Hip pain can be caused by any joint. Hip pain can also be caused by other conditions in your body.
Florida Medical Pain Management, a pain clinic specializing in pain management, is dedicated to finding the cause of your discomfort. The doctors will accurately diagnose your problem and create a customized treatment plan that will ease your pain so you can get back to doing the things you enjoy.
Referred hip pain
Referred hip pain occurs when another condition is causing your discomfort. This common problem can be caused by low back pain:
– Bulging discs or herniated discs
– Sciatica (pinched sciatic nerve)
– Broken facet joint
– Degenerative disc disease
Referred hip discomfort can also be caused by an injury to the core muscles or by a problem in the sacroiliac joint (the joint that connects the hip bones with the lower back). Pelvic organ diseases can cause hip pain.
Hip joint problems
Hip pain can be caused by four different factors:
- Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is most common in the hips, followed by your knees. Wearing down of cartilage occurs as a result of repeated hip movements and carrying your weight for years. The rubbing of bone against bone can cause progressive hip pain. Bone spurs and inflammation can occur.
- Hip sprains and strains
Hip strains occur when muscles and tendons have been stretched beyond their limits. Sprains are ligaments that have been stretched. Strains and sprains may cause serious tissue damage. Sports injuries are more common than everyday hip strains or sprains.
- Bursitis
A bursa is a sac filled with fluid that lies between soft tissues and bones. These sacs reduce friction and act as a cushion when you move your hip. Inflammation of a bursa is called bursitis. Bursitis may cause pain to radiate into the upper thigh.
- Labral tear
The labrum is a ring of cartilage that surrounds the joint and helps stabilize the upper leg bone. The cartilage can be damaged by an acute or gradual sports injury. Labral tears can also cause groin pain.
Hip pain treatment
First, you should limit the activities that are causing hip pain. Then, you will need to get steroid shots, anti-inflammatory medications, and physical therapy. The conservative measures above can be helpful for many hip problems. However, if the pain persists, you may need to consider interventional treatment.
Interventions are directed at nerves that transmit pain signals from the hip to the brain. Real-time imaging techniques such as fluoroscopy and ultrasound can be used to treat specific nerves.
Hip pain can be caused by many things. Here are three examples:
- Nerve block
When performing a block, we first identify the pain-sensing nerves in your hip or spine. The local anesthetic is then injected into the nerve, stopping the pain signals. You will feel less pain. Anti-inflammatory medications can also be injected.
- Radiofrequency ablation
After a nerve block has been positively verified, radiofrequency ablation may provide pain relief that lasts for a long time. The radiofrequency energy is delivered by a needle-like device inserted into the affected nerve. Radiofrequency ablation blocks pain signals by damaging the nerve. It can reduce pain for six to nine months.
- Stimulation of spinal cord
The spinal cord stimulation technique stimulates the nerves that carry pain as they travel along the spine. This technique allows us to relieve pain anywhere in the hip, pelvic, or back region.
The device implanted sends gentle electric pulses along a specific group of spinal cord nerves. The pulses block the pain signals from reaching the brain as long as the device is implanted.
A medical professional wrote this article at Florida Medical Pain Management. As the leading Florida pain center, we are proud to offer comprehensive pain management services to a diverse group of patients. Patients at Florida Medical Pain Management can get help managing hip, knee, leg, and neck pain. The practice also offers comprehensive arthritis management, along with treatments for auto accidents, sports, and work injuries.
