Hip pain is one of the most frustrating bodily problems that a person can experience. It affects our mobility, puts a halt to our daily activities, and even makes the simplest of tasks overwhelming.
If you’re struggling with hip pain, it is important to know that it stems from treatable conditions, which respond well to appropriate care. But what are the specific treatment options that can help you through this annoying issue? Let’s find out as we explore the causes behind your discomfort and discuss the available treatment approaches for you.
Understanding your hip pain
Typically speaking, the discomfort we refer to as hip pain can have a lot of sources, from potential arthritis to referred pain. The discomfort itself can range from minor, acute or a significant instability in our daily lives. While such a pain often resolves with rest and some basic home care, if it persists for more than two weeks or worsens with time, you may require a professional checkup. Remembering that early intervention in such instances is really important – it helps catch problems before they worsen and puts you on the right treatment path from the get go.
Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s walk through the most common causes of hip pain so you can start identifying the culprit behind yours.
What are the most common causes of hip pain?
We may not realise it, but many aspects of our everyday activities can unintentionally cause us to experience hip pain. Let’s take muscle strains as an example, which typically result from overuse of the hip joint, sudden movements, or unfamiliar physical activities. These affect the muscles surrounding our hip joint, causing pain that improves only with rest and gentle stretching. These strains can also lead to stress fractures, which are known to cause pain that worsens with weight-bearing activities. If you spend a lot of time sitting, hip flexor strain could be the real issue. These muscles at the front of your hip can often get tight and painful, especially if you sit at a desk for hours without moving around.
Apart from these issues, another pair of common causes worth mentioning are bursitis and tendinitis. Bursitis involves inflammation of the small fluid-filled sacs (bursae) that cushion our hip joint. When these become irritated through repetitive movements or intense pressure, they cause pain on the outside of your hip that characteristically worsens when lying on the affected side. On the other hand, tendinitis affects the tendons that connect our muscles to the bones around our hip joint. This condition often develops in people who engage in activities that demand repetitive movement or sports – the pain that accompanies this issue tends to intensify during movement and eases off with some rest.
While the causes above tend to develop quickly from specific activities or movements, osteoarthritis (OA) takes a different approach, building up slowly over time. This wear-and-tear condition is one of the most common sources of hip pain, especially as we age.
During OA, the cartilage protecting your hip joint slowly breaks down, leading to stiffness and discomfort that typically worsens over the years. When struggling with OA, you might notice morning stiffness that gets better once you start moving, or hip pain that tends to increase as the day goes on. Instead of simply resting, you’ll need to manage this condition by consulting a specialist and implementing an ongoing treatment plan to keep the pain at bay.
What are the lesser-known causes of hip pain?
While most hip pain stems from straightforward mechanical issues, some conditions require prompt diagnosis and treatment. Rheumatoid arthritis, for one, presents itself quite differently from osteoarthritis. It is an autoimmune condition that compels the immune system to attack your joint linings, causing a lot of pain. Interestingly, it often affects multiple joints of our body simultaneously and may cause symptoms beyond joint pain, including fatigue and morning stiffness that may last for over an hour.
In some cases, structural issues may be to blame as well – labral tears, for example, involve damage to the cartilage ring surrounding your hip socket. Caused by sports injuries, structural abnormalities like impingement, or degenerative changes, these tears often cause a catching sensation or deep groin pain during specific movements.
Another rare but worth-mentioning cause is avascular necrosis, which involves bone death due to inadequate blood supply. It can result from injury, prolonged corticosteroid use, or excessive alcohol consumption and is a serious condition requiring immediate medical attention.
How can you best support your hip joint?
When it comes to hip health, the first thing you need to do is engage in low-impact activities like swimming, cycling, and walking simultaneously to maintain mobility and build strength. You can also try targeted hip strengthening exercises that engage gluteal muscles, hip flexors, and core to further improve your joint’s stability. With regular exercise, you’ll need to focus on your flexibility as well. To this end, a bit of gentle stretching maintains your range of motion and prevents your muscles from becoming tight and restricted. So right after you exercise, try to hold stretches for at least thirty seconds and see the wonders it does to your body.
What is arguably even more important than exercising is weight management. Time and time again, studies have shown that maintaining a healthy weight can take a ton of stress away from your joints. For every pound of excess weight that you lose, you’ll remove nearly four times the pressure from your hip when walking.
Beyond all of that, your hip joint will thank you for a few more minor changes as well. Whether you’re sitting, standing, or moving around, keeping your spine in neutral alignment helps distribute forces evenly across your joints. Similarly, supportive footwear with good cushioning can absorb most of the shock that comes with any movement and keep your lower body properly aligned.
But here’s the thing – all these strategies only work if you’re actually paying attention to what your body tells you. After all, there is no clearer indication that your body needs something than the pain you feel at the moment. So rest when you need to, ease off on activities that cause pain, and don’t mistake stubbornness for strength.
When should you seek professional help for your hip pain?
Sometimes, even when you’ve tried everything we’ve discussed above, hip pain just won’t let up. Or maybe your pain is already severe enough that it’s taking over your daily life. If that sounds like you, it may be time to get professional eyes on the problem. As mentioned near the beginning, pain that hangs around for more than two weeks is your cue to book an appointment. A hip specialist in London can run a thorough evaluation – from physical exams, imaging, to other tests – to figure out what’s really going on and map out the right treatment plan for you.
There are also a few specific cases where you may need to get yourself checked right away. For instance, if you’re dealing with severe pain that makes it impossible to put weight on your leg, try not to tough it out and get help as soon as you can. The same goes if your hip has suddenly lost its range of motion, and you can’t move it like you usually would.
In a similar vein, in a situation where your hip pain follows significant trauma, such as a fall or accident, get it checked out anyway. Sometimes, fractures and tissue damage may not hurt a lot, but they will still require proper diagnosis and care. Lastly, pain that may be radiating down your leg could indicate nerve involvement or referred pain from your spine. Even though it may not be a hip specialist’s area of expertise, a diagnosis will at least help unearth the root of the problem.
Bottom line
In the end, there is no sugarcoating the fact that hip pain is difficult and frustrating. However, you don’t need to keep up with it. Most hip problems tend to respond really well to treatment, whether that’s simple self-care at home, working with a physical therapist, or getting medical help for the trickier issues – and your situation is no different.
It is important to reiterate that catching things early and staying consistent with healthy habits matter the most. Remember to reach out for help when needed and work with a good doctor to regain control over your life. If you keep your patience and follow the right approach for your specific problems, you will undoubtedly get back to moving freely and living without any pain holding you back.
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