Conditions

Hip pain, one of the common symptoms that patients complain of, may not always be felt precisely over the hip joint. Pain may be felt in and around the hip joint and the cause for pain is multifactorial. The exact position of your hip pain suggests the probable cause or underlying condition causing pain. Pain felt inside the hip joint or your groin area is more likely to be because of the problems within the hip joint. Likewise, the pain felt on the outer side of your hip, upper thigh or buttocks may be a result of the problems of the muscles, ligaments, tendons and soft tissues surrounding the hip joint. However, certain disease conditions affecting other parts of your body such as lower back or knees also cause hip pain.

Osteoarthritis, also called degenerative joint disease, is the most common form of arthritis. It occurs most often in older people. This disease affects the tissue covering the ends of bones in a joint (cartilage). In a person with osteoarthritis, the cartilage becomes damaged and worn out causing pain, swelling, stiffness and restricted movement in the affected joint. Although osteoarthritis may affect various joints including hips, knees, hands, and spine, hip joint is most commonly affected. Rarely, the disease may affect the shoulders, wrists and feet.

Hip fracture is a break that occurs near the hip in the upper part of the femur or thighbone. The thighbone has two bony processes on the upper part - the greater and lesser trochanters. The lesser trochanter projects from the base of the femoral neck on the back of the thighbone. Hip fractures can occur either due to a break in the femoral neck, in the area between the greater and lesser trochanter or below the lesser trochanter.

The hip joint is the largest weight-bearing joint in the human body. It is a ball and socket joint formed by the articulation of the thigh bone or femur and the acetabulum of the pelvis bone. The joint is supported by many soft tissues including the articular cartilage, ligaments, muscles, tendons, nerves and blood vessels, that assist in the smooth movement of the joint. Any injury or disease of the hip will adversely affect the joint's range of motion and ability to bear weight.

Hip bursitis is a painful condition caused by inflammation of a bursa in the hip. Bursae are fluid- filled sacs present in joints between bone and soft tissue to reduce friction and provide cushioning during movement.

Hip abductors are a major group of muscles found in the buttocks. It includes the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, gluteus minimus, and tensor fascia lata muscles.
The Gluteus medius arises at the top of the pelvic bone and runs to attach on the outer side of the thighbone or femur. The muscle controls side-to-side movement of the hip and stabilizes hip movement.