Hip pain can truly be disabling. Living with pain affects our work, our daily activities, and our interactions with others. If your hip hurts every time you move, you may start limiting your activities and stop getting the regular exercise you need to stay healthy. When your pain isn’t from something obvious like a fall or a car accident it’s important to receive the correct diagnosis to ensure proper treatment.
If it isn’t getting any better with icing the inflammation, stretching, rest, or pain relievers, you need to know why your hip hurts. Left untreated, the pain will typically increase over time. It’s important to get to the root of your hip pain and provide the relief you need to regain a better quality of life.
Your hip pain can result from numerous causes. The following are five of the more common reasons for chronic hip or intermittent hip pain:
- Arthritis
Many forms of arthritis can cause pain, swelling in the hips, and stiffness. Hip pain can occur on the inside or outside of the hip, outer buttock or the upper thigh. There are more than 100 kinds of arthritis. Osteoarthritis is the most prevalent form of the disease. It is usually caused by wear-and-tear on the soft tissue in and around the joint. As you age, cartilage that cushions the space between your bones begins to break down, causing friction. Rheumatoid Arthritis could also be the cause; it stems from an autoimmune disorder that attacks the joints (and possibly other parts of the body), damaging cartilage and bone.
- Bursitis
Bursitis is inflammation of a bursa. You have small, closed pockets of fluid in your hip joint called bursae (plural for bursa) sacs. They protect your bones and work as a cushion and gliding surface to reduce friction between tissues of the body. Hip Bursitis can often be a result of overuse, injury, spinal abnormalities, or the result of an accident in which your hip was damaged. The pain a person experiences—its location, intensity, frequency—will depend on the location and severity of the hip bursitis.
- Torn Labrum
Your hips are large ball-and-socket joints, which means they depend on the connective tissues that hold the bones in place to provide stability. One such tissue is your labrum, which is cartilage that covers your acetabulum —the socket portion of your joint. This enables the movement of your femoral head within the socket and holds the bones in place without allowing them to rub together. One of the first signs of a labral tear is pain. The pain may flare up when you use your hips in certain ways, such as bending over or getting in and out of your car. Other signs are popping or clicking sensations inside your hip that seem to “catch” the joint. Athletes who participate in sports such as soccer, golf, and ballet are at higher risk of developing hip labral tears.
- Tendonitis
Most people think of tendonitis as a condition that affects only your arm or shoulder, but you can also get tendonitis in the hip. You may have caused micro-tears in a muscle or tendon there. The usual cause of the painful Hip Tendonitis is the overuse of tendons. Some people who try a new workout program or aim to improve their exercise level often experience this type of tendonitis. The tendons around their hips become stressed and overworked, therefore pain is felt around the hip area.
- Sacroiliac Joint Pain
The symptoms of sacroiliac joint pain can look similar to other lower back issues. However, it is specifically an inflammation in the joint. You have two sacroiliac joints--one on each side of your lumbar spine that connects it to your pelvis. Sacroiliac joint pain may be highly localized, or radiate outward through the rest of the pelvis. Arthritis can cause this pain as well as a fall, an accident, or even pregnancy.
Your hips are among the hardest working joints in your body, so when something goes wrong, the effects are widespread. The best way to identify the source of your hip problem is to come see one of our Interventional Pain Doctors. After a thorough exam and advanced diagnostic tests, your doctor will get to the root of your hip pain. Fortunately, there are many treatments available. It may be a conservative treatment such as physical therapy, an injection, or a better choice might be an interventional or regenerative medicine. Your treatment options will be discussed thoroughly to choose what’s best for you.
Experience a renewed quality of life. Call or book an appointment online today for relief from your hip pain.