Hip Pain:The causes of hip problems

The basics:

 

  • Pain in the hip is a common complaint,
  • The medical term for pain in the hip is coxalgia.
  • There may be various disorders.
  • These disorders are also often related to each other and occur regularly at the same time.

It is not possible to discuss all possible hip pain causes on this site in detail therefore we have made a selection of the most common  causes of hip pain and hip related complaints. We will also briefly outline of the hip anatomy to help you understand why certain  hip pains exists and how the treatment will effect the problem.

 

Before reading any further, please if in doubt consult your medical practitioner. This site can only give generic advice and should not be treated as a replacement for advice given by a professional medical source.  Also do not keep walking around with hip pain: your hips are the stability for the rest of your body, and make sure your body can move the way it does.

 

 

 

Your hips

The hips are a complex part of our body.

They consist of 3 bones, which will connect and grow together during puberty.

The hip joint is the largest ball joint of the body and is located in the pelvis. A ball joint is a joint that can rotate in all directions.

The hip forms the link between the pelvis and the femur or thight bone.

The ligaments  support the joint and keeps it stable. The Tendons connect the musles to the bones and joints.

Furthermore, the hips consist of muscles including the hip muscle (Iliopsoas), tendons and bursa.

The hips are there to give the body stability and support, but also to give our body the flexibility to move.

Therefore it is important to take good care of your hips and associated body structures.

 

Hip Pain: Symptoms.Pain in the hip may consist of stabbing or nagging pain, stiffness, limited freedom of movement and loss of strength.You can, for example, have pain on the side of your hips or on the front.The pain can radiate to the upper legs, the groin, the pubic bone, the buttocks, the lower back and the abdomen.You can get pain at night, during standing up, during standing still and / or while moving.

 

Treatment of hip complaints

Always visit your doctor when experiencing hip pain.

 

Sometimes an X-ray, ultrasound or MRI asre done to determine the cause of your pain. The practitionar might also do some blood tests and give you some exercises to do to see the reaction of your body on specific moves.

 

In some cases it is particularly important to take a rest; for example, at a bursitis or any other inflamation..

In many casesb though it is better to keep moving without putting too much strain on your body, if necessary with painkillers, to keep the blood circulation going and thus helping your body to remove any infection faster.

Often a (pelvic) physiotherapist, chiropractor, osteopath or manual therapist is involved in the treatment of hip related medical intervention.

Often they will give you hip exercises / stretching exercises, massage. The prescription of a brace to support  and stabilise your hip of lower back.

In case of severe pain and for specific conditions, you can also get anti-inflammatory injections directly into the joint.

Other treatment methods are for example:

  • Neural and pain regulation therapy; a treatment method whereby injections with a local anesthetic are administered.

This way the pain circle is interrupted, allowing the patient to move and help resolve internal  blockages through a better blood circulation.

  • Shockwave therapy; a kind of electronic form of acupuncture.
  • Laser therapy
  • Herbal therapy, homeopathy, acupuncture

 

Surgery:

In some cases, surgery is inevitable.

An arthroscopy (exploratory operation) is often used.

In the case of a broken hip or osteoarthritisthe surgeon needs to fix or replace the broken bone tissue.

In hip dysplasiaof the hip,  a position correction operation (osteotomy) can take place.

Sometimes it is necessary to do a hip replacement.

Any operation is a risk so your practitioners will carefully weigh all te options to determine the best and least invasive call of action.

 

Prevention is therefore better than cure.

A healthy lifestyle can save you a lot of trouble, especially at a later age.