Causes of Hip Pain and Approaches to Relieve the Disabling Symptoms

According to your trusted orthopedic joint specialist in Chevy Chase, Gautam Siram, hip pain varies in degree of discomfort. The pain might be gradual, sudden, dull, or sharp. Additionally, the pain might be constant or occasional, only appearing with physical activities or specific times of the day. Thus, tracking your symptoms might help the medical provider picture what might be happening to the joint and devise the best treatment for the diagnosis. Children are also susceptible to the condition and might experience disabling symptoms because of Perthes disease or slipped capital femoral epiphysis.     

Why are you likely to experience hip pain?

Hip pain is likely to result from a wide range of causes, including issues with the cartilage in the joint. The symptoms you might have with hip disorders may include difficulty sleeping or using the hip. For instance, while the mild signs might hinder you from living your everyday life, doing your routine tasks, severe cases might result in muscle weakness and disability of the joint. Causes of hip joint include:

• Developmental dysplasia

The medical professional will diagnose your newborn baby with the condition when the infant has a hip dislocation or a hip joint that dislocates easily. Newborn babies with developmental dysplasia have a shallow socket on the joint, allowing the ball to slip easily.

• Irritable hip syndrome

The condition is most common in young children after suffering from an upper respiratory infection. Though irritable hip syndrome resolves over time independently, it might cause hip pain that might result in limping.

• Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis results from degeneration of joint cartilage. Severe deterioration prevents the soft tissue from cushioning your hip bones, resulting in pain and inflammation.

• Referred pain

While most hip pains result from issues with the joint, sometimes the symptoms may result from defects or injuries affecting tissues outside the joint.   

What are the possible treatments you might have for a hip disorder?

Pain-relieving medications might be your healthcare provider’s first treatment option to help relieve your disabling hip pain. Medications may address inflammation resulting from arthritis and pain caused by irritable pain syndrome and other hip disorders. The medical practitioner may also recommend a surgical procedure if you have severe arthritis or to correct a fracture. For a slipped or misplaced capital femoral epiphysis, your surgeon might need to screw your femoral head back in position, preventing it from shifting out of position.

In severe cases where a correctional surgery might not help, your healthcare provider may recommend hip arthroplasty (hip replacement surgery). The hip prosthesis has various components, including a ball and socket. The good thing about the treatment is that the features are resistant to wear and tear and may withstand corrosion. Though a hip replacement is a major treatment, you may take approximately 8 weeks after the procedure to resume your everyday life.        

Hip pain results from several factors. Sometimes issues related to the joint might cause pain in your hip. However, hip pain in areas outside the joint like buttocks or upper thigh primarily results from soft tissue problems, including ligaments and muscles surrounding the joint. Contact your physician for help when the hip problem results in complications, preventing you from walking properly.