Guide To The Causes Of Hip Pain

Hip pain is among the most commonly occurring pains in the body. To determine the underlying cause, affected individuals need to know what precise part of their hip is in pain. If the pain is located on their groin or hip's inside, there are probably issues with the joint of their hips. Pain on the outside of the hip, outer buttock, and upper thigh is generally caused by an issue with the individual's soft tissues, which include muscles, tendons, ligaments, and other non-skeletal tissue. There are some cases where hip pain is the result of problems in another part of the body. Lower back issues can sometimes cause pain to radiate to the hips. When this is the case, the pain is known as referred pain.

Treating hip pain appropriately also means knowing why the pain is occurring, as underlying causes can influence the type of treatment needed. Learn more about this now.

Arthritis

There are more than one hundred identified types of arthritis, many of which affect the hips. The causes and progression of different arthritis vary widely, as does the age of onset. Some types of arthritis that involve the hips are septic arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoarthritis is the type of arthritis that occurs most commonly, with millions affected. With osteoarthritis, the cartilage responsible for cushioning the patient's bones slowly wears down, causing the bones to grind painfully together. Osteoarthritis has the potential to damage any joint, but it most commonly presents in the spine, hips, knees, and hands. 

On the other hand, rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune condition, and it occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks the body's healthy tissue. In rheumatoid arthritis, the immune system attacks the lining of an individual's joints, causing the joint to swell up painfully. As time goes on, the disease causes permanent joint deformity and bone erosion. The inflammation associated with rheumatoid arthritis can also cause damage to other portions of the body.