5 Common Causes of Hip Pain in Women

Hip is an important part of the body to maintain and retain back balance. Its primary function is to support our upper body weight while we are in steady, running, walking and sitting postures. Hip is the point where your pelvis bone connects with your thigh bone. This point is similar to socket and ball joint as the ball shaped the end of thigh bones fit inside the pelvic bones which look more like a container. Pain in the hip is mainly because of some injury to this hip joint which connects ball and socket bones.

When you complain about hip pain to your doctor, the first thing your doctor would verify where exactly the pain is.  Your hip joint pain may be on the upper butt side or on the lower back. Hip pain in women can be because of various reasons. Here is the list of five common hip pain in women.

Arthritis

Osteoarthritis

Arthritis is the most common causes of hip problems in women as they age. The wear-and-tear kind of arthritis, known as Osteoarthritis, occurs as the ball and socket joint starts getting destroyed gradually with aging. Obese women tend to develop this kind of hip pain as a part of the pressure on joint due to extra body weight.

Rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is a disorder which occurs due to weak immunity system. This type of arthritis damages the lining of joints which results in swelling and leads to deformation of joint and bone erosion.

Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis

Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis is the most common type of arthritis caused during teenage. Constant stiffness in joints, swelling and pain, is experienced in hip due to skin and joint inflammation.

Injuries

Hip injuries are also a common cause of hip joint pain in women.

Hip fracture or bone dislocation

Hip fracture or bone dislocation at hip area leads to severe pain in hip joints. Fracture of the hip is common in older women as the density of bones may have decreased with age. Osteoporosis, decreased bone density, weakens bones from the core. Such condition would make hip joint weak enough to hold the weight of the upper body and leads to pain.

Bursitis

Inflammation of Bursae, fluid-filled sac near joints to a cushion near muscles and bones at hip joint leads to severe pain. Such painful situation in hip joint or another part of body joints condition is known as Bursitis. In most case, pain due to Bursitis goes away in few weeks by taking proper treatment and resting.

Sprains or strains

Common reasons for hip pain can be temporary sprains or strains. Stretching of your bone ligaments, strong bands of tissues which connect bones together at joints, is a common injury which leads to pain in the hip or other body joints. Tearing of muscle tissues around hip area is another common cause of pain in women.

Pinched Nerves

Herniated disk, Spinal stenosis, and Sciatica, etc. are several other common nerve-related causes resulting in hip problems in women.

Herniated disk

When the cushions around the joints are ruptured, the jelly or fluid is pushed out which irritates adjacent nerves. This causes severe pain at frontal part of the hip in women.  Such situation is referred to as Herniated disk.

Compression of sciatica nerve

Nerves passing from the lower back through buttocks and hips and down to each leg is known as sciatica nerve. Compression of sciatica nerve because of narrowing of spinal bones results in pain to the affected area. The pain is often observed at lower back, hip, and legs.

Meralgia Parasthetica

Meralgia Parasthetica condition creates burning pain and numbness in outer thigh due to compression of nerves.

Cancer

Hip pain causes in women also include deadly cancerous conditions like Leukemia and Bone cancer. Bone cancer strikes mostly to long bones of the body such as arm or leg bones. Though this is not a common type of cancer, it can strike at anyone from children to adult. Hip pain can be one of the symptoms of bone cancer. Leukemia is another cancer type related to bone marrow and blood-forming tissues. Leukemia, of different types, can happen to children or adults depending on various factors. Damaged bone marrow in Leukemia cancer leads to pain at various joints of the body including hip joint.

Gynecological and Other issues

It is very important to not to assume that the pain in the hip is because of some diseases or major damage to tissues. Hip pain causes in women also depend on age and overall health. Pain in the hip can be coming from some other temporary situation of your body.  During pregnancy your upper body weight increases, putting extra pressure on your hip joints. Responsible for retaining the balance of your body, pregnancy stage brings extra baggage on hip joints leading to temporary pain.  Growing of uterus lining causes pelvic tenderness giving a feeling of pain in the hip to some women.

Other causes of hip pain

Pregnancy, obesity, stress, diabetes, or local traumas are some of the common reasons for this condition leading to hip pain. Most common cause for hip pain in women can be due to tight clothing or regular wear of hip fitted jeans. Fitted jeans lead to numbness in thigh and hip muscles leading to pain.

Legg-Calve-Perthes

Legg-Calve-Perthes condition occurs mostly during childhood stage where the blood supply to the thigh ball in the hip joint is interrupted. In such condition, the thigh ball begins to die and thus breaks easily. Such condition can lead to severe hip pain. Lack of blood supply to bone tissues can result in their death which arises condition called avascular necrosis. High steroid dosage or alcohol intake can lead to this condition where the hip pain is a common cause.

Hip pain in women can be due to various reasons or causes as listed above. Proper diagnosis is required before coming to any conclusion for your pain in the hip. Pain caused due to exertion, or sports activities are often treated with good rest, heat or ice therapies, and primary anti-inflammatory medication. Excess weight on waist line also puts pressure on hip joint leading to pain. Discuss your symptoms in detail with your doctor to identify the exact issue for the pain you are suffering in the hip area.