendons, from manifestations of systemic diseases, infectious processes.
The reason for the formation of pain syndrome can be non-traumatic factors:
- osteoarthritis;
- osteoarthritis;
- failure of the blood supply to the bones and the formation of joints.
With the development of such diseases in the hip joint, degenerative changes in the joint surface occur. In humans, the cartilage and surrounding joints are damaged, the synovial membrane of the joint is destroyed, the amount of synovial fluid decreases leading to severe pain and joint breakdown.
To get rid of the uncomfortable syndrome, the patient needs to determine the cause of the hip pain. For an accurate diagnosis, the patient needs to be thoroughly examined. Clinicians have determined that hip pain when walking has a fairly simple cause. The following indicators are attributed to the most common category of provoking factors:
- inflammation;
- Degenerative changes;
- dislocation;
- fracture;
- aseptic necrosis of the femoral head;
- bursitis;
- inflammation of a non-infectious nature with autoimmune diseases of the connective tissues;
- tuberculosis.
It is difficult to determine the cause of the pain, since it can be triggered not only by injuries and diseases, but also by pathological processes in the abdominal cavity, lumbar region and in the genitals.
Hip pain when walking is often caused by damage to the adjacent bone ends. Injuries that can cause a similar syndrome include not only dislocations or fractures, but also other reasons:
- pelvic spasms;
- rupture of acetabulum;
- lengthen;
- violation of the structure of the ligaments and joint capsule.
In addition, the causes of the appearance of the pain syndrome can be toxic bursitis, primary and secondary neoplastic pathologies, osteomalacia and osteomyelitis.
Unlike adults, children have slightly different paroxysmal factors. If the hip is painful, the most likely reason lies in neurosis, Legg-Calve-Perthes disease, Still's disease, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, etc. v.
Pregnant women also experience pain in the hip joint. During this period, a woman's body has significant changes and the function of many organs also changes, so pregnant women can often feel pain in many different areas of the body. Pain syndrome in the movable pelvic joint can develop for the following reasons:
- hormonal changes;
- the uterus grows, which increases the load on the hip joint;
- increase the load on the legs;
- exacerbation of early trauma;
- calcium deficiency;
- the appearance of an inflammatory focus in another area, spreading to the groin.
All of the above causes can be determined after a complete examination and examination by a doctor. During pregnancy, hip pain is a significant inconvenience for a woman, but after childbirth, all the syndromes disappear.
Classify
The discomfort a person experiences is related to internal and external factors. The first category of reasons include the formation of effusion in the joint, increased stress, fractures of the collarbone and ligaments in the joint, dislocation of the joint capsule, and synovitis.
Extra-articular factors include muscle spasms, impaired venous outflow, obstruction in the subchondral bone, and inflammation in the region of the peristaltic tendon.
Clinicians have also identified pain categories by category:
- mechanical - manifested by the load on the joints, which increases in the evening and decreases after sleep;
- pains that begin - are formed with an inflammatory reaction to the bursa, progress with physical activity, and then ease slightly or, in general, disappear;
- against the background of tendinitis or tendinitis - aggravated in places where tendons and muscles are involved;
- based on the contraction of peristaltic muscles;
- hip pain at night - relieved with movement. The syndrome of blood stasis in the subchondral parts of the bone is aggravated;
- syndrome caused by damage to the synovial surface by osteoclasts.
Symptom
The cause and treatment of the syndrome are interrelated, so to determine the treatment method, the doctor needs to determine the clinical picture.
During hip injury, pieces of cartilage and cartilage become thinner, causing inflammation of the inner surfaces of the pelvis and femur. It is this process that causes the appearance of pain. If there is no cartilage in the joint, then the exposed femur rubs against the pelvis, indicative of severe pain syndrome.
Quite often, the patient has sensations that pass from one part of the body to another. Usually, the patient feels pain in the hip area when walking, which can move down to the knee, but can also reach the gluteal muscles and lower back. At first, the syndrome may be unstable and indistinct, however, as the lesion progresses, the intensity of symptoms increases. At this point, the pain becomes constant, it can manifest both with movement and when in a calm state.
Depending on the location of the inflammation, hip pain has different signs and symptoms:
- In case of hip injury - a syndrome that makes patients worry not only in the joint area, but also spreading all over the thigh and down the leg. It also often happens that inflammation in the lumbar spine can manifest itself in the hip region;
- reduced mobility of the patient - reduced hip flexion;
- a limp may appear on the right or left side, or one leg will be slightly shorter than the other;
- joints become tight and inactive;
- movement can be especially painful after sitting for a long time;
- Tired of not being able to walk long distances.
If symptoms manifest from serious illnesses, the patient may have more severe symptoms of the illness - high fever, swelling, headache, weakness, redness of the inflamed area.
Diagnose
If the patient continues to have pain on the right or left side of the hip joint, it is imperative to 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 evaluate the condition and determine the presumed cause of the syndrome. In addition to the conspicuous features of severe inflammation, the condition of the hip can be assessed by the following methods:
- in the supine position, looking at the lower extremities - in case of dislocation or fracture, they are forced, and not parallel to the axis of the body;
- to determine the mobility of the joint, you can do several active movements forward and backward - if the pelvic area is damaged, the patient feels severe pain;
- in the supine position, passive movements in the movable joint can be detected - clicks, crackles and muscle tension may occur;
- During the examination of the patient, the physician should fully describe all the manifestations of the syndrome.
A pain in the hip region can arise from different pathological processes, so it is important for the clinician to conduct a differential diagnosis of the disease. To determine the cause of pain in the hip while sitting and walking, the patient must undergo laboratory and instrumental examinations:
- X-ray of the spine, hip and back;
- computed tomography of the spine, pelvis and hips;
- check for vascular protection - dopplerography, angiography and other methods;
- electromechanical;
- general blood tests, biochemistry, bacteriological, immunological.
Treatment
If nocturnal pain in the hip does not develop very quickly in a person and disappears after rest, it is probably caused by a minor injury or joint load. In this case, doctors recommend using minor therapeutic measures:
- load reduction;
- provide rest to the joint;
- use of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug;
- lying on the right side.
With severe, intense, constant and prolonged pain, you cannot do it yourself without the help of a doctor, especially if there is joint deformity, redness of the thighs, changes in the color of the skin on the thighs, and poorsensitive. In these cases, self-medication can harm the patient and cause symptoms to progress.
Pain in the hip joint, which radiates down the leg, may subside after the doctor prescribes various treatments. To eliminate the syndrome, doctors prescribe conservative treatment to patients:
- medicines;
- sports with minimal load;
- weight control;
- physical therapy;
- auxiliary equipment - canes, walkers, crutches;
- avoid carrying heavy;
- balance emotional state;
- take vitamins.
The course of treatment necessarily includes drug therapy. For this purpose, the doctor prescribes the following drugs to the patient:
- diuretic;
- Anti-inflammatory;
- muscle relaxants;
- improve microcirculation;
- chondroprotectors;
- vitamins and minerals.
If hip pain during pregnancy starts suddenly in a woman, she should definitely consult her doctor. She may be prescribed a multivitamin complex, calcium intake, moderate physical activity, and a bandage. 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;
- do not sit and lie on hard surfaces;
- with nocturnal pain, you should rotate by parts, first the upper body, then the pelvis;
- eat foods rich in calcium and complex vitamins;
- weight control;
- wear bandages;
- reduce the load on the pelvis and hips.
However, in addition to these methods, there are other technologies in medicine to eliminate symptoms. So what else can be done to reduce pain syndrome, the doctor said at the front desk. For mild pain in the left or right side of the hip joint, you can apply these methods without consulting your doctor:
- Massage;
- physical therapy;
- manual therapy.
Treating hip pain with folk remedies is still used in medicine, but in some cases doctors still use these remedies and are just an additional treatment. Patients can apply, make decoction, decoction, topical medicine. Each of these drugs works to relieve pain and help improve the patient's condition. Patients should use the following plants and ingredients:
- Piper lolot;
- Beloved husband;
- Lemon;
- sword;
- lard;
- leaf;
- garlic;
- celery.
All ingredients are quite familiar and commonly used in traditional medicine, but they can be used after consulting a doctor. If you do it wrong, you can harm your body and cause complications. In the treatment of such a syndrome, it is very important to adhere to restrictions on physical activity so as not to aggravate the unpleasant symptoms.