Hip pain overview

Causes of Hip Pain

Some of the most common causes of pain in the hips aremuscle strain, nerve irritation, arthritis and bursitis.

There are three different groups of muscles involved in themovement of the hips. Overuse or irritation of every one of them might beresponsible for the muscle strain and pain in the hip. Nerves for the controlof the lower leg function also go cross the hip, so it is not surprising that theirirritation cause hip pain.

Hip arthritis may be caused by aging and wear and tear ofthe hip joint. Inflammation or injuries may also damage the cartilage of thejoints and lead to hip arthritis and pain.

Arthritis patients are advised to avoid extreme motion ofthe affected hips, as well as to minimize all activities which might damage thehip further. These people should not engage in contact sports, at least forsome time, because it has happened that some rough contact caused even moredamage to the hip affected by arthritis. Running, jumping and any activity thatrequires widely spread legs should also be avoided for a while.

Hip joints are being constantly lubricated to decrease thepressure and friction. This role belongs to bursa sacs, so when something(excess pressure, overuse or injury) irritate bursa sacs patients may feel painin the hip as the consequence. Repeated bending and extra pressure on the hipshould be avoided in anyone suffering from bursitis. Even sleeping on this hipor sitting for too long is not advised for these patients. Sometimes, bendingover to touch the toes may be very painful for bursitis patient, so they shouldavoid that action too.

Hip Pain Treatment

In some cases, patients need pain killers to relieve hippain and they could use acetaminophen ibuprofen or naproxen. Toning the musclesand some stretching exercises may also be helpful for people dealing with hippain.

Inactivity, prolonged bedrest or cast usually require certainmuscle toning exercises for the patient. Straight leg raises and leg extensionswith or without some extra weight are the most commonly recommended muscletoning exercises.

Hip pain is also found out to respond well to stretching. Beforethe exercise, the hip should be heated in the warm bath or with a heating padto prepare the tissue. For the people suffering from hip arthritis, doctorsrecommend daily stretching exercises, such as knee chest pulls, figure of four andsome sitting stretching. Hip bursitis patients are often advised to perform outerthigh stretches and cross-leg pulls.