Acute or aching chronic pain in the hip joint (HJ) often indicates the development of diseases of the musculoskeletal system, which are important to timely diagnose and treat. In the early stages of the development of pathology, it will be possible to relieve joint pain conservatively, using special tablets and ointments. At the onset of the disease, the joint becomes immobile and the constant pain syndrome worries and surgical intervention is required.
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, obliterated and cease to function fully. Periodic pains often worry about diseases of the spine, due to which there is tension in the muscles and pinching of the nerve fibers. Symptoms of pain in the bones of the pelvis are due to injuries, bruises, fractures of the head or neck of the femur. To accurately determine the causes of hip pain, you need to consult a doctor.
Traumatic factors
Severe bruising
Acute pain when sitting, walking, or abducting the leg is due to bruising from a fall to the side or a direct blow to the femoral joint. With bruises, the structure of the bone tissue remains intact, but the soft fibers suffer a lot, and damage to the ligament may occur. An extensive hematoma forms at the site of impact, which hurts when pressed, but if the person is at rest, there is no pain syndrome. When the pain in the hip joint on the left or right side gradually increases, it is worth consulting a doctor to exclude a fracture.
hip dislocation
Such a violation occurs under the influence of a strong force along the axis, bent at the knee joint with a fixed torso. A typical situation for this condition is an accident or a fall from a great height. With dislocations, a person is worried about sharp joint pain that radiates to the leg and inguinal areas, which completely disrupts the functioning of the limb. You can relieve the condition by applying cold to the affected area, additionally, qualified medical assistance is needed.
It is important to keep in mind that if a dislocation is suspected, it is forbidden to try to fix the joint on your own.
Hip fracture
Often becomes the cause of pain in the hip joint in older women. 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, since 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, worse when trying to move the limb or put it to the side.
- When sitting or lying down, the victim is unable to lift his leg off the ground.
- Compared to a healthy injured leg, it appears shortened.
- If the nerve structures are affected, a feeling of numbness appears in a 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 a stent appears in cases when the native joint is worn and worn out for some reason, and it is not possible to fix the problem conservatively. To prevent further destruction of the joint, a stent is made. After the operation, until the wound is completely healed, the patient will be bothered 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 and psychological state, physical activity and ability to walk. To restore the old health, it is necessary to undergo a series of rehabilitation measures, which are prescribed depending 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 the articular structures with blood from other inflammatory foci.
Symptoms of an inflammatory complication are:
- musculoskeletal pain;
- edema formation;
- redness of the skin;
- Heat;
- limb dysfunction.
Inflammatory bursitis
Often, frequent joint injuries lead to an inflammatory process in its bags.
This disease is often diagnosed in athletes whose knee and hip joints are prone to frequent injury and bruising.
Under the influence of a traumatic factor, inflammation develops in the articular pockets. Gradually, a pathological exudate accumulates in the bursa, an inflammatory complication joins. When walking, the pain in the groin and below begins to bother, giving to the knee. There is a feeling of stiffness of movements, in advanced cases the limb hurts even at rest, the temperature rises and swelling is formed.
Tumors of various etiologies
Pain in the hip joint on the right or left side can cause neoplasms:
- Benign. As they grow, they compress nerve structures, causing discomfort and causing periodic unpleasant symptoms in the spine and hip.
- Smart. These are dangerous neoplasms that tend to grow rapidly and spread metastases throughout the body. At first, the patient complains of joint pain after running or walking. Growing, the tumor compresses the nerve structures, a leg is removed from a person, the sacrum is very painful, painful symptoms are felt in the lumbar regions. The usual painkillers in this case are not able to relieve pain in the hip joint.
- Femoral neck sarcoma. Serious and cancerous bone disease, during which the patient's pelvic bones are very painful 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 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 in moving.
If a person has pain in the leg and hip joint, the following pathologies can provoke such symptoms:
- Coxarthrosis. 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 pain, muscle deformation 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 prone to destruction and deformation. Due to inflammation and pinching of nerve fibers, the pain radiates to the thigh, the motor activity of the patient is significantly reduced, the 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
In case of severe and persistent pain in the hip joint, you should contact an orthopedist who will help you make 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;
- vessel dopplerography and angiography;
- electromyography;
- CT, MRI of thigh;
- laboratory tests that will show the presence or absence of other dangerous pathologies in the body.
what is the treatement?
Effective drugs
Depending on the diagnosis of the patient, the doctor selects an adequate drug therapy regimen aimed at eliminating concomitant symptoms and alleviating the general condition of the patient. During the period of conservative treatment, it is important to limit the load on the joint, if necessary, to observe bed rest and use braces. The following fund groups are used:
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Helps 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.
Support Methods
The "bicycle" exercise will help to avoid joint problems.
To speed up recovery and normalize the functioning of the hip joint, it is useful to regularly perform therapeutic exercises. The formation complex is selected by the doctor for each patient individually, taking into account the general condition and diagnosis. In prevention, it is recommended to do the following exercises daily:
- Bicycle;
- the scissors;
- pick up small objects with toes;
- walk 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 relapses and speed up recovery, rehabilitation is prescribed.