In today's article, you can find out what to do if your hip joint hurts.
It is this part of the human body that is responsible for the maximum load when walking and running. Problems in this area can result in serious complications. Even if the pain occurs intermittently, proper treatment is necessary. In this case, the treatment option should be prescribed by the doctor after diagnosis, as the treatment option depends entirely on the pathology.
Causes of hip joint pain
First of all, you need to know the causes of pain.
traumatic causes
If painful joint syndromes are felt strongly, the reasons may be as follows:
- Congenital dislocation of the hip, which can appear during childbirth. Such damage is most often diagnosed in newborns. This can lead to pinched nerves.
- Traumatic dislocation is accompanied by very intense pain. Hematoma and edema occur over the affected area. This type of injury requires immediate treatment.
- A femoral neck fracture usually occurs in women over age 60. The cause of the injury is a fall or blow. Unpleasant sensations are given to the inner thigh area. This disease causes pinched nerves and difficulty walking.
- With a transvertebral fracture of the femur, the pain is made worse by movement. The limbs can go numb and the pain shoots up.
- A bruise of the hip joint is manifested by moderate pain. In a static state, these signals disappear. In this case, lameness can also occur.
Traumatic injuries are a common problem and cause very unpleasant painful sensations. In some cases, even surgery is necessary.
If you feel numbness, it's important to seek help right away. The appearance of the diseased joint can be seen in the photo.
systemic diseases
With systemic connective tissue disorders, pain may occur when walking. For this, an integrated approach is essential.
So, here are some pathologies that can cause pain:
- Ankylosing spondylitis is accompanied by dull pain. The pain is especially pronounced at night. The pain is located in the sacrum or pelvis. At the same time, the knees hurt, shoot up, and there may be discomfort in the groin area. A strong inflammatory process occurs within the left and right joints.
- Reiter's syndrome presents with genitourinary, conjunctival and joint problems. There is severe pain and fever.
- Rheumatoid arthritis is formed when connective tissue is damaged. A complication of the disease can be coxarthrosis of the hip joints. At the beginning of the disease, swelling and edema appear. When walking, there is a feeling of discomfort and pain in the legs.
- During inflammation, the temperature can rise. The development of the disease causes rigidity of movements.
Systemic pathologies can cause the appearance of different types of pain. However, it is not always possible to deal with the disease on your own.
If the treatment is wrong, complications will arise.
degenerative changes
With this pathology, the pain is burning, pulling and sharp. They can be provoked by such diseases:
- Epiphyseal viral deformity usually occurs during adolescence. Pain has a drawn and dull character. It can radiate to the inner region of the knee. After training, the pain syndrome intensifies. The joint can click.
- Coxarthrosis is a common disease. It takes a long time to treat such a disease. The disease cannot be started, as it causes the formation of destructive and degenerative processes in the joints.
If the joints started to ache after a long walk, run or climbing stairs, this can be considered the first sign of the disease.
In the next stage, the pain syndrome radiates to the groin and thigh. With daily stress, the intensity of symptoms can increase.
In this case, the work of the tendons and muscles is interrupted. In the last stage, the pain occurs even at night. Lameness becomes more pronounced and muscles atrophy. Such pathologies must be treated in a timely manner, otherwise they can lead to permanent claudication.
infectious diseases
Discomfort can be caused by inflammation of the tendons, muscles, and joint pouch.
Such infectious diseases can provoke painful symptoms:
- Purulent arthritis is expressed by high fever, severe swelling, sharp pain, and redness of the skin. Not only are some movements difficult, but also getting out of bed. Pains can skyrocket. In this case, urgent medical assistance is required.
- Femoral bone head necrosis occurs with poor blood circulation in this area. This initiates tissue cell death. Signs of the disease are sharp pain, which is accompanied by a burning sensation and radiates to the groin. An injection of painkillers is often necessary to be able to stand.
- Tuberculous arthritis often occurs in immunocompromised children. This pathology develops slowly. The boy gets tired quickly and runs a little. Over time, the joint starts to click and the leg gets shorter.
- Bursitis is an inflammatory condition of the joint joints. The main symptom is pain that radiates down the leg. Particular discomfort is felt when walking.
Features of pathology diagnosis
First, you must go to the therapist, who will tell you which doctor you should go to. The patient receives a comprehensive diagnosis.
The following procedures apply:
- Ultrasound exam.
- Radiograph of the thigh, which is performed in two projections.
- General and biochemical analysis of blood. In this case, the presence of rheumatoid factor is determined with a change in the erythrocyte sedimentation rate and the level of leukocytes.
- External examination with palpation and questioning of patients.
- MRI.
After the examination, the doctor will determine the exact diagnosis and prescribe a comprehensive treatment.
How to treat the pathology
Therapeutic methods are largely determined by the causes that caused the disease.
congenital dislocation
With such a pathology, orthopedic devices are applied to the child, such as supports, stirrups or a Freik pillow.
These tools keep the baby's legs in the correct position from a physiological point of view. They are used for at least six months.
In rare cases, when conservative methods do not help, surgery is prescribed. In this case, the femoral head is reduced. Even after removing the orthopedic devices, the baby needs to do a light massage that strengthens the muscles.
traumatic dislocation
If there is such a disease, the doctor prescribes drugs that help to eliminate muscle tone, as well as restore the joint.
It is important to keep the patient calm. If the limbs start to feel numb, it indicates a pinched nerve.
In this case, an examination by a neurologist is necessary.
hip fracture
In this situation, treatment is carried out by a traumatologist. Most often, an operation is prescribed. If surgical intervention is not possible, a cast is applied from the lower back to the heel.
It should be borne in mind that after 60 years these lesions practically do not grow together.
Bechterew syndrome
With this disease, a complex treatment is prescribed, which allows you to reduce the symptoms of inflammatory processes.
Therapy includes:
- Medications - hormonal, immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory compounds.
- Therapeutic exercises - muscle stretching.
- Physiotherapy procedures.
- The right and left joints are massaged.
All sets of exercises and preparations must be selected by a traumatologist, surgeon or orthopedist. To strengthen the muscles of the pelvis, you need to practice swimming.
If the case is severe, the patient may be prescribed arthroplasty.
Reiter's disease
To treat this pathology, anti-inflammatory drugs, glucocorticosteroids and drugs that depress the function of the immune system are used.
The treatment lasts about 4 months.
Such pathology may recur in the future. You also need to maintain the tone with the help of exercises - stretching.
Rheumatoid arthritis
This disease is considered very common. Every hundredth person suffers from it. At the same time, women are more susceptible to it than men. This is due to the fact that during pregnancy there is a change in the structure of the pelvic bones.
The main symptom of the disease is pain and stiffness when walking.
Treatment with hormonal agents, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and cytostatics is used.
Exercises, stretch marks and topical ointments are especially effective. Surgical intervention is used in the later stages of the disease, when it is impossible to walk and sit.
At the same time, arthroplasty and joint fixation are recommended. After the operation, there is a decrease in pain symptoms, improved mobility and prevention of possible complications.
Coxarthrosis
Corxarthrosis is a disease where there are problems with the hyaline cartilage.
It happens more often in older people. A variety of measures and procedures are used in the treatment. It could be drugs and surgery. First, a course of medication is prescribed, and if it is not effective, an operation is prescribed. In the early stages, the disease is treated with conservative methods.
Chondroprotectors, NSAIDs, as well as agents that improve blood flow are prescribed. For treatment, warming and analgesic ointments can be used, in addition to therapeutic exercises.
In some cases, the joint needs to be anesthetized. If the discomfort is severe, injections are used. If the stage is the last, the coxarthrosis is not amenable to therapy.
At the same time, any load will only worsen your well-being, and even getting out of bed causes pain. In such a situation, only surgical treatment will help.
Endoprosthesis replacement is often used, but this method is not used for the elderly. After the operation, simple recovery and training procedures are required, but under the supervision of a doctor.
The load must be minimal.
Treatment of inflammatory and infectious diseases
You need to know how to treat infectious pathologies. With these problems, treatment is prescribed by a doctor.
Therapeutic methods depend on the type of disease:
- With purulent arthritis, it is first necessary to anesthetize the affected hip joint. In this case, an analgesic injection is used. Antibiotics and antibacterial agents are used against the infection. Abscess removal is also used. In this case, a splint or plaster is applied.
- To cure aseptic necrosis of the femoral head, it is necessary to restore blood flow so that dead areas are restored. It is necessary to anesthetize with the help of NSAIDs. Complexes with vitamins and agents to reduce blood viscosity are actively used. If the thigh starts to hurt, you will need to use an anesthetic composition and massage. Therapeutic gymnastics and physiotherapy procedures are also used. If the case is complex, joint arthroplasty and surgical methods are used.
- With bursitis, the joint can hurt a lot, so it must be anesthetized. In this case, anti-inflammatory and analgesic compounds are used. With severe discomfort, steroid agents are relevant.
- Tuberculous arthritis is treated conservatively. Joint mobility is limited by a special tight bandage. When an abscess forms in the soft tissues, it is surgically removed.
treatment at home
Please don't self-medicate. Consult a doctor!
Folk remedies are an addition to the main treatment, but not a substitute for it. There are different ways to treat arthritis or osteoarthritis.
It should be borne in mind that all popular methods only help to stifle painful symptoms, but do not drastically help.
Here are some recipes:
- A horseradish compress is applied to the affected areas. To do this, the roots must be grated and then boiled in warm water. After that, the compress is applied to the affected areas.
- Cabbage treatment. This vegetable has long been used to relieve joint and bone pain. A compress can be made from cabbage leaves or juice. The juice can be squeezed with a juicer or from crushed leaves. The tissue is soaked in juice and applied to the affected area. Honey can be applied to the leaves and placed on the affected area overnight.
- An oatmeal compress is made like this. First, the porridge is boiled in a small amount of water, and then placed in cheesecloth. The compress is applied to the affected area.
- Grind the eggshell and mix it with the kefir. The mixture is wrapped in linen or gauze and then applied to the sore spot.
For arthritis, special solutions and decoctions are prepared for drinking. Apple cider vinegar is recommended to be taken several times a day.
In this case, a spoon of the solution is placed in a glass of water.
Do not use the composition for stomach problems.
A bay leaf decoction is also helpful. Half a packet should be taken in a pot of water. Then the decoction must be filtered and drunk before going to bed.
You can be treated with the help of different juices. Especially effective are the beetroot, carrot and other vegetable juice options.
With the right and quick treatment, you can deal with any ailment.
The main thing is not to give up, but to follow all the doctor's recommendations and, if possible, do therapeutic exercises.