Hip Pain- Causes, and Remedies

Are you suffering from hip pain? Like any chronic body pain, hip pain is really annoying and may happen for several reasons. Proper diagnosis of hip pain is, therefore, very critical and crucial.

What Statistics Say..?

• Over the age of 60, almost 14.3% of people complained of hip pain.
• As per a report in 2023, June, approx 30-40% of adults who are into exerting sports, complain about chronic hip pain.

Apart from the elderly people, the professionals who are more prone to these injuries are-

• Athletes
• Dancers
• Gymnasts

Areas of your body where hip pain can be felt

 What Can Cause Hip Pain in a Woman?

Overuse of the hip joint can cause hip pain, for example, overexercising. In this case, the soft tissues and tendons are hurt, creating hip pain. Knee pain can be another cause of hip pain. This is known as referred, or radiated pain, which is quite common. Hip pain can also occur due to lower back pain.

The causes of hip pain in women can be segregated into three main categories. They are-

• Musculoskeletal- This type of hip pain occurs due to sacroiliac joint problems, piriformis syndrome, femoroacetabular joint referral, gluteal tendinopathy, iliotibial band thickening, pelvic floor dysfunction, osteoarthritis, labral tear, etc.
• Neuromuscular- This pain occurs due to lumbosacral radiculopathies, plexopathies, focal myopathies, myotonic disorders, etc.
• Systematic– Hip pain systemic causes include peripheral arterial diseases, septic and inflammatory arthritis, avascular necrosis, tumors, etc.

The Common Causes of Hip Pain Without Injury Include:

• Arthritis – Arthritis normally appears gradually. But again, there are some people, who might start suffering from arthritis out of the blue.
• Strained muscles – This situation is caused due to overexertion of the hip and groin area muscles to such an extent that they are about to tear.
• Labral tears – Labrum, a cartilaginous ring around the hip socket, if torn, can give pain in the front hip and groin.
• Stress fractures – This is caused due to repetitive stress or pressure on a particular point on the hip that causes traumatic injuries and bone misalignments.
• Soft tissue injuries – If muscle, ligament, tendon or bursa is inflamed or torn, then this kind of injury can be seen. The most common soft tissue injuries are-
  • Bursitis – If the bursae, the small fluid-filled sac between the tendons are inflamed due to overexertion or prolonged sitting, the condition created is called bursitis.
  • Tendinitis – This condition occurs due to the overexertion of the hip muscles causing the tendons to become inflamed.
• Spinal conditions – Our lower spine is connected to the hip. Hence, any lumbosacral pain can create hip pain.
• Hip infections – Any infection from any injury or surgery can create this type of hip pain.
• Avascular necrosis – This happens when the blood flow in the femoral head (the head of the bone femur) is poor or absent.

Pain in Right Hip Area in Female

The most common reasons for right hip pain in females are osteoarthritis, muscle injuries, and poor condition of the pelvic floor. If you are pregnant, then you may also face a similar kind of pain in the right hip area.

What Causes A Sudden Hip Pain That Comes Without Any Apparent Injury

Sometimes hip pain may arise out of nowhere, without any injury. In case you are not hurt in your bursae, muscles or tendons and still get hip pain, that might be due to the inflammation of the hip joint.

What Causes Unbearable Hip Pain to Radiate Down The Leg?

Sometimes you may feel that the hip pain is radiating down through the nerves from the back of your hip to the front back and sides of your leg. Certain lumbar or sacral nerve roots, called sciatica can create this pain. The sciatica nerve gets its branch from the lower back, then the hips and buttocks, and then down the legs. Normally sciatica affects one side of the body, but in some cases, both sides can be affected. This is one of the most common hip pain causes in males and females.

 How To Relieve Hip Pain?

The treatments to relieve hip pain normally include exercises and light stretchings, and gradually the pain goes off. Talking to a consultant is wise as the main reason for the pain in the hip will be diagnosed properly and the medications can be started accordingly.

If you want to manage your hip pain for the initial few days on your own, you may follow these home treatments.

• RICE Method- This method includes Rest (R), Ice (I), Compression (C), and Elevation (E). To be precise, you need to rest so that the pain doesn’t aggravate; have an ice pack for 10-15 minutes to the painful area; use a compression bandage around the painful area, and lastly, keep the painful portion elevated with a pillow or something that soothes your pain.
• Medications- For hip pain, you can use OTC medicines like acetaminophen, ibuprofen, aspirin, naproxen, etc. But be careful, dont use these medications for more than 10 days without your doctor’s advice. Also, it is better to consult a doctor before you take any medicine orally.
• Alternative therapy- In this therapy, the therapist will show you stretches and other exercises that can lower your pain in case you have arthritis or any other structural issue related to pain.

When all the medications and home remedies fail, but your hip pain worsens every day, visiting a doctor is wise and they may suggest surgery in extreme cases.

• Surgery– Mostly two types of hip surgery are followed by orthopedic surgeons.

1. Hip arthroscopy- In this surgery, a few small incisions are done in the hip area and a camera is put into the hip. The camera captures images of the affected areas, and depending on the images a surgeon operates the hip area.
2. Hip Arthroplasty- In this method, also known as hip replacement surgery, the surgeon will replace your hip with an artificial hip known as a prosthesis. The time taken to recover and other medications will be guided to you by your surgeon.

Some Common Do’s and Don’ts When You Have Hip Pain are-

The Do’s

• Stretch your hips and legs every day
• Take a warm bath
• Apply heat or ice pack
• Try doing more exercises
• Change sleeping positions
• Losing weight can help in the long run if you are overweight
• Comfortable shock-absorbing shoes are recommended
• Don’t overdo anything that hurts your hip

The Don’ts

• Don’t sit on low chairs
• Don’t carry heavy weight
• Don’t sit or stand for a long time

However, if you don’t feel better even after following all these treatments at home, or feel the pain is getting worse, or the pain is unbearable, then consult an Orthopedic Surgeon on an immediate basis.

Dr. Sameep Sohoni – Best Hip Replacement Doctor in Thane

Dr. Sameep is a renowned Orthopedic Surgeon in Thane… specializing in Hip Surgeries.

The surgeon do have experience of more than 10 years in this field.

No matter for which reason, one is facing hip issues… Dr. Sameep can help you out with all.

Dr. Sameep do deploy enhance surgical techniques… to help one get rid of joint issues.

Without any doubt, he is the best Hip Replacement Surgeon in Thane.

Do contact him to know causes of your hip pain… and to know ways on how to get rid of them.

Wrapping up

To wrap up, hip pain may result from different issues which may be simple to complex. Normally women are more prone to hip pain than men. Women suffer from hip pain mostly during pregnancy and menopause. Initially, some home remedies are good to follow. However, if you feel the pain is unbearable, or does not get better with time, then you should definitely contact an orthopedic surgeon.

Now despite of the fact that today there is wide availability of orthopedic surgeons… we would like to recommend you the best orthopedic doctor in Thane… Dr. Sameep Sohoni… The reason behind our this recommendation is for sure you have gone through above…

References-

1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11978258/
2. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/approach-to-the-adult-with-unspecified-hip-pain#:~:text=This%20topic%20last%20updated%3A%20Jun%2014%2C%202023.&text=Hip%20pain%20is%20common%20in,percent%20%5B3%2C4%5D.
3. https://versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/hip-pain/
4. https://www.socalhip.com/sciatica-hip-pain-causes-and-treatment/