Hip / Pelvis Pain

What exactly hurts in the hip and how do I feel it?

What exactly hurts in the hip and how do I feel it?

GENERAL INFORMATION

Hip pain is one of the most frequent symptoms in the Pain Unit consultation, however, the vast majority of patients express their pain without knowing exactly why it hurts and that sometimes becomes frustrating.

The first thing to know is that hip pain is a symptom that can occur at any age and in Spain about 67% say they feel or have felt this pain. This clinic can respond to a myriad of reasons, because the hip is a joint with great mobility and also has to support a large body load.

It is, therefore, a common symptom of various diseases and injuries that can respond to muscular, ligament, bone, cartilage and even nerve problems.

However, the first question that any patient with hip pain should ask is whether it is the result of trauma, in which case he/she should go to the emergency room as soon as possible to rule out a fracture. Once the traumatic mechanism or fracture has been ruled out, we will ask ourselves a series of questions in order to correlate our feelings with the cause of the pain and thus better understand what is happening to us.

All this leads us to ask the following questions:

  1. How do I feel hip pain?
  2. What exactly hurts?

The most common symptoms are:

    1. Groin pain
    2. Loss of mobility and morning stiffness
    3. Lameness when walking
    4. Lateral hip pain that prevents night’s rest
    5. Hip and lumbar pain
    6. Pain at rest, which may give a burning sensation, irritative and/or in the form of cramps.

WHAT EXACTLY HURTS US WITH THESE SYMPTOMS?

  • 1, 2 y 3. In these cases it usually corresponds in most cases to the disease of osteoarthritis (bone wear) or joint impingement, although it is necessary for health personnel to rule out other less frequent causes that may give rise to such symptoms.
  • 4. Fingertip pain in the lateral area of the hip, which normally prevents sleeping on that side, is usually related to inflammation and wear of several tendons of the gluteal musculature. Corresponding to the disease of trochanteric bursitis and / or tendinopathy of the gluteal musculature.
  • 5. Hip pain is frequently associated with low back pain since both structures share body weight stabilizers, so that damage to one structure can have a significant impact on the other and vice versa. In most of these cases, pain is usually caused by compression of a nerve as it passes through either the spine or the hip.
  • 6. In the latter case, as it is a pain at rest, it may be due to nerve involvement in the lumbar region or in the inguinal region. In these cases it is necessary for the physician to extend the study with complementary tests of the spine and nerves that help to better define the diagnosis in order to give the patient the best therapeutic option. For these reasons, the assessment of a physician specialized in pain treatment is essential when dealing with hip pain and its treatment.

For these reasons, the assessment of a physician specialized in pain management is essential when dealing with hip pain and its treatment.

 

Dr. Eduardo Sánchez-Ramos Caballero

MIVI Salud Valencia