Quite often, neuropathologists and traumatologists see patients who complain of hip pain. If pain occurs occasionally for a short time, and then disappears, then most likely you should not worry. But with systematic pains that torment for a long time, you need to be alert and visit a specialist in order to find out the cause and take the necessary measures to eliminate it. Ignoring such pain is dangerous, as it can be a symptom of a serious illness. Next, consider the causes of hip pain, types, diagnosis and treatment of pathology.
Diseases - causes of pain in the legs
For many reasons, with age, many pathologies affecting the musculoskeletal system begin to develop. This is due to both age-related changes in the body, and injuries, surgical interventions and pathologies. Among them, the most commonly diagnosed are:
1. Arthrosis. It is formed as a result of wear of the hip joints. As a result, the bones begin to rub against each other, causing pain in the hip. It can be given to different parts of the leg. Pain often increases with changing weather conditions. Arthrosis develops in almost 95% of the population after 50years. But there are cases when the disease affects the joints of young people.
2. Arthritis. With this disease, several joints are affected at once, which causes pain in the leg from the hip.
3. Piriformis Syndrome. Such a diagnosis is made in almost half of the patients who come to see a neurologist or traumatologist. Most often, only pain in the left thigh or right is noted. Patients note that pain spreads along the back of the leg from the hip and down to the very foot.
4. Pinching of the sciatic nerve. This is another cause of hip pain.
5. Rheumatism. A pathology characterized by inflammatory processes in the connective tissue, and this cannot but affect the condition of the joints. Pain in the legs becomes chronic and it is difficult to cope with it without treatment of the underlying disease.
6. Inflammatory process in the hip joint. It can affect muscle tissue, connective tissue, which will definitely provoke pain in the thigh area.
7. Hernia of the spine in the lumbar region. Pathology will definitely declare itself with pain and not only, patients complain of impaired mobility. As a rule, pain in the legs spreads from the hip to the foot.
8. Osteochondrosis. With the development of degenerative changes in the region of the sacrum or lower back, pain becomes an almost constant companion of a person. The pain may radiate to the buttock, runs along the back of the thigh.
9. Damage to the musculoskeletal system as a result of trauma. Also canbother thigh muscle pain.
Pain can become not only a symptom of various pathologies, but also be a consequence of natural processes taking place against the background:
- Having a birth defect in the legs.
- Disrupted metabolic processes.
There are also traumatic pains that are associated with:
- Fracture of the femoral neck. Trauma is often diagnosed in older people. Unsuccessful fall - and the diagnosis is provided. Immediately after the injury, the patient may feel pain in the leg from the hip to the knee. Only after an X-ray can the doctor determine the severity of the fracture. Depending on the damage, the femur may remain intact, but part of the pelvis breaks, or the femur is displaced and exits the acetabulum.
- Closed injuries. For example, sprains or sprains can cause pain in the thigh.
- Pain can be traumatic as a result of overload. If daily activities cause a lot of tension in the hip joint, then there is a risk of developing an inflammatory process in the muscles, tendons, which will give an unpleasant symptom in the form of pain. As a result of overload, inflammation of the synovial bursa can occur, which will also manifest itself as pain.
Any pain, regardless of the cause, should not be endured, it is necessary to find out the cause and eliminate it.
Dangerous pathologies, manifested by pain in the legs
The listed diseases do not threaten the patient's life, although they are quiteunpleasant. But there is a group of diseases that not only manifest as pain, but also threaten with serious consequences for the he alth, and sometimes the life of the patient. These include:
- Malignant formations. Tumors rarely form directly in the joints; in cancerous diseases, metastases affect the bones.
- Bone tuberculosis and osteomyelitis. These infectious pathologies are most often accompanied not only by pain in the thigh, but also by other symptoms: lameness, fever. Such manifestations can occur against the background of urinary tract infections, pelvic abscess.
- Vascular stenosis. It is manifested by pain from the hip to the knee. There is an increase in pain during any physical activity.
These diseases are dangerous to he alth and life, and therefore require immediate treatment.
Why does the child hurt?
Thigh pain may also occur in childhood. Parents should not leave the symptom unattended, an urgent consultation with a doctor is needed. As a rule, among the reasons for this condition, the following are noted:
- Synovitis. This pathology is an inflammation of the inside of the hip joint. This is often observed against the background of infectious diseases. Serious treatment is not required, but you will need to visit an orthopedist to remove excess fluid from the joint cavity.
- Arthritis. The disease sometimes develops already in childhood. In addition to pain, there is an increased temperature, there may be rashes on the body.
- Injury resulting indislocation of the hip joint occurred. Symptoms include pain in the leg from the hip to the knee on the injured side, impaired movement. In such a situation, the child must be urgently taken to the emergency room, where they will take an x-ray to exclude a fracture, and the doctor will set the bone in its place.
- Hip Dysplasia. Such a diagnosis can be made even to babies. The disease consists in improper formation of articular bones and violation of the correspondence of articular surfaces. The load is unevenly distributed when the child walks, the articular surfaces are gradually deformed, the joint space narrows, which leads to pain.
- In adolescence, leg pain may develop due to epiphysiolysis of the femoral head. Hormonal imbalance during this period of life, when there is a lot of growth hormone, and the sex hormones are still not enough, leads to a decrease in bone strength and a downward displacement of the hip. Pain usually occurs during physical exertion. It can give to the lower back, to the knee, to the groin. After a rest, everything will be back to normal.
Unfortunately, even children can develop serious pathologies, so any pain cannot be ignored.
Pain in legs during pregnancy
Pain in the legs in the thigh area can disturb expectant mothers, there are several reasons for this:
- Hormonal shifts. The amount of progesterone increases, so the muscles and ligaments relax. This is normal from a physiological point of view, but can provoke pain after a longwalk.
- Increase in body weight. As a rule, a woman in a position gains a lot of weight, which leads to increased pressure on the muscles and ligaments.
- Increased blood pressure. The fetus grows and puts more and more pressure on the vessels, internal organs. There may be stagnation of blood in the veins of the thigh, which will cause unpleasant pain.
- The growing uterus can compress the nerve endings, in addition, the load on the spine increases. For this reason, many pregnant women experience frequent hip or back pain.
But usually, if pathologies are associated only with an important period in a woman's life, then after the birth of a baby, all pains disappear. If this did not happen, then you will have to look for the reason.
Types of pain
When pain in the hip occurs, the nature of sensations may change. Given the intensity of the symptom, allocate:
- Sharp pain. It often occurs suddenly after an injury, with the person clearly feeling the exact location of the pain.
- Awful. Localization is more extensive and usually the intensity increases as the underlying pathology progresses, which caused this symptom. A feature of such pains is a difficult diagnosis.
- Chronic. It worries a person for a long time and indicates the presence of an extensive inflammatory process.
- Somatic. Occurs with damage to the ligaments, joints. The pain can be dull or sharp, and it can be difficult to determine the exact location.
- Neuralgic. It is felt when the nerve endings are damaged. Pain is felt in the thighbut no pathologies were found in this part of the body.
- Dermal. Differs in short-term character and disappears as soon as the traumatic factor stops its influence.
Any pain may be accompanied by additional manifestations, including: numbness in the leg, goosebumps, tingling.
Distinctive characteristics of pain depending on localization
Pain sensations not only have different origins, but also differ in their localization. Most often, patients go to the doctor when they experience pain:
- From hip to knee. An unpleasant symptom is observed not only in the thigh area, but also in the inguinal zone, it can affect the lower back.
- Pain from hip to foot. Increases during movements, is often characterized by an acute manifestation and can be given to the lower back. It feels like a pinched nerve, which caused such a symptom.
- Pain occurring during rest. Some patients note that there is, for example, pain in the right thigh, if you lie on your right side. At the same time, numbness and goosebumps are felt, but mobility is not impaired.
Diagnostic procedures will determine the cause of the pain, only after that the doctor will be able to prescribe therapy.
Diagnosis of pain
Diagnosis for each patient is a purely individual process, which takes into account the location and nature of pain, the presence of chronic pathologies, the patient's age and accompanying signs. The most effective diagnostic methods are:
MRI. Indicated for patients with painlegs, especially if it radiates to the lower back or there are suspicions of spinal pathology. During the study, attention is paid to the lumbar region and the condition of the joints
- Dopplerography of vessels. The study is carried out in order to assess the state of the vessels of the legs. Be sure to prescribe for varicose veins, thrombophlebitis.
- Ultrasound of the joints. This method allows you to determine arthrosis, arthritis, infectious lesions.
- Electromyography. This procedure is for the study of tendon reflexes, musculoskeletal apparatus.
- Laboratory tests.
Based on the results of all studies, experts make a conclusion about the causes of hip pain, and treatment is usually prescribed comprehensively.
Basic methods of pain therapy
Getting rid of pain in the legs involves a long process of treatment. It is aimed not only at removing an unpleasant symptom, but also at eliminating its cause. Therapy is implied as follows:
- Drug treatment.
- Physiotherapy treatments.
- Therapeutic gymnastics.
- Folk methods.
Only a doctor should prescribe procedures and medicines.
Drug therapy
When pain occurs, the first thing to do is to relieve the patient of the pain syndrome and relieve the inflammatory process. For this, a course of the following groups of drugs is prescribed:
- Anti-inflammatory drugs. Diclofenac, Indomethacin are popular. If the pain is long and sharp, then steroid injections come to the rescue.
- Muscle relaxants. Drugs from this group relieve muscle spasm, improve blood circulation and reduce tissue swelling.
- Chondroprotectors are prescribed for a long course to improve nutrition and blood supply in pathological areas. Often used for joint diseases.
- Diuretics relieve excess swelling, which can result in pinched nerve roots.
- Taking multivitamin preparations. Essential vitamins and minerals reduce the severity of the inflammatory process, improve the general condition of the body.
All drugs are prescribed in combination, as a rule, therapy is long-term and requires compliance with the dosage and drug regimen.
Physiotherapy and exercise therapy against pain
After the acute attack of pain has been relieved with the help of modern analgesics and anti-inflammatory drugs, physiotherapy can begin. A visit to the treatment room will be beneficial, speed up the recovery process and significantly improve the patient's condition. The doctor most often prescribes the following procedures:
- Electrophoresis. With its help, the maximum concentration of the drug is created in the pathological area, which speeds up recovery.
- Laser therapy has an analgesic effect, has an anti-inflammatory and resolving effect.
- Magnetotherapy using a magnetic field improves blood flow,reduces the intensity of inflammation.
- Massage. Should be carried out in courses of at least 10 procedures.
Along with physiotherapy, therapeutic exercises are also prescribed. The complex selected by a specialist will improve blood circulation, strengthen muscles, and increase mobility.
Therapeutic exercise is carried out under the supervision of a physician. Recommendations are as follows:
- There should be no pain during exercise.
- At home, exercise can be done in a warm water bath for relaxation.
- For many pathologies of the musculoskeletal system, swimming is an excellent preventive measure.
To get rid of pain, you will also have to revise your diet. The menu should include he althy foods with a high content of important trace elements and vitamins.
Traditional medicine helps get rid of pain
When you experience pain for the first time and if they do not differ in intensity, you can try to get rid of them with the help of recipes from traditional healers:
Among the effective, according to some patients who have tried this therapy on themselves, we can recommend:
- Fresh fat. It is necessary to attach a strip of fat to the sore spot and fix it with a bandage. Leave for several hours, during this time the thickness of the product will decrease, then you need to attach a new piece. The procedure is carried out until the pain ceases to disturb.
- Pepper compress is also used for hip pain. For cooking, you need: onion juice in an amount of 100 ml, 20 ml of plantain juice, internal fat, two pods of hot pepper. Grind the pepper in a blender or in a meat grinder and combine with the rest of the ingredients. Before applying to a sore spot, the mixture should be slightly warmed up. It is necessary to rub the sore thigh and wrap it with a warm cloth.
- Ointment based on mustard. Prepared as follows: 150 grams of s alt, a glass of mustard and a little kerosene. Prepare a composition that is similar in density to sour cream. Rub into sore joints at night.
Using different treatments together will give you the desired results, but be patient. Pathologies of the musculoskeletal system require long-term therapy. But it is better to leave thoughts about self-treatment right away, only a competent specialist after a thorough examination can choose an effective course of therapy. Self-medication is especially dangerous if the cause of pain is cancer or other serious pathologies.
