Hip pain on the side: possible causes, diagnosis and treatment methods

If a person has a hip hurt from the side, he urgently needs to see a therapist, traumatologist or orthopedist. Typically, this symptom indicates problems with the hip joint. But there may be other reasons why the discomfort appeared. To find out the prerequisites, it is necessary to undergo a detailed diagnosis. Also, based on its results, competent treatment will be prescribed. Well, now we will talk about the most common reasons for which there is pain in the thigh.

Soft tissue injury

Most often, discomfort appears due to mechanical damage. Injuries and bumps can result in soft tissue bruising. If the hip hurts on the side, this is probably what happened. The signs are as follows:

  • Dull, aching pain that intensifies after pressure is applied to the skin. In this case, motor ability is preserved.
  • The pain is localized, occurs at the site of damage, one-sided.
  • A hematoma is formed. It looks like a blue-violet region of irregular shape that arose due to a rupture of small blood vessels under the skin.

You can diagnose it during the examination. However, sometimes an X-ray is required to rule out a fracture. If the bone is intact, but there is a hematoma, then this is definitely a bruise of the soft tissues of the thigh.

As a rule, treatment is not required. Damaged tissues heal themselves. In rare cases, the help of a traumatologist or surgeon is required. Usually the indication is the formation of an abnormally extensive hematoma. In this case, a large volume of accumulated blood in the intramuscular and subcutaneous space compresses adjacent nerves, thereby causing pain. Then the doctor opens the hematoma with a medical tool and removes the blood.

adult hip dysplasia

Sprain

If a person has a hip hurt from the side, then it is quite possible that he had this ailment. Stretching is a partial or complete rupture of small fibers of ligamentous tissues. The reasons for its occurrence are as follows:

  • Fall to the TBS site.
  • Sports injuries. With stretching, skaters, gymnasts, as well as people involved in athletics are often faced.
  • Accident.
  • Sharp movements (jerking, slipping).
  • Violations in the formation and further development of connective tissue.
  • Diseases of the muscles and nervous system.

If we talk about symptoms, then they, in addition to pain, include:

  • Swelling of the tissues.
  • Bruising due to muscle breakdown.
  • Joint deformation.
  • Impaired motor activity.
  • Pain that occurs when a damaged area is pressed.

If you have a bruised hip and injury is accompanied by similar sensations, you need to urgently apply cold to it, and then wrap it with an elastic bandage. Prior to the arrival of an ambulance, a person must be in an immobilized state. If the pain is severe, it is recommended to take an analgesic, or treat the place with a special analgesic ointment.

After arriving at the hospital, the patient is examined. Radiography and ultrasound are performed - this helps to determine the presence or absence of bone fracture and rupture of fibers.

In the treatment of a bruised thigh, as a rule, they resort to immobilization, physiotherapy exercises, massage, drug therapy, and sometimes it can not do without surgical intervention.

Of the drugs prescribed anti-inflammatory and painkillers (Nimesulide and Diclofenac), liquid-removing drugs (L-lysine escinate), relaxing (Midokalm), improving blood circulation (Pentoxifylline), chondroprotectors (Chondroitin), as well funds that increase the recovery of damaged tissues ("Retabolite").

why does the thigh muscle ache on the side

Fractures

It is possible that this is also indicated by the condition of the patient, in which his hip hurt from the side. The cause of the fracture is always a gross mechanical impact. This can be a sharp compression, fall, shock, illiterate load distribution.

A fracture of the femoral neck is possible , especially in people over 65 years of age. People with osteoporosis are at risk. A sharp pain in the upper thigh radiating to the groin indicates a fracture. Another person may have limited mobility of the leg, lack of ability to stand or walk. Even turning the foot outward relative to the knee will give him discomfort.

As part of the diagnosis, MRI and radiography are performed. Another reason why a hip hurts on the side, the doctor is able to determine by pressing on the heel or knocking on it. But as a rule, they still carry out MRI and radiography. This is necessary to confirm the diagnosis.

It is very difficult to treat a hip fracture. In older people this is even more so. Gypsum application is ineffective, and therefore the patient is shown an operation - osteosynthesis and endoprosthetics.

Also, a hip fracture can be diagnosed in a person. As a rule, women over 65 are faced with it. The pain is very severe, even acute, localized in the area of ​​injury (also the upper part). An additional symptom is the so-called sticky heel syndrome - it is manifested by the patient's inability to raise an elongated leg while in a supine position.

An accurate diagnosis can only be made after an x-ray. As in the case of the treatment of a femoral neck fracture in the elderly (and in others too), here the problem can be eliminated only through surgical intervention.

The operation is carried out as follows: the bone is pinned and fixed in the correct position. This is a minimally invasive procedure. It lasts only 20 minutes, but it helps to recover quickly after what happened.

Hub joint exercises

Myositis

Another common reason. Hips usually hurt in soft tissue. The reasons are very different, among them:

  • Viral infectious diseases. Less commonly, the effect of fungi and bacteria.
  • Systemic autoimmune diseases.
  • Polymyositis, dermatomyositis, Munich disease.
  • Echinococcosis, trichinosis, toxoplasmosis, cysticercosis.
  • Unstable muscle lesions.
  • Permanent stay in an uncomfortable position (typical for certain professions).
  • Long loads exerted on certain muscle groups.
  • Open injury with a skid of infection.

With this disease, the hip does not hurt much. A person feels stable aching discomfort, which is caused by the weakening of his muscles. Other manifestations include low-grade fever, headache, and fever. Palpation can detect painful seals.

Myositis is diagnosed on the basis of examination, interrogation, as well as a blood test and soft tissue biopsy. The treatment, which the doctor determines, is aimed at eliminating the cause of the disease. Here you will need the consultation of a parasitologist, infectious disease specialist or therapist. If myositis is traumatic, then a traumatologist will prescribe therapy.

It is important to choose the right drug. For bacterial damage, antibiotics are prescribed, but if the disease is parasitic, then anthelmintic. Immunosuppressants with glucocorticoids help cope with autoimmune ailments.

Trochanteritis

When a hip hurts laterally in the joint area, it is not necessary to exclude the likelihood of this ailment also occurring. This is the name for the inflammation of the tendons connecting the major and minor trochanter with bone. The cause is overload, hypothermia, or injury.

There is only one symptom, and this is aching, pressing pain, which worsens when walking, hypothermia, or climbing stairs.

This disease is difficult to distinguish from coxarthrosis. Therefore, they conduct differential diagnostics. With coxarthrosis, for example, the range of motion is very limited. But with trochanteritis, movements are preserved in full. Also, temporary protective muscle tension is sometimes observed.

To confirm the diagnosis, an ultrasound scan, a x-ray of the hip area, MRI, CT scan, as well as a general blood test and rheumatic test are performed.

If the leg hurts in the thigh area due to trochanteritis, you will also need to observe a gentle regimen. It lasts from 3-4 weeks to 3-6 months. It is important to take medications:

  • Anti-inflammatory: “Movalis”, “Diklak”, “Revmoxicam”, “Ortofen”. Sometimes drugs are first injected, and then the person is transferred to tablets.
  • Painkillers: Ketanov, Ketoprofen, Ketolong, and Dexalgin.
  • Preparations for periarticular blockade: “Diprospan”, “Betaspan”, “Kenalog”, “Loracort” and “Hydrocortisone”.
  • Means for strengthening oblique tendon complexes: calcium D3 and Calcemin.

Also shown are magnetotherapy, physiotherapy, massage, UHF, phonophoresis, electrophoresis and shock wave therapy.

hip from the outside

Coxarthrosis

For many people, a hip in the side of the pelvis hurts precisely for this reason. A specific symptom is that it gives strongly to the groin, and sometimes to the knee. It’s hard for a person to take the limb sideways, move it, and a crunch is heard in the joint. Prerequisites include the following conditions:

  • Increased load on the joints.
  • Circulatory disorders.
  • Metabolic problems.
  • Hormonal changes.
  • Elderly age.
  • Leading a sedentary lifestyle.
  • Pathology of the feet or spine.

To diagnose this ailment, an x-ray is performed. As a rule, they treat the disease with the help of chondroprotectors and anti-inflammatory drugs and intra-articular steroid injections. Warming ointments are also applicable.

But if the condition is serious, the hip hurts from the outside due to the destruction of the joint, then endoprosthetics are indicated.

Aseptic Necrosis

This ailment is very similar to the notorious coxarthrosis. If, for example, there is a hematoma on the thigh, as in the case of a bruise, then we can immediately guess what the diagnosis will be. But with aseptic necrosis, the symptoms are similar to those observed with coxarthrosis.

The cause of the disease is the cessation of blood supply in this part of the joint. Necrosis is very painful, the discomfort does not go away, and even intensifies (especially at night). It often occurs in men aged 20 to 45 years. Women are less prone to this ailment.

A person suffering from necrosis has a hip joint pain, limitation of mobility, shortening of the leg, lameness, muscle atrophy.

It is also diagnosed by x-ray. Be sure to take pictures both in side and in direct projection. CT, MRI and laboratory blood tests are often prescribed. They help determine the level of calcium, phosphorus and magnesium in the blood.

If the answer to the question of why the thigh muscle sore from the side is necrosis, then the treatment will involve the complex use of various medications. Among them:

  • Drugs that improve peripheral blood circulation. These are Curantil, Trental, Xanthinol, Dipyridamole and xanthinol nicotinate.
  • Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory. The best are Ibuprofen, Diclofenac and Xefocam.
  • Multivitamins. It is worth making a choice in favor of "Neurobion", "Milgamma" and "Neurorubin".
  • Muscle relaxants. These are Sirdalud and Midokalm.
  • Calcium preparations. Osteomag, Osteogenon, Nycomed, and Calcium D3 are best suited. It is also worth consuming "Oksidevit" - it contains provitamin D.
  • Chondroprotectors. As a rule, drugs “Adgelon”, “Don”, “Alflutol”, “Elbon”, “Arthra”, “Bonvina”, “Noltrex” are prescribed.
bruised thigh

Hip Dysplasia

In adults, this ailment develops quite rarely. Pathology is detected in children in the first months after birth. This is a condition in which the histological and anatomical development, as well as the functions of the joints, are different from those normal.

In adult hip dysplasia, abnormal formation of bone structures or cartilage is observed. The same condition, by the way, is called a congenital dislocation. The pathology is serious, since anatomically all components of the joint develop incorrectly. Even the head of the femur with respect to the acetabular or intraarticular cavity is incorrect.

The predisposing factors due to which this ailment can begin to develop include:

  • Floor. Women are more likely to experience this disease when compared with men. About 2 times.
  • The process of pregnancy. If the fetus is located in the gluteal previa, then the likelihood of developing this pathology is very high.
  • Hereditary predisposition. If an adult woman is diagnosed with dysplasia, then the probability of developing pathology in her children is very high.
  • Malformations of the spinal cord and spine.
  • Pelvic and femoral injuries.
  • Genetic predisposition to diseases of the joints.

The pathogenetic mechanism of this ailment includes the weakness of the ligamentous apparatus of the joint and muscles, the underdevelopment of the articular cavity of any degree, as well as the formation of the so-called pathological mechanism of movement (occurs in the process of teaching a child to walk).

Symptoms and treatment of dysplasia

The following signs usually indicate the presence of a given pathology in a person:

  • Excessive mobility.
  • Differences in the length of the limbs.
  • Ability to rotate in the femoral joint.
  • If a person is laid down and asked to bend his legs in the knees and hip joints, he will not be able to completely separate them to the sides.
  • When you try to make any movement in the hip joint, a characteristic click is heard. Also there is a peculiar feeling of slipping.
  • Movements are difficult, lameness is observed during walking.
  • When you try to walk, pain is noted. Sometimes it is observed and at rest.
  • Symptoms of asymmetry are also present. They can be determined in the process of visual assessment of skin folds under the gluteal region.

Very often, people do not even realize that they have this pathology. Patients begin to suspect health problems only when the progress of the disease has reached significant levels. Sometimes, by the way, increased mobility of the joint and abnormal elasticity of the ligamentous apparatus allows people to achieve impressive heights in big sports. And health complaints do not arise.

Complex treatment begins in an extremely short time. The first therapeutic measure is massage. The minimum course lasts 10 days, but its exact duration depends on how pronounced the pathological process is. Another mandatory component of conservative treatment is the wearing of bandages, special underwear and orthopedic corsets.

Medications are also prescribed. To relieve inflammation and swelling, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are prescribed in the form of rectal suppositories and tablets, but they are injected more often. Muscle relaxants relieve skeletal muscle spasms, and vascular preparations eliminate stagnation and improve blood circulation.

Steroid hormones help with a pronounced inflammatory process, chondroprotectors help restore the structure of cartilage. Be that as it may, the exact scheme of therapy is determined by the doctor individually.

Hip Exercises

S. M. Bubnovsky is a well-known specialist who has developed a unique method of physiotherapy exercises, resorting to which you can quickly restore the health of your joint. Before describing its features, it is necessary to list the recommendations shown for compliance. Here are the key points:

  • Performing the exercise, you need to monitor your breathing. It must be measured and deep.
  • If some exercise provokes uncomfortable sensations, then it must either be abandoned or carried out in a sparing mode.
  • The load must be increased gradually. And at most once a week.
  • Through force, gymnastics cannot be practiced.
  • Exercises must be performed daily. Refuse physical education is possible only in case of poor health.
  • Seizures in the muscles of the legs should not be scared. This is an adequate reaction of an unprepared organism. It does not require refusal from gymnastics.
pain in the thigh

There are many Bubnovsky exercises for the hip joint. They must be performed lying on their backs. Here are some of the base complex:

  • Bend your leg at the knee, clasp your hands. Pull to chest and hold for at least 4 seconds. Gently put your foot back on the floor.
  • Straighten your lower limbs. Raise one leg - you need to reach an angle of 45-60 °. Slowly lower.
  • Bend your legs at the knees. Stretch your arms along the body. Legs slowly unbend, as if overcoming resistance. Well, if you can straighten it to the end. Then return to its original position.
  • Bend both legs. Dilute them to the sides. Each time, the distance between the knees should expand. At least a little bit.
  • Knees bend. Stops placed at a distance from each other. Start taking turns to tilt them to the sides. Try to get them to the floor. Taz does not tear.
  • Bend your legs. Tear your head off the floor and reach your knees with your forehead. Do not stretch your legs toward you or take your feet off the floor.

The exercises are light, but when a hip hurts in the side of the joint, it is difficult to perform them. The main thing is to try a little, and then progress will not take long.

pain in the hip at the side of the joint

Conclusion

If a person has pain in the lateral part of the thigh, urgently need to see a doctor. The most alarming signs can be identified in such a list:

  • There is a sharp, sharp pain that makes foot movement impossible.
  • When moving in the joint and the bone itself, clicks and a crunch are heard.
  • There is an extensive hematoma, which is accompanied by edema.
  • The foot in relation to the axis of the body is not characteristic.

All this in most cases indicates a violation of the hip function or injury. The consequences of problems associated with the musculoskeletal system are always sad, and therefore delaying a visit to a specialist is not recommended.


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