Chronic acute or aching pain in the hip joint (HJ) often indicates the development of diseases of the musculoskeletal system, which are important to be diagnosed and treated in a timely manner. At the initial stages of the development of pathology, it will be possible to relieve joint pain in a conservative way, using special tablets and ointments. When the disease is started, the joint becomes immobile and the constant pain syndrome worries, and surgical intervention is indispensable.
Possible causes and symptoms
Severe pain in the hip joint can be caused by various degenerative-dystrophic pathologies, under the influence of which the joints are destroyed, erased, and cease to function fully. Periodic soreness often worries in diseases of the spine, due to which there is tension in the muscles and pinching of nerve fibers. Pain symptoms in the pelvic bones occur due to injuries, bruises, fractures of the head or neck of the femur. To accurately determine the causes of hip pain, you need to go to the doctor.
Traumatic factors
Severe bruises
Acute pain when sitting, walking or abducting the leg occurs due to bruises that occur due to a fall to the side or a direct blow to the femoral joint. With bruises, the structure of bone tissue remains intact, but soft fibers suffer greatly, and damage to the ligament may occur. An extensive hematoma is formed at the site of impact, which hurts when pressed, but if the person is at rest, there is no pain syndrome. When pain in the hip joint on the left side or on the right gradually increases, it is worth visiting a doctor to rule out a fracture.
hip dislocation
Such a violation occurs under the influence of a large force along the axis, bent at the knee joint with a fixed torso. A typical situation of this condition is an accident or a fall from a great height. With dislocations, a person is worried about a sharp joint pain that radiates to the leg and inguinal areas, which completely disrupts the functioning of the limb. You can alleviate the condition by applying cold to the affected area, further, qualified medical assistance is needed.
It is important to keep in mind that if a dislocation is suspected, it is forbidden to try to set the joint on your own.
Hip fracture
Often becomes the cause of pain in the hip joint in women in old age. Integrity damage often occurs due to a fall and a strong impact of the trochanter on a hard surface. A fracture of the femoral neck is considered one of the most dangerous pathologies, because there is a high risk of complications in the form of thrombosis, infection, and necrosis. Typical symptoms:
- Severe pain in the left or right hip joint, aggravated by attempts to move the limb or take it to the side.
- When sitting or lying down, the victim is unable to lift his leg off the floor.
- In relation to a healthy, injured leg looks shortened.
- If nerve structures are affected, a feeling of numbness appears in one limb.
After operation
Often pain in the hip joint, lower back and back occurs after surgery associated with the installation of the implant. The need to insert an endoprosthesis appears in cases where the native joint has worn out and worn out for some reason, and it is not possible to cure the problem in a conservative way. To prevent further destruction of the joint, endoprosthesis is performed. After the operation, until the wound is completely healed, the patient will be disturbed by pain, however, with each new day, their intensity will decrease.
Complications after hip replacement negatively affect not only the hip area, but also affect the general physical, psychological state, physical activity and ability to walk. To restore the former health, it is necessary to undergo a series of rehabilitation measures, which are prescribed based on the developed pathologies and problems. For a quick and effective recovery, it is necessary to establish the causes of complications and limitations after hip arthroplasty.
Diseases
infectious inflammation
A dangerous complication that causes pain in the hip joint. There are such types of purulent inflammation:
- Primary. The main reason is the penetration directly into the joint cavity of pathogenic microflora.
- Secondary. The infection penetrates into the articular structures with blood from other inflammatory foci.
Symptoms of an inflammatory complication are:
- musculoskeletal pain;
- edema formation;
- skin redness;
- heat;
- limb dysfunction.
Inflammatory bursitis
Often, frequent joint injuries lead to an inflammatory process in his bags.
This disease is often diagnosed in athletes whose knees and hip joints are prone to frequent injuries and bruises.
Under the influence of a traumatic factor, inflammation develops in the joint bags. Gradually, pathological exudate accumulates in the bursa, an inflammatory complication joins. When walking, pain in the groin and below begins to disturb, giving to the knee. There is a feeling of stiffness of movements, in advanced cases, the limb aches even at rest, the temperature rises, and swelling forms.
Tumors of various etiologies
Pain in the hip joint on the right side or left can cause neoplasms:
- Benign. As they increase in size, they compress the nerve structures, cause discomfort and cause periodic unpleasant symptoms in the spine and hip.
- Malignant. These are dangerous neoplasms that tend to rapidly grow and spread metastases throughout the body. In the initial stages, the patient complains that the joints ache after running or walking. Increasing, the tumor compresses the nerve structures, one leg is taken away from a person, the sacrum is very sore, painful symptoms are felt in the lumbar regions. The usual painkillers in this case are not able to relieve pain in the hip joint.
- Sarcoma of the femoral neck. Severe, cancerous disease of the bone, during the progression of which the patient's pelvic bones are very sore after sitting, walking, standing. The disease is characterized by chronic fractures of the femoral neck, due to which the functioning of the joint is significantly limited. Also concerned about the signs of intoxication, under the influence of which the general condition of the patient deteriorates significantly.
Other reasons
Due to the destruction of cartilage in the joint, a person begins to experience difficulty with movement.
If a person has a sore leg and hip joint, the following pathologies can cause such symptoms:
- Coxarthrosis. A chronic, degenerative-dystrophic disease characterized by the destruction of interarticular cartilage and the growth of osteophytes on bone structures. At the initial stages, the symptoms are not expressed, but as the progression progresses, the functional mobility of the joint is disturbed, the patient is disturbed by excruciating pains, muscle deformity and atrophy are observed. If treatment is not started in a timely manner, a person becomes disabled.
- Osteochondrosis. A disease of a degenerative nature, in which the lumbar spine is subject to destruction and deformation. Due to inflammation and pinching of nerve fibers, pain radiates to the thigh, the patient's motor activity is significantly reduced, discomfort worries even in a state of complete rest.
If the hip joint hurts in a child, the development of such pathologies is possible:
- dysplasia and subluxations of the hip joint;
- osteochondropathy;
- epiphyseolysis.
Diagnostic methods
With severe, ongoing pain in the hip joint, you need to contact an orthopedist who will help establish an accurate diagnosis and prescribe an adequate treatment regimen.
After conducting an initial examination and collecting an anamnesis, the doctor will give a direction for the passage of such diagnostic measures:
- x-ray examination of the spine and hip joint;
- dopplerography and angiography of vessels;
- electromyography;
- CT, MRI of the thigh;
- laboratory tests that will show the presence or absence of other dangerous pathologies in the body.
What is the treatment?
Effective drugs
Depending on the patient's diagnosis, the doctor selects an adequate drug therapy regimen aimed at eliminating concomitant symptoms and alleviating the patient's general condition. During the period of conservative treatment, it is important to limit the load on the joint, if necessary, observe bed rest, and use orthopedic devices. The following groups of funds are used:
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Help relieve inflammation, swelling, pain.
- Analgesics. Reduce acute pain.
- Glucocorticosteroids. If NSAIDs did not help get rid of the inflammatory complication, steroid drugs are prescribed, which are injected directly into the joint cavity.
- Muscle relaxants. Relieve muscle spasms.
- Hemostatic. Promote the resorption of hematomas.
- Chondroprotectors. Restore cartilage structures, prevent their further destruction.
Helper Methods
Exercise "bike" will help to avoid trouble from the articulation.
To speed up recovery and normalize the functioning of the hip joint, it is useful to do therapeutic exercises regularly. The training complex is selected by the doctor for each patient individually, taking into account the general condition and diagnosis. For prevention, it is recommended to do the following exercises daily:
- bike;
- scissors;
- picking up small objects with toes;
- walking barefoot on toes and heels.
In parallel, a course of physiotherapeutic procedures is prescribed, for example, electrophoresis, phonophoresis, laser therapy, massage. When diagnosing malignant tumors or advanced pathologies of a deforming nature, surgical intervention is indispensable. During the operation, the surgeon removes the affected tissue, if necessary, installs an implant. To prevent relapse and speed up recovery, rehabilitation is prescribed.