The hip joint is considered the largest joint. And he is also the most loaded in the human body. It is located in the joint area of the femur and pelvis. Due to the special structure, the limbs can move freely in different directions. This joint provides an upright posture. Hip pain can impair its function and cause severe discomfort when walking or even sitting. In this case, the limbs sometimes even become numb.
General classification of causes
The diagnosis of hip dysfunction is full of difficulties, because everything can cause painful sensations: trauma, bone disease, and accompanying pathology of internal organs. In this case, the damaged area will be painful and it will feel burning.
This problem is most common among people over 50. At the same time, women are more likely to have such joint or hip problems than men.
Hip pain is usually caused by:
- Traumatic: Femoral neck fracture, direct injury of the joint area, severe dislocation of the left and right hip joints, myositis ossificans due to joint trauma, pelvic fractures, femoral skull epiphysis loosening.
- Hip connective tissue lesions: Reiter's disease, arthritis, only rheumatoid ankylosing spondylitis.
- Joint disease, accompanied by a degenerative process in the tissue: hip joint disease.
- Osteochondrosis: Osteochondritis dissecans, Legg-Calve-Perthes pathology.
- Skeletal development problems: adolescent foot epiphyseal varus deformity.
- Inflammatory process of joint soft tissue: bursitis, synovitis, articular knee arthritis caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Radiating pain in the thigh area is caused by the following pathologies: Syndrome, nerve root syndrome, pathological processes in the sacroiliac joint, and attachment point disease. Generally speaking, an injured left or right hip joint will cause significant discomfort and pain. It must be treated when the mildest symptoms appear.
A detailed description of the cause of the trauma
If the hip is painful, the cause of this pathological condition may be:
- Congenital dislocation of the hip is caused by failed delivery or during intrauterine development. Even in newborn babies, injuries can be diagnosed quickly. The child’s buttocks folds unevenly and one leg is shortened. Compressed nerves are also common. For newborns, this disease is very complicated and dangerous because the consequences of trauma can be lifelong.
- Traumatic dislocation of the hip. It is characterized by severe pain, one cannot move, sit or stand. Edema and hematoma above the joints. During hip dislocation (running, sports training), it will only worsen the condition, triggering changes in the hip joint and the progression of pathological processes. This type of injury requires immediate treatment.
- Femoral neck fracture. This diagnosis is usually made in women over 60 years of age. The cause of this damage to the hip joint is a mediocre fall or a targeted blow to the hip joint. When you fracture, you will feel very severe pain, which is exacerbated by exercise. The inner surface of the thigh begins to feel unpleasant. At the injured area, there was swelling and bruising in the hip joint area. The damaged left or right leg becomes shorter, the person limps, and the joints begin to click. In addition, trauma can cause nerves to be squeezed, so the thighs begin to numb.
- Transtrochanteric fracture of femur. The pain in this case is moderate or severe. When moving, the symptoms of the buttocks are more severe. Here, nervousness is also very possible. In this case, the pain will increase and the limbs will be numb.
- Contusion of the hip joint. The pain here is of moderate intensity, but can become severe during a person's active exercise. At rest, the symptoms disappeared. The cause of this hip or hip pain is very common, especially for people who are prone to falls. The patient limped and passed quickly.
Hip trauma can be considered the main and common cause of unpleasant pain. Severe fractures or dislocations of the femur and pelvis usually require surgical treatment. If a person's nerves are compressed and the patient begins to have numbness in their limbs, they should see a doctor immediately.
Systemic disease causes pain
Hip pain during walking or other locations may be caused by systemic lesions of connective tissue. The treatment of such diseases must be continued, because they are considered to be virtually incurable. In addition, treatment should be comprehensive, first of all having an impact on the cause of the unpleasant feeling.
Therefore, the following pathologies can cause pain in the left or right hip joint:
- Ankylosing spondylitis. The pain here is dull. In a sick man or woman, the painful feeling becomes stronger at night. The location of the pain syndrome-the sacrum or pelvis. At the same time, he can give knees, thighs, groin, and shots. In this case, exercise, especially walking, is difficult, and the patient will feel stiff. Hip pain can be very severe. An inflammatory process can occur in the right or left joint.
- Reiter's syndrome. This disease is joint, genitourinary organ disease and inflammation of the conjunctiva. The disease is an autoimmune disease and is caused by an intestinal infection. The pathological process in the joint begins several weeks or months after the onset of the disease. It is characterized by acute pain in the hip or joints and temperature changes. Obvious swelling appeared in the left and right pelvic area. In most cases, the disease causes symmetry of the joints.
- Rheumatoid Arthritis. This problem is characterized by damage to connective tissue. This type of disease is never accompanied by the appearance of pus. It is this disease that is considered a prerequisite for hip joint disease. There is a gradual process. Initially, it is characterized by the following symptoms: edema and swelling (left or right). Feel uncomfortable and painful when walking. In the joints, the temperature rises (locally and systemically) due to the inflammatory process. Further progress will help in the appearance of stiffness in any exercise. Hip pain when lying on his side at night. Usually, the pathology presented appears on both the right and left sides. Due to the destruction of the hip joint, the patient’s nerves will be squeezed and the limbs will be numb. The treatment here should be carried out immediately.
Systemic lesions can bring different types of pain to a person: severe, extremely severe, and pulling. Even during rest periods, you may not be able to cope with severe discomfort alone. Therefore, only a doctor can prescribe the correct treatment plan. This is especially true if the newborn is sick. Ineffective treatment may ruin his future life.
Pain caused by degenerative changes
Severe, burning, or stretched joint pain can cause the following diseases:
- Epiphyseal varus deformity is common in adolescents. For her, it feels like a dull and pulling characteristic. They are able to give to the inside of the knee. Running and other sports training can increase the intensity of the pain syndrome. From time to time, the pain can be injected, and the joints can click.
- Hip joint disease. The pathology presented occupies one of the dominant positions in all hip joint diseases. It is diagnosed in both men and women. The treatment takes a long time and the treatment is quite complicated. The disease is characterized by the development of joint degeneration and destructive processes. The pathological symptoms are as follows: First, the patient begins to have joint pain after running, walking for a long time or climbing stairs. When you rest, the discomfort disappears. The actions here are not restricted yet. In the second stage of development, the following symptoms appear: pain syndrome begins to appear in the groin and thighs. Daily stress will increase the intensity of the sensation, but they will disappear during rest. Walking for a long time can cause limp and the joints begin to click. The work of muscles and tendons is interrupted, and their pitch drops. In the final stage of the development of the disease, the patient has pain even at night, and it is very intense. The limp became severe. Muscles lose volume and shrink-a person becomes unable to move. Treatment can prevent or slow the destruction of joints.
These diseases can cause persistent lameness, which is already a restriction on work activities and lack of mature sports training. Even getting up in the morning is very difficult.
Inflammation and infection causes of pain
In addition to direct damage to joint bones, inflammation of muscles, tendons, and joint capsules can also cause discomfort. Infectious diseases can also cause pain syndromes:
- Septic arthritis. The signs of this pathology are: increased body temperature, redness of the skin in the joint area, severe swelling, severe or severe pain. Any load (running or even walking) or even mediocre waking up becomes impossible. The pain began to spread. Treatment here should not be delayed because the patient will develop sepsis.
- Necrosis of the femoral head (sterile). In most cases, it happens to fairly young men. The appearance of the disease is due to the deterioration of blood circulation in the area. The result of the development of necrosis is the death of tissue cells. The pathology has the following signs: acute acute pain that can radiate to the groin, burning sensation in the affected area. It can hurt a person not to lean on the affected leg, and getting out of bed is difficult for him. In most cases, patients need to inject analgesics to numb the joints. After a few days, the symptoms disappeared. If the pathology continues to develop, then the person will experience changes in muscles and tendons-they will shrink. The person will experience gait disturbance and limp.
- Tuberculous arthritis. A characteristic of this pathology is that it mainly occurs in young children with weakened immunity. The pathology progressed slowly. The little patient gets tired very quickly, and he seldom runs. The thigh muscles gradually atrophy. The joints began to click and the legs became shorter. Over time, the affected joints begin to suffer severe injuries. Sometimes the pain is severe, sometimes pulling or burning. In addition, suppuration appeared in the joints and the symptoms worsened.
- Bursitis is an inflammatory lesion of the joint capsule. The main symptom of pathology is pain that spreads along the legs. At the same time, the feeling is very sharp, and the discomfort is very strong when getting up or walking. When resting, the injured limb will be painful or burned.
Infectious diseases can cause many types of pain in the hip joint: burning, pulling, or dullness. Usually, this discomfort is so strong that the person cannot fall asleep at night. Naturally, all these pathologies require urgent treatment.
Pathological diagnosis characteristics
To accurately determine the causes and factors that cause hip pain requires a doctor's careful attitude and correct diagnosis. To do this, use the following procedure:
- Ultrasound examination of the hip joint.
- X-rays of the thigh area should be done in two projections.
- Laboratory blood tests: general and biochemical. They will determine the presence of rheumatoid factor, the increase in white blood cell levels, and the change in red blood cell sedimentation rate.
- External inspection of joints by palpation, and fixation of patient complaints.
- Nuclear magnetic resonance.
After the examination, an accurate diagnosis is confirmed and comprehensive treatment is carried out.
How should pathology be treated?
If you experience hip pain on a regular basis, it must be treated. Treatment depends on the cause of it. Therefore, the treatment of joints depends on the pathology.
Congenital dislocation
If the dislocation is congenital, special orthopedic products can be used on the child's joints: Stirrups, spacers or Frejk pillows are recommended. All these tools support the newborn's legs in the correct physiological position. The child must stay in it for at least six months. If traditional treatment fails, prescribe surgical intervention for the baby. That is, the femoral head surgery was applied to the newborn, and other shortcomings were also corrected. After removing the orthosis, you can gently massage the baby to strengthen the muscles.
Traumatic dislocation
If a traumatic dislocation occurs, the doctor will have to adjust it back with drugs that help eliminate muscle tension. After that, the patient needs to be calmed down. Numbness in the limbs indicates that the nerves are being squeezed. This will require mandatory examinations by neurologists.
Hip fracture
Hip fractures are treated by traumatologists. For this kind of injury, the patient needs surgery. Conservative treatment is sometimes ineffective. However, if surgery is not possible, it is recommended that the patient put a plaster bandage on the left (right) leg from the lower back to the heel. In women or men after 60 years of age, this type of hip injury rarely heals, and the recovery process takes months. Among the consequences of this disease, the insufficiency of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems can be singled out because the patient does not have the opportunity to lead an active life and normal activities. Even sitting is a problem for him. Joint fractures may be accompanied by a burning sensation in soft tissues. As for surgery, in this case, the head and body are fixed with pins or screws and endoprostheses for treatment.
Ankylosing spondylitis
The treatment of ankylosing spondylitis is complicated. It helps reduce the intensity of symptoms caused by inflammation. Treatment includes medications (anti-inflammatory drugs, hormonal drugs, immunosuppressants), physical therapy procedures, and therapeutic exercises (muscle stretching is useful). Massaging the affected joints on the left or right side is considered equally useful. All medicines and treatment exercises are strictly selected by surgeons, orthopedists or surgeons. To strengthen your pelvic muscles, you need to swim. In particularly difficult situations, show the patient the arthroplasty of the left or right joint.
Wright's disease
To treat Reiter's pathology, antibiotics, as well as anti-inflammatory drugs, glucocorticoids, drugs that suppress the function of the immune system, and topical ointments will be needed. Treatment takes a long time-at least 4 months. It should be noted that the proposed pathology can recur in half of the cases. During treatment, it is necessary to maintain muscle tension through physical exercise-regular stretching.
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis can cause severe pain even at rest, which cannot be completely eliminated. But you need to work hard to improve the quality of life of a sick man or woman. To this end, cytostatics, hormonal drugs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and anti-rheumatic drugs are used for drug therapy. As for surgical intervention, it is only used in the final stage and it is almost impossible to walk and sit. It is recommended that the joint be fixed or arthroplasty. Exercise can also help, especially stretching topical ointment.
Hip joint disease
The treatment of hip joint disease aims to eliminate the causes that lead to the development of symptoms and signs. Use conservative methods to treat pathology in early developmental stages. Show patients non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, chondroprotective agents, and drugs that improve blood circulation. Analgesics and warm ointments are used for treatment. In addition, the patient also received light therapy training. Of course, joints often need to be numb. In case of severe discomfort, use injections.
The final stage of hip joint disease is no longer suitable for conservative treatment. Any load on the joints will make a person's health worse. It is impossible to get up without help. The patient must have an analgesic injection. In this case, the disease must be treated only by surgery. Generally speaking, joint replacement is necessary, but it is contraindicated for very elderly people. Therefore, such patients only receive auxiliary surgery. After the surgical treatment, the patient needs a recovery course: light stretching, very simple training under the supervision of a doctor. The load should be minimal.
The right treatment will help slow the progression of the disease to a certain extent and eliminate unpleasant symptoms.
Characteristics of the treatment of infectious and inflammatory diseases
It all depends on the type of disease:
- Septic arthritis. First, the patient needs to paralyze the affected hip joint. For this purpose, analgesics can be injected directly into the joints. Antibacterial agents and antibiotics must be used to fight infections. In addition, several groups of drugs are used at the same time. Only a doctor can write a prescription. In addition, abscesses were removed. The affected leg should be completely still, that is, a plaster model or splint should be attached to the patient.
- The treatment of aseptic necrosis of the femoral head includes restoration of blood flow and rapid absorption of dead areas. Limbs should be anesthetized with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Vitamin complexes, drugs that lower blood viscosity, are also used. If the thigh continues to hurt, massage and anesthetic ointment should be applied separately. This condition can also be treated with physical therapy and therapeutic exercises. In difficult situations, use minimally invasive surgical techniques or joint replacements.
- Due to bursitis, the hip joint is very painful and must be numb. To this end, analgesics and anti-inflammatory agents are used and administered by intramuscular injection. Steroids are also used to quickly get rid of severe discomfort. As the hip joints and hip joints are constantly aching, you should stay at rest.
- Tuberculous arthritis is mainly treated conservatively. Babies need to use tight bandages to limit their activities. If an abscess forms in the baby’s soft tissues, it should be removed surgically.
Burning sensation, numbness of the limbs, pain in the hip joint, radiation in the legs-these unpleasant sensations indicate that there may be a serious problem.
Alternative therapies for hip pain
If a person has burning pain, tendons and tendons, but does not want to take medicine, then you can use folk remedies. They cannot be called a panacea, but they help complex treatments. Of course, you must consult a doctor before use.
The following folk recipes will be useful:
- Clay compression (blue, white). This folk remedy can reduce swelling and pain. It is best to use clay alternately. The clay should be smeared overnight and wrapped in a warm cloth.
- Compressed cabbage. They also need honey. Smear with cabbage leaves and apply to areas that feel burning or severe pain. In addition, the compress is covered with a plastic bag and insulated with wool cloth. The course of treatment is 1 month. In the compressed interval of the affected hip joint, you can perform a light massage: rubbing, stroking.
- Homemade ointment (250 g) from internal fat and white perestroot root. The fat must be melted, add the roots chopped in a meat grinder and put on a low fire. It is necessary to boil the mixture for 7 minutes. After the ointment has cooled, it should be applied to the affected hip joint overnight. In this case, the joint must be insulated. This folk remedy can relieve swelling and other unpleasant symptoms very well.
- A folk remedy made from garlic, celery and lemon to relieve severe pain in tendons. For cooking, you need 2 lemons, 300 grams. Celery root, and 130 grams. garlic. All ingredients are carefully chopped in a meat grinder, and then placed in a tightly covered container. In addition, the entire mixture is poured into boiling water and mixed. Now the product needs to be tightly covered, wrapped in a blanket and left overnight. You need to take a teaspoon of medicine for several months before meals.
These therapies cannot eliminate the compressed hip nerve. Numbness in the limbs should cause alertness and force you to see a neurologist. Any hip joint disease that causes pain must be identified and treated in time. Light exercises and stretching exercises will help prevent the development of hip joint dysfunction.