In terms of anatomy, the thigh is called the leg section from the knee to the hip joint. The femur is the longest in the human body. A hip and knee joints   the largest and most durable.

Hip pain can occur at different ages. Appear during physical exertion or at rest. Wear a temporary character or bother constantly. It can cause a variety of reasons. It can occur in the groin area, in the front or back surface of the leg, to give to the knee and even to the lower back. It happens that the hip itself has nothing to do with it, and the cause of the discomfort lies in a completely different place.

The reasons

Even a slight discomfort in the thigh area can cause a lot of inconvenience, especially if you like an active lifestyle. Pain that occurs after physical exertionconsidered safe. Provided that they pass within two to three days and are not accompanied by swelling and redness of the tissues, crunch or clicks in the bone.

In people leading a sedentary lifestyle, pain in the hip may occur when walking, with unusual, high loads or with a sudden change of position. Usually they pass by themselves. However, their appearance is the first signal that pathological changes have begun in the joint, which in the future may lead to the development of serious diseases.

In addition, pain in the muscles of the thigh may be caused by traumatic or non-traumatic causes.

Traumatic

Why can pain and discomfort occur? The most common cause is various injuries, which include:

1. Damage to ligaments and muscles.
2. Closed injuries of the hip joint and damage to the bones of the pelvis, especially the pubic or sacrum.
3. Injuries to the first lumbar vertebra.
4. Fractures of the femoral neck - the narrowest point in the femur, which is particularly common in older people.
5. Damage to the knee joint.

According to statistics, most of the injuries, more than 6% of all possible fractures, are precisely the injuries of the femoral neck. Up to 90% of cases occur in older age.

Exercise and Overstrain

It is easy to use and does not restrict movement, making it ideal for use in all sports. Are you suffering from hip pain? To do this, answer 20 short questions and find out possible causes, as well as treatment options for pain in the hip joint.

Diagnostic agent for hip pain on the outside

Look at our diagnostic tree for possible diagnostics.

  The hip joint is one of the most stressed joints. The goal of each treatment is treatment without surgery. Which therapy to achieve the best results in the long term can be assessed only after all the information has been gathered. Great pain of the femur is located on the outer side of the thigh and depends on the approaches of the strained muscles on the large knoll. Only prolonged tension in the thigh and thigh muscles can cause painful damage to the hip joint.

Non-traumatic

Pain in the thigh muscles can occur not only as a result of injury, but also with age. Why it happens? As a rule, the cause of this is the wear of the joint. Often in older people there is a violation of the production of synovial fluid, which serves as the main lubricant.

Excessive friction of the bone surfaces will first cause pain in the hip when walking, and in case of serious injuries and at rest. However, this is not the only reason. If you did not fall or hit, then pain in the joint can cause:

• Osteoarthritis of the hip joint, a disease that often occurs in people after 40 and is characterized by slow, over two to three years, development. The main feature is it's a dull pain, which is localized in the groin or extends down the front and inner surface, and sometimes gives to the knee. In the early stages of development, as a rule, hip pains when walking, climbing stairs, when trying to get out of bed or a chair. Gradually, these simple actions become more difficult, and discomfort   and stiffness begin to appear and at rest.
• Inflammation of the synovial sac, tendons and ligaments. It may occur in the left, right or in both joints at the same time. More often, because of the love of high heels, women suffer from this disease. The main difference - the discomfort occurs in upper area   and spread over the outside of the foot.
• Inflammation of the hip joint itself. According to statistics, this form of arthritis occurs only in 4% of cases, more often this disease affects the knee, wrist or hand. However, it may be the cause. If a pain sensations   spread both on the front and on the back surface, and the leg itself began to move poorly, then, most likely, it is arthritis.
• Aseptic necrosis of the bone head. Doctors give such a diagnosis to approximately 5% of patients who complain of stiffness and discomfort in the leg. In many ways, the symptoms of this disease coincide with arthrosis, but unlike it develops in just a few days. Necrosis can be caused by injuries, long-term intake of high doses of corticosteroids, autoimmune diseases, and any other factors that cause circulatory disorders in the joint.
• Rheumatic polymyalgia is a rare disease that is found in just 1% of people. Doctors can not say exactly why this pathology occurs. Most often, it is a complication after suffering viral infection, usually after the flu and only appears in people over 50 years old. Sometimes it can cause severe stress. The main symptom is severe pain in the upper leg, extending down the front, inside and back of the thigh and extending to the lower back or knee. They are accompanied by general weakness and the inability to do something on their own. Often these patients cannot even reach the doctor themselves.

Other reasons

What to do if there is pain in the thigh? First of all, do not delay the visit to the doctor and do not self-medicate. The reasons for which it may arise a lot, they are not always associated with joints or muscles. In some cases, it can be diseases of very different organs. That is why you should not try to diagnose yourself, based only on their feelings. In addition to abnormalities in the hip joint, pain can cause:

1. Pear-shaped muscle syndrome - occurs due to the sciatic nerve infringement and is manifested by pain that spreads down the leg from the back of the thigh, gives to the knee and sometimes to the lower back. Nerve infringement causes severe spasm   muscles, which, in turn, limits movement of the legs and leads to pain in the thigh.
2. Pinching nerve in lower section   the spine can also cause pain, extending into the left or right hip joint.
3. Cardiovascular diseases causing persistent constriction of the aorta and the iliac arteries that nourish the joints of the pelvis and lower extremities.
4. The iliopsomatic muscle syndrome, in which damage occurs to the femoral nerve and the muscles passing along. It can be caused by various injuries, changes in the spine or diseases of the organs. abdominal cavity. Usually, discomfort in this case appears on the inside of the leg and in the groin.
5. Tumors of the femur, pelvic bones, or metastases that can occur, for example, in prostate cancer.
6. Infections affecting bones and joints, such as osteomyelitis, tuberculosis of the hip joint, or abscesses that can occur with complicated appendicitis.
7. Inflammatory diseases of the female or male genitalia. In this case, discomfort usually occurs in the groin and on the inside of the leg.

If pain in the hip appears, especially if it has suddenly occurred and it increases with time, it is necessary to consult a doctor as soon as possible. Only with the correct diagnosis you will receive the effect of treatment.

What if there is pain on the front of the thigh?

First, the pain is expressed during the movement after the resting phase, later, the more the cartilage subsided, the pain is constant. In addition to normalizing weight, muscle building helps in sports such as cycling or swimming. If no conservative measures will help more, you can think about cartilage therapy.

However, an artificial hip joint is inevitable in the case of pronounced findings, which can be clearly seen on a radiograph of the hip joint and severe pain. Joint blockage in the hip joint can lead to pain when the leg is turned out. External rotation is no longer possible at all. But inflammation in the hip joint, inflammation of mucus and other causes are also possible. It is advisable to consult with a specialist who knows how to distinguish between different possibilities.

Peculiarities of pain in children

Unlike an adult, pain in a child, if not related to trauma, can occur for entirely different reasons. It may be:

• Congenital dislocation, the cause of which in most cases is an impaired formation of the hip joint. Usually, such a pathology is noticed almost immediately after birth, but in some cases it can appear in the child and at a later age.
• Osteochondropathy of the hip joint is a pathology that may occur in a child during the period of his active growth, that is, from 4 to 14 years old and lead to an impairment in the development of the joint. Manifested discomfort, limp and gradual loss of mobility of the legs.
• Epiphyseolysis of the bone head is a pathology in which the child stops the growth of bone, leading to asymmetry of the legs at an older age. Precisely say why such a violation occurs, doctors can not. But most often it comes from an injury in the hip area. Usually found in adolescents leading an active lifestyle, and especially among those who are fond of football and basketball.
• Osteomyelitis and, as a consequence, coxitis - inflammation of the hip joint.
• Hidden fractures that may occur in a child in violation of the process of bone formation, for example, due to rickets.

But even these are not all causes that can cause hip pain in children. That is why if a child complains of discomfort in this area it is not necessary to postpone a visit to a pediatrician or children's orthopedist. Timely referral to a specialist will help avoid many problems in the future.

Hip pain is characteristic of pathological changes in the hip joint. If this is not a manifestation of any disease, then the reason may be active exercise. The pain may be chronic or acute (repeated from time to time) for.

Causes of hip pain

There are several common causes of pain in the thigh. This can be associated with pathologies of the hip joint, with active physical exertion, infectious processes, as well as injuries and contusions. People who are actively involved in sports or with unusually heavy physical exertion may experience pain in the hip of a periodic nature associated with increased stress on the muscles.

The most common cause of pain is arthritis or arthrosis of the hip joint (wear and tear of cartilage tissue). More often the disease manifests itself in people of old age, but there are also cases of the disease among young people. This group includes osteoarthritis of the hip and systemic arthritis, in which several joints, rheumatic, are affected at once. Osteochondrosis lumbar   Spine - a fairly common cause of pain in the hip.

Hip pain can be observed in congenital abnormalities of the legs or as complications of metabolic diseases, accompanied by bruises and injuries in the thigh, lumbar or sacral section   spine.

Most dangerous reasons   appearances pain syndrome   are infectious diseases (osteomyelitis), malignant bones and soft tissues or bone metastases, cardiovascular diseases (stenosis and occlusion of the aorta, iliac arteries).

Clinical manifestations of hip pain

By clinical manifestations   pains are divided into acute and chronic. If the pain is disturbed for more than three months and is permanent, they are considered chronic. Sharp pains   periodic, that is, occur from time to time. Pain is considered the safest after physical exertion - they usually appear in the morning after waking up and are accompanied by a feeling of delusion and limited movement.

Severe pains are typical for diseases of the joints of various kinds, which can radiate to the knee, groin, buttocks. Patients mark their strengthening in the evening and the decline at night. However, sometimes at night they can be disturbed. dull pains. Often the degree of intensity in these cases depends on atmospheric pressure, weather conditions, temperature and humidity. If the pathological processes in the bones have a protracted course, a change or deformation of the joint begins, the volume of movement is sharply limited, a crunch and characteristic clicks are heard.

The increasing pain during exertion or walking most often indicates the presence of intervertebral hernia   lumbar spine. Most notably it manifests itself in groin area, but often extends along the front and side of the thigh, to the area of ​​the buttocks. Helical bursitis causes local pain, especially pronounced when lying on a sore side. When the joint capsule is damaged, pain occurs with certain movements associated with stretching the capsule.

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The best option to reduce pain in hip pain is to maximize the load on the hip joint. Sharply inclined bows, squats. All homework and the necessary work is better done with the help of available tools. For arthritis, coxarthrosis, it is recommended to use a special cane, which allows to significantly reduce the load on the joints. Moreover, the cane should be worn in the hand opposite to the affected joint.

Hip pain treatment

An effective remedy to reduce hip pain is wet warm compresses, which can be repeated three to four times a day for 20 minutes. It is very important, if possible, to minimize sports loads, at least for a while, until the end painful sensations. It is advisable to use special ointments that reduce stress in the muscles. Excellent massage helps, reinforced on the tissue surrounding the joint, but not on the joint itself.

Medicines are prescribed by a doctor, self-medication is not recommended.

Orthopedic special shoes and, if possible, a functional bed can alleviate the condition of the patient several times. Also, these methods are excellent prevention of pain in the hip. Many experts advise to monitor their weight and try to get rid of excess, thereby reducing the load on the joints.

Timely seeking qualified help plays a very important role in successful treatment and prevents the development of irreversible complications.