Does Hip Arthritis Cause Back Pain

Pain That Originates From The Side Of The Hip

Certain conditions may cause hip pain to originate from the side of the hip and travel down to the thigh. A few examples are discussed below.

External snapping hip

When a muscle or tendon slides over the bony protrusion at the top of the thigh bone , it creates a snap, pop, or clicking sound. This condition causes pain that increases with direct pressure over the side of the hip. The pain may also travel down the side of the thigh.1

Read more about 3 Types of Snapping Hip Syndrome on Sports-health.com

Hip bursitis

Inflammation of the large trochanteric bursa located on the side of the hip joint may cause hip pain. The pain typically increases upon direct pressure on the side of the hip and may travel down the side of the thigh.1,7

See Hip Bursitis

Both these conditions belong to a spectrum of hip disorders called the greater trochanteric pain syndrome. This syndrome also includes tears of the gluteus minimus and/or medius muscles located on the side and back of the hip that may cause pain in these areas.1

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Signs That Your Hip Is The Source Of Your Pain

One of the biggest signs that your pain is caused by a problem in your hip is the presence of groin pain. Your hip joint is located behind the groin, thats why groin pain usually means the hip is the root cause of pain. In some cases, this groin pain will radiate downward toward your knee.

Another obvious sign that your hip is the source of your pain is pain around or over the hip joint. However, hip problems can also refer pain to your low back, contributing to the confusion over where the true source of the pain is located.

Hip-related pain is most often caused by osteoarthritis in the hip. In addition to groin pain, people who have osteoarthritis in their hip joint often report pain in their buttock, front of thighs, and knees. They may also limp when they walk and report reduced range of motion in their hips, pain that worsens with activity and improves with rest, and discomfort that begins as occasional but becomes more regular.

While osteoarthritis is the most common cause, hip pain may also derive from piriformis syndrome, avascular necrosis in the hip, and/or sacroiliac joint dysfunction.

• Piriformis syndrome causes dull, mild pain in the low back and buttocks and can cause pain radiating down the legor sciatica.

• On the other hand, the hip pain associated with avascular necrosis is severe and constant.

• might be attributed to both the hip and the low back, as the sacroiliac joints connect the sacrum in spine to the hip bones.

Whats The Pain Connection

Your hip moves with your lower back during daily activities like sitting or bending. Tight muscles or wear-and-tear from osteoarthritis can reduce hip movement, forcing your lower back to adjust.

The way people compensate is by increasing the curvature of their lower back. When someone has severe arthritis of their hip, they end up putting a lot of stress on their lower back and that may result in low back pain, explains Neil P. Sheth, MD, Chief of Orthopedic Surgery at Pennsylvania Hospital, who was not associated with the study.

It turns out people with advanced hip osteoarthritis also have low back pain up to 50% of the time, and that percentage could be even higher.

Id say 80 to 90% of people with hip or knee arthritis will end up with low back arthritis, says Dr. Sheth. Although its not clear why this occurs, some osteoarthritis risk factors such as obesity and high-impact activities) can be modified via lifestyle changes. Others, such as injury/trauma, age, being female, or congenital conditions like hip dysplasia, cant be avoided.

Hip osteoarthritis isnt the only hip issue that can also cause lower back pain. Here are a few others.

Piriformis syndrome: Affects about 200,000 Americans each year and may be misdiagnosed since symptoms overlap with other conditions. For example, when the piriformis muscle tightens or irritates the sciatic nerve, symptoms mimic sciatica with pain in the buttocks and numbness and tingling that may travel down the back of the leg.

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How Will Osteoarthritis Of The Hip Affect Me

While many people wont have symptoms, those who do can have a wide range of experiences. Being diagnosed with osteoarthritis doesnt mean your condition will get worse, as there are things you can do to improve your symptoms.

In hip osteoarthritis, the pain comes on gradually over a period of months or years. However, it could also be triggered by a recent injury. You might find symptoms come and go and that the pain is worse at the end of the day.

The painful areas are usually the lower back, buttocks and groin. Some people also feel discomfort from the top of their thigh down to the knee. Sometimes it can even be felt all the way down to the ankle. This can be known as referred or radiating pain.

If your hip is badly affected, walking, standing up or bending down can suddenly become much more difficult. Your hip might also lock for a few moments.

If you have advanced hip osteoarthritis, the muscles around the hip can become smaller and weaker due to not using them. This then puts even more strain on the joint.

The best thing you can do at home for hip osteoarthritis is exercise, as it will strengthen the muscles that support your hip joint.

Sometimes the effects of osteoarthritis can make people feel depressed or anxious. It can also affect your sleep pattern and even your relationships. Its worth speaking to your doctor about these problems.

The Mechanism Of Lbp Caused By Hoa

The reduced range of motion in hip joint was also found be involved in the mechanism of LBP. Several studies have reported reduced internal rotation of the hip in athletes or general population suffering LBP . In addition, the limited hip flexion , reduced hip abduction , total rotation and asymmetric hip rotation were also identified in patients with LBP. Hence it has been proposed by previous studies that reduced ROM of the hip might contribute to the pathogenesis of LBP, by leading to a greater lumbopelvic rotation in compensation, subsequently inducing increased mechanical stress in the lumbopelvic region. In patients with HOA, the hip function accessed by the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index was found to correlate significantly with LBP , and limitation of flexion has been identified as an independent risk factor for LBP . Hence further study should be carried out to explore the role of reduced hip ROM on the LBP in patients with HOA.

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Symptoms Of Hip Arthritis

The symptoms of arthritis in the hips include:

• Pain and stiffness in the hips
• Stiffness after sitting for a while
• Stiffness when getting out of bed
• Feeling of grinding or crunching in the joint
• Difficulty bending or using the hips for physical activity

Some of these symptoms can also be shared with other conditions that cause hip pain like bursitis or tendinitis. A doctor can examine your symptoms and order tests like an MRI scan to confirm whether the source of your pain is arthritis.

Basics Of Hip Arthritis

Many kinds of arthritis can affect the hip joint. The most common type of hip arthritis is osteoarthritis, which some people call “degenerative joint disease.”

Osteoarthritis occurs when the joint surface cartilage becomes worn away leaving the raw bone beneath exposed. The cartilage normally serves as a pad or a bearing in the joint. Under normal conditions, the cartilage bearing is slicker than a hockey puck on ice. When the bearing wears away, the result is a roughed joint surface that causes the pain and stiffness that people associate with osteoarthritis .

Osteoarthritis of the hip is a serious condition. Osteoarthritis is the most common of the more than 100 kinds of arthritis and the hip joint is the second most commonly affected large joint in the body.

Osteoarthritis is a chronic disease that can takes months to years to appear. While it is not curable, it most certainly is treatable using activity modifications, medications, and/or injections. If those interventions dont work, hip replacement surgery often will relieve the pain associated with hip arthritis.

Osteoarthritis of the hip results in pain, stiffness, and joint deformity. The symptoms of osteoarthritis can affect ones ability to walk, work, and enjoy life.

For most patients who have mild arthritis, pain can be managed with ice, rest, activity modifications, pills, or joint injections.

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Are My Hip Pain And Back Pain Related

People who suffer from both hip pain and back pain can experience lower back pain, groin pain, thigh pain, pain in the buttocks, and sometimes knee pain. The term hip-spine syndrome was coined to describe individuals who suffer from pain in these areas. However, because the pain can vary in location, diagnosing the source of the pain is sometimes more difficult.

If you suffer from both hip and back pain a visit to your doctor or a specialist can help determine the cause of your pain. After a complete physical and review of your medical history, a doctor may use advanced imaging techniques to assist them in their diagnosis.

Diagnosis may show that your hip and back pain are related. The pain can be the result of something going on in your hip, spine, or both. In this article well look at a few of the more common conditions of the spine which can lead to both hip pain and back pain.

Describing Painful Symptoms To Your Doctor

To determine whether your pain is due to osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, or another type of arthritis, your doctor will ask you many questions about your pain, how it affects your life and body, when it occurs, and how bad it gets. Your doctor may ask you to rate your pain on a scale from 1 to 10 .

Before you speak with your doctor, think about the words you want to use to describe your joint pain. Here are some terms that will help your doctor get the full picture. Choose the ones that best describe how your arthritis pain feels:

• Grinding or grating

People with arthritis should keep their doctors informed of their symptoms, and Dr. Ruthberg suggests that family members can often be helpful in keeping up with information, such as when and how symptoms began.

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What Causes Osteoarthritis Of The Hip Joint

The causes of osteoarthritis of the hip are not known. Factors that may contribute include joint injury, increasing age, and being overweight.

In addition, osteoarthritis can sometimes be caused by other factors:

• The joints may not have formed properly.
• There may be genetic defects in the cartilage.
• The person may be putting extra stress on their joints, either by being overweight or through activities that involve the hip.

Spinal Arthritis May Contribute To Other Issues In The Spine

Spinal arthritis may cause bone spurs overgrowths on the edges of the bones. In the spine, bone spurs particularly affect facet joints, making them grow larger. This condition is called facet joint hypertrophy. Although bone spurs on their own are not harmful, they may narrow the passages for the spinal cord and the nerves exiting the spine. This may lead to two painful conditions:

• Spinal stenosis compression of the spinal cord inside the spinal canal

• Radiculopathy pinching of the peripheral nerves as they exit the spine

Ankylosing spondylitis may also cause additional problems such as:

• Stress fractures in places where new bone has formed

• Collapsed vertebrae

• A spinal deformity called kyphosis

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Can Arthritis Affect Your Sciatic Nerve

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Arthritis is a condition that can affect the joints in your body, including the joints in your spine. When the joints in your spine become inflamed, they can put pressure on the sciatic nerve, which can cause pain to radiate down your leg. In some cases, the pain can be severe enough to make it difficult to walk or stand. If you are experiencing pain in your leg that you think may be related to arthritis, it is important to see a doctor so that they can diagnose the problem and recommend treatment.

Back pain can be caused by a variety of factors, but identifying the most likely cause is critical in order to get relief. It is common for back pain to be caused by arthritis of the spine or sciatica. The treatment and outlook for these conditions differ. Back pain is one of the most common chronic conditions among Americans, with over one million of them requiring medical attention. Arthritis in the spine can cause sciatica in people who have it. Chronic arthritis of the spine results in ongoing, irreversible damage. Furthermore, if it persists, bone spurs may form.

It is customary to seek treatment in the case of chronic pain because it is so disabling. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and muscle relaxants can help to decrease inflammation. Surgery may also be required if a structural issue in the spine or the pelvic region places pressure on a lumbar nerve.

Hip Pain: Many Different Causes

This is a complex question because hip pain can manifest in a variety of ways. Carpal tunnel syndrome, pudendal nerve compression, obturator nerve compression, femoral nerve compression, and lateral femoral nerve compression are just a few of the other possibilities for hip pain. Aside from those two conditions, nerve pain can be caused by arthritis or RA. Despite the fact that there is no single answer to this question, it is critical to consult a doctor if you are experiencing hip pain that does not appear to be related to any other source.

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Important Considerations For People With Arthritis Of The Hip

There is no cure for arthritis. Typically, it starts gradually and worsens over time. Eventually, all forms of arthritis of the hip may permanently damage the hip joint. While osteoarthritis is more common in older people, there are forms of arthritis that affect younger people.

Fortunately, there are things that can be done to help minimize the effect of arthritis, and we are glad to discuss these option.

Arthritis Statistics*:

• 22% of the U.S. population in 2010 reported some form of arthritis

• Among adults over 65, 50% have some form of arthritis
• The most common form of arthritis is osteoarthritis
• Weight loss of just 11 pounds can reduce a womans risk of developing knee arthritis by 50%
• Of working age people , one-third of those who had arthritis reported it limited their ability to work

*Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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When To See A Doctor

Most of the time you can treat your hip pain yourself with simple self-help treatments. If your pain is extremely bad or hasnt improved after two weeks of regularly taking painkillers, you should see your doctor.

You should see your doctor straight away if:

• youve had a fall or injured your hip
• the pain is getting worse
• youre having difficulty with daily activities, for example walking, going up stairs or leaning forwards when sitting
• you feel feverish or unwell, or youve been losing weight.

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Other Symptoms Of Hip Osteoarthritis

In addition to pain, people with hip arthritis often report one or more of the following symptoms:

StiffnessDecreased cushioning from loss of cartilage and hip joint swelling can make the hip feel stiff. Stiffness will often occur first thing in the morning or after sitting for a long period. Stiffness may or may not be accompanied by a loss of range of motion.

Normally, the hips ball-and-socket construction allows for a wide range of motion. Hip osteoarthritis may make it particularly difficult to spread the legs apart, extend the leg straight back, or to point toes inward and move the entire leg in that direction .

How Doctors Get To Root Of Your Pain

If you have pain in your lower body and arent sure whether your back or hip is to blame, a good first course of action is to visit your personal doctor. He or she will review your medical history and may perform a series of physical exam tests to get to the root of your pain. Alternatively, your personal doctor may refer you to a doctor who specializes in the hip or spine to make an accurate diagnosis.

Your doctor will ask you to describe your pain, including its location, when it worsens/is relieved, and what the pain feels like .

After listening to your description of your pain, your doctor may have you perform several maneuvers or movements as part of a physical exam. The goal of these maneuvers is to determine what movements recreate your pain. One such maneuver is called the Flexion Abduction External Rotation test, which helps determine if the disorder is sourced in your hip and may illuminate sacroiliac joint problems. During this test, you lie down your back while flexing and rotating your hips. Your doctor may also palpate the area of pain.

Next, your doctor may also order imaging scans, such an x-ray to view your bones or an MRI to view soft tissues , which may help reveal the true nature of the spinal or hip problem. It is important for your doctor to then determine if your complaints and exam findings can be explained by what is seen on the images.

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Nonsurgical Treatments For Hip Arthritis

• Activity modifications may help reduce painful flare-ups. Avoid activities that aggravate hip arthritis, such as running, jumping and other high-impact exercises.
• Lifestyle modifications, such as weight loss, can help reduce stress on the hip joint.
• Physical therapy exercises can help improve strength in the hip. Engaging in low-impact exercises and activities, such as swimming and cycling, and remaining physically active are key to managing hip arthritis symptoms.
• Heating pads can help soothe inflammation in the hip.
• Medications and injections, such as corticosteroid injections, hyaluronic acid injections, platelet-rich plasma injections, vitamin and mineral supplements, and immunosuppressive or biologic medicines can help control pain and inflammation. Which medications will work best depends on the type of arthritis.
• Walking aids such as a cane or walker provide support when walking.