The Many Causes of Hip Pain
Many people experience hip pain as they get older.
If you find that you have hip pain and you feel it in the front part of your body in the fold between your torso and thigh (known as the inguinal crease), causes may be due to changes in the hip joint itself. One way to test this is to lie on a bed, bring your knee towards your chest and then rotate the whole leg to the opposite side of your body.
If this movement elicits pain, it is a good indicator that there is a problem in the hip joint with arthritis being the most common cause.
If instead you find that your hip pain is in the lateral part of the hip where your arm hangs down, cause is most likely due to a different problem. One example would be bursitis of the hip.
To test this, let your arm hand fall naturally at your side. Then bring the hand up about 3-6 inches and feel for the bony prominence at the side of the hip. This is called the greater trochanter.
Press the greater trochanter with a medium amount of pressure as well as the area just below it. If this is painful, it is likely that you have bursitis of the hip.
If the pain is not at the greater trochanter but behind it in the softer fleshier part of the hip, press firmly there. If this area is sore or your feel pain run down the leg you have a muscle known as the piriformis which is either irritated or too tight.
Another way to test the piriformis is to rise from a chair slowly. If you feel pain in the hip as you rise from the chair, it is likely a problem with the piriformis muscle.
One last test is to have the patient lean forward and backward. If this elicits pain in the hip, the problem is likely coming from the back and not the hip. A medical professional can help you with these tests and help determine the cause of your hip pain.
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