Where hip pain sits gives a clue: groin pain often points to the joint, and outer hip pain to the tissue around it. Pain can also start in the lower back. After a bad fall, or if you cannot move the hip or stand on the leg, get emergency help. Other pain can be looked at in Towson.
Where You Feel It Matters
Hip pain does not always show up over the hip. People feel it in the groin, the thigh or the outer buttock, and sometimes down in the knee. So the first question tends to be where, exactly, it hurts.
Hip pain is among the problems we see at our Towson clinic. The list of possible causes is long, and it runs from a strained muscle to a problem in the lower back.
What Counts as Hip Pain
Hip pain is pain in or around the hip joint, at the top of the thighbone. Common causes include arthritis, injuries and pinched nerves, and it can also come from another part of the body. The cause varies so much that the location of the pain is one of the first clues.
What can make it worse
- Bending at the hip or direct pressure on it
- Lying on the sore side
- Sitting or standing for long periods
- Running on hard surfaces or straight down hills
Who should be checked sooner
- Older adults with weak bones, who are more likely to break a hip
- People with sickle cell anemia who get sudden hip pain
- People on long-term steroids who get sudden hip pain
When It Is the Joint, and When It Is Not
An exam is what settles it. A provider may check your hips, thighs and back, and watch how you walk. X-rays of the hip or an MRI scan may follow.
Inside the hip or in the groin
Pain here typically points to the joint itself. Arthritis often shows up in the groin or the front of the thigh.
Outer hip, upper thigh or outer buttock
Pain here is typically in the soft tissue around the joint: muscles, tendons, ligaments and the fluid-filled sacs called bursae.
The lower back
Pain felt in the hip can start in the back. Doctors call this referred pain, and the hip itself may be fine.
Mayo Clinic's guide to hip pain says pain on the inside of the hip or in the groin typically suggests a problem within the joint.
What Hip Trouble Can Feel Like
Notice which of these fit, since they help narrow the cause.
- Pain in the groin
- Pain in the front of the thigh
- Pain on the outer hip or outer buttock
- Pain when you get up from a chair or climb stairs
- Pain with exercise
- A limp or trouble on stairs
- Knee pain that may come from the hip
What Can Cause Hip Pain
Bursitis
A bursa is a small sac of fluid that protects a joint. When one near the hip is inflamed, walking and driving can hurt.
Muscle strains
The hamstring, the hip flexor and the groin muscles can all be strained, and the pain can be felt around the hip.
Arthritis
Osteoarthritis is one type that reaches the hip. Rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis can too.
Hip fracture
This is a break in the upper thighbone. Most happen in adults 65 or older, after a fall at home or out in the community.
Labral tear and impingement
The labrum can tear. In impingement, abnormal growth around the hip causes pain with movement and exercise, and it can come before arthritis.
Pinched nerves and sciatica
Sciatica, sacroiliitis and a trapped nerve in the outer thigh, called meralgia paresthetica, can all be felt around the hip.
Less common causes
These include loss of blood supply to the bone, an infection in the bone or joint, and cancer that affects bone.
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons' overview of hip fractures says most occur in older patients whose bones have been weakened by osteoporosis.
How We Treat Hip Pain in Towson
So many different tissues can be behind hip pain that finding the cause comes first. Depending on your condition, our comprehensive evaluation may lead to a recommendation for chiropractic care.
Chiropractic
Chiropractic care may start with an evaluation of leg pain and hip joint injuries, and it may treat them with non-invasive adjustments.
Before any gentle chiropractic treatment, the chiropractor carefully evaluates your condition to see if you are a candidate.
Ways to Manage Hip Pain
This table is not a full list. Your doctor can go over the rest, and an orthopedic surgeon can speak to a fracture.
| Option | What it involves | Who provides it |
|---|---|---|
| Home care | Avoiding what makes it worse, sleeping on the other side with a pillow between your legs, and flat, cushioned shoes. | You, with advice from your doctor |
| Ice, heat and stretching | An ice pack in a towel to lessen inflammation, or a warm bath or shower before stretching. | You, at home |
| Weight loss | Losing weight if you are overweight. | You, with help from your doctor |
| Medicine | Ibuprofen or acetaminophen. A provider may suggest a stronger prescription anti-inflammatory. | Your doctor or pharmacist |
| Chiropractic adjustments | Non-invasive, hands-on work. | A chiropractor at this clinic, if recommended |
| Surgery | The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons says most hip fractures need it. | An orthopedic surgeon |
Hip Injuries That Need Care Right Away
Get emergency help if hip pain follows a bad fall or other serious injury. The same goes if your leg looks deformed, badly bruised or bleeding, if you cannot move the hip or stand on that leg, or if worsening pain comes with problems urinating or moving your bowels.
A broken hip usually hurts badly in the groin and upper thigh, and the leg may look shorter or twisted. A few fractures are not as painful at first, and some people can still bear weight, so lingering pain after a fall still needs a look.
After a hip injury, also seek care right away for
- Intense pain or sudden swelling
- Fever, chills or a change in skin color on that leg
Call your provider if
- The hip still hurts after a week of home care
- You also have a fever or rash
- You have pain in both hips and other joints
- You start limping or have trouble on stairs
The MedlinePlus article on hip pain lists when to go to a hospital and when to contact a provider.
Seeing Us About Your Hip
Your first conversation may cover where the pain sits, when it began and what you have already tried. From there, any care plan may be shaped to you, and chiropractic care can go alongside treatment from your other doctors.
Ridgeleigh, Cromwell Valley Park and LaSalle Rd
Ridgeleigh is nearby, about a mile east. LaSalle Rd meets E Joppa Rd about 0.2 miles east of the clinic, and Mylander Ln about 0.3 miles east. Cromwell Valley Park is about 2.1 miles northeast.
Make an Appointment About Your Hip
It helps to know what sets the pain off and how well you can walk and stand on that leg. A list of your medicines and other health problems is useful too. Insurance or cost questions can go to the clinic by phone.