Hip Pain

Your hip is made up of a ball and socket joint, connecting the top of your femur to your pelvic bones, allowing it to swivel. If you have been suffering from hip pain, it can either be caused by problems within the joint itself or by the surrounding structures. The exact location of your pain will help your doctors pinpoint the underlying cause.

Common Causes of Hip Pain

If the pain is on the inside of your groin or hip, it is most likely going to be caused by issues inside your hip joint. However, if the pain is on your upper buttock, thigh, or the outside of your hip, that pain is typically caused by injuries to the soft tissues surrounding the joints. If neither of these areas is the cause your pain, you may be suffering from referred pain, which occurs when a condition or injury in your spine sends pain signals to another part of your body.

The more common conditions that may be causing your hip pain are:

Osteoarthritis. This is the most common form of arthritis and is caused by the cartilage surrounding your bones breaking down. It can affect any bone in your body but is most common in hands, knees, hips, and the spine.

Herniated Disc. Your spine is made up of vertebrae, with soft discs in between them. When one of these discs slips out of place, the surrounding nerves become irritated and cause pain. When the herniated disc is in your lower back, the pain can be referred to your hips.

Treatments for Hip Pain

When treating a patient’s hip pain, it is always best to start with non-surgical options, including behavior modification and physical therapy. Since your hips are surrounded by over 30 muscles, physical therapy can help with strengthening them, increasing your range of motion and flexibility, and decreasing any inflammation. You may also try trigger point therapy to release tension in specific muscles. If those are unsuccessful, your doctor may recommend specific injections into either a herniated disc or the hip joint to use as a diagnostic function, as well as a way to ease your pain. These injections can be corticosteroids for anti-inflammatory or platelet-rich plasma to help heal damaged tissues.

If none of these methods decrease your hip pain, your doctors may recommend a hip replacement with a new joint that can reduce your pain and last up to twenty years.

You don’t need to suffer from hip pain. To determine the underlying cause of your hip pain and options for treatment, schedule a consultation with the doctors at Integrated Pain Management right away.