Hip Pain: Diagnosis and Management

Pain is something that strikes fear and anxiety in all of us - be it physical pain or emotional pain. Pain is a somatic and unpleasant sensation that causes acute discomfort in the body of an individual. Hip pain can be caused due to a variety of reasons including conditions like arthritis or osteoporosis, as well as other conditions that may lead to hip pain as a symptom. The major occurrence of hip pain could be a recent injury or a previous untreated injury. It is also an indication of an injury or even a disease. The degree could be varied from a mild ache to an unendurable agony.

1. Hip Pain Causes: Pain can occur in any part of the body. One such part is hip. The hip is a ball and socket joint which connects the torso of the body to the leg. Pain in the hip is a common complaint which could be caused due to a large variety of problems. Many a times the pain arises from the bones and tissue within the hip joint itself or the area that surrounds the hip. However, there could be other sources of pain in the hip too. At the time of any illness or an injury this vacant space is occupied with fluid or blood that stretches the capsule lining of the hip and results in the pain.
2. The Hip and Other Areas: The hip pain is dependent on the condition that causes the pain in areas like thighs, interior of the hip joint, exterior of the hip joint, buttocks, back or groin. Hip pain has some usual symptoms which can make it easier to get detected. Sometimes, reduced range of motion accompanies the pain. Persistence in hip pain could also develop a limp.
3. Diagnosis and Imaging: It is strictly recommended to get the hip pain diagnosed immediately after the discovery of the relevant symptoms. There are numerable methods available to diagnose the pain in the hip. One of such methods used by doctors or orthopedists is diagnosis through imaging. Imaging enables the doctors to view the internal area of the hip joint without causing any pain. The common imaging technologies comprise of x-ray (or radiography), computed tomography (CT) scan, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan, and ultrasound. X-ray approach is generally the primary choice for getting the images. The CT scan combines X-ray and other complicated machinery to produce digital images. Doctors or orthopedist usually resort to MRI scans when the images produced by the X-ray or CT scan are not quite clear. High frequency sound waves are used for obtaining images through ultrasound. The radiologists after the diagnosis make a short patient history explaining them the procedure. This helps in understanding the kind of treatment that is required for the affected areas.

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