Hip Pain – Causes and Symptoms

Hips PainYour hip is a strong, ball-and-socket joint connecting the long bone of your thigh to your pelvis. Without its unique design, you wouldn't be able to twist and bend, cross your legs, or curl up in an easy chair. Like all your joints, the hip receives its fair share of use and abuse, so it isn't any wonder that things go wrong. Even though athletes commonly complain of hip pain, you don't have to be a gymnast, dancer, or even a runner to feel an occasional ache.

Simply straining the long muscle down the outside of your thigh can make your hip area hurt. You could even have pain somewhere else, such as your feet, buttocks, or ankles, and still feel it in your hip. After all, everything is connected in some way to everything else. You may have been born with one leg longer than the other — and suffer hip pain as a result. Just a few cen­timeters can be enough to affect how you stand and walk. Most people never realize they have this problem; they simply adjust to the condition. Shoe inserts are an easy way to correct it.

If you have hip pain for more than two weeks, it could mean something serious.

It's time to see your doctor if you have hip pain and:

  1. Pain within the bones of the hip, pelvis, and femur that is worse at night
  2. Swelling of the hip joint
  3. A fracture of the hip without cause

With these symptoms, it is possible you have a malignant growth in your hip, or bone cancer. The most common type is secondary bone cancer, which spreads from the breast, lung, prostate, thy­roid, or kidney to the bones.

  1. Morning joint stiffness
  2. Limited movement and dexterity

This could mean osteoarthritis, a condition where the cartilage in your joints gradually breaks down. Usually, you will feel an aching pain when you move or put weight on your joints.

  1. Swelling and redness in the hip
  2. Low fever
  3. General ill-feeling
  4. Severe morning stiffness that can last for hours

These symptoms may indicate the onset of rheuma­toid arthritis, a disease that inflames the joints. Resting may not bring you relief from the pain.

  1. Pain on one side of your body, in your buttock and leg
  2. Stiffness in your lower back
  3. Muscle spasms beside your spine
  4. Increased pain when bending, straining, coughing, or sneezing

The sciatic nerve is the largest nerve running from the lower back down each leg. When this nerve is irritated by back problems, you can have pain all the way from your lower back to your toes. This is called sciatica. It can be caused by injury, arthritis, or infection.

  1. Recent injury
  2. Swelling
  3. Restricted movement of your hip

If you have injured your hip and damaged the liga­ments holding the bones together, you may have dislocated the joint. This is a serious injury, and your doctor should decide appropriate action.

  1. Redness and swelling in your hip joint
  2. Severe pain that usually occurs at night

Gout is a form of acute arthritis marked by inflam­mation of the joints. It is caused by too much uric acid in the blood, which forms crystals in the joints. Attacks usually last about a week.

  1. Swollen hip joint with muscle stiffness
  2. Headaches
  3. Anxiety or depression
  4. Fatigue
  5. Irritable bowel syndrome or bladder problems

These symptoms, along with muscle pain in your neck and shoulders, could be caused by fibromyalgia. This is a puzzling condition that can be mistaken for many other more serious diseases. You need to see a specialist for an accurate diagnosis.

  1. Recurring backache or sudden back pain after bending or lifting
  2. Curved spine, often with humps
  3. Loss of several Inches in height
  4. Easily fractured bone, usually your hip or arm

Osteoporosis is a gradual break down of your bones due to a loss of calcium and phosphate salts. Your bones lose density, become brittle, and are easily fractured.

  1. Heat, redness, and swelling
  2. Any type of broken skin near your hip

These are signs of an infection. See your doctor.

  1. Inflammation of the hip joint
  2. Restricted movement of your hip
  3. Hip pain when crossing your legs
  4. Injury or strain to the hip within a week of symp­toms

Bursae are small, fluid-filled sacs that act as cush­ions between the working parts of your joints. When a joint is injured or strained, these bursae can become inflamed. This is called bursitis.