Hip

Osteoarthritis, also called degenerative joint disease, is the most common form of arthritis. It occurs most often in the elderly. This disease affects the tissue covering the ends of bones in a joint called cartilage. In 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 the hips, knees, hands, and spine, the hip joint is most commonly affected. Rarely, the disease may affect the shoulders, wrists, and feet.

The inflammation of the joints is referred to as arthritis. Inflammation arises when the smooth lining called cartilage at the ends of bones wears away. In some cases, the inflammation is caused when the lining of the joint becomes inflamed as part of an underlying systemic disease. These conditions are referred to as inflammatory arthritis.

Hip pain, one of the common complaints, may not always be felt precisely over the hip joint rather in and around the hip joint. The cause for pain is multifactorial and the exact position of your hip pain suggests the probable cause or underlying condition causing it.

Injuries to the hip ligaments are commonly called a hip sprain and can range from minor tears of the ligaments to more serious injuries involving the hip muscles, tendons or bone. The hip joint is a ball and socket joint; the ball being the head of the femur (thigh bone) and the socket is the acetabulum of the pelvis. Tendons, muscles, and ligaments hold the joint in place.

The gluteal muscles (situated in the buttocks) are necessary for the stability and movement of the hip joints. The tendons of two gluteal muscles (gluteus medius and gluteal minimus) are attached at the outer hip region and are often called the “rotator cuff of the hip.” These tendons may be subject to injury or tearing due to various reasons. Since these gluteal muscles are involved in abduction (movement of your leg away from the midline of the body), the tears are also called abductor tendon tears.

A gluteus medius tear is the partial or complete rupture of the gluteus medius muscle due to severe muscle strain. Gluteus medius tears often occur at the tendinous attachment to the greater trochanter of the femur bone.

A hip labral tear is an injury to the labrum, the cartilage that surrounds the outside rim of your hip joint socket.

Any inflammation or irritation in SI joints may cause pain in the lower back, abdomen, groin, buttocks or legs. Sacroiliac joint injections can be used both for diagnostic as well as therapeutic purposes for pain. As a diagnostic tool, it helps your doctor locate the origin of pain. For therapeutic uses, SI joint injections will contain a steroid medication along with an anesthetic agent to provide relief from pain for a longer duration.

A trochanteric bursa injection is a minimally invasive procedure in which medicine is injected directly into the trochanteric bursa in the hip joint using a thin needle and syringe to relieve pain and inflammation. The injection usually contains a combination of numbing medicine and cortisone (an anti-inflammatory agent). Trochanteric bursitis, also known as greater trochanteric bursitis or hip bursitis, is the main indication for a trochanteric bursa injection.