Hip

Hip pain can arise after an injury (e.g a fall), or develop with no known injury (e.g a flare of arthritis). It can affect muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones or other tissues in the hip joints. Hip pain can also be felt in the groin, thigh and the outer hip. It is important to note that lower back issues can also spread pain to the hip.  

Go straight to A&E if: 

• You have a new and visible deformed or misshapen hip or leg
• The hip pain was caused by a serious fall or accident (eg. a fall from height or high speed road traffic collision)
• A recent fall or trauma if you have osteoporosis 
• You're unable to move your hip or put any weight through your leg 
• You have hip pain with a temperature and feel unwell, especially after recent hip surgery or injections in the hip area

Also go straight to A&E if you have any sudden recent onset of the following:

• Loss of feeling/pins and needles between your inner thighs or genitals
• Numbness in or around your back passage or buttocks
• Altered feeling when using toilet paper to wipe yourself
• Increasing difficulty when you try to urinate
• Increasing difficulty when you try to stop or control your flow of urine
• Loss of sensation when you pass urine
• Leaking urine or recent need to use pads
• Not knowing when your bladder is either full or empty
• Inability to stop bowel motion
• Change in ability to achieve an erection or ejaculate
• Loss of sensation in genitals during sexual intercourse

This information is also available as a card created by the Musculoskeletal Association of Chartered Physiotherapists (MACP). These cards are available in many different languages from the MACP website.

You should see your doctor if you: 

• Have pain that doesn’t show any signs of improvement, within a couple of weeks of self help
• Have pain that has rapidly deteriorated or suddenly worsened despite self help
• Have a history of inflammatory arthritis, immuno-suppression, cancer, Tuberculosis (TB), drug abuse, AIDS or other infection
• Feel unwell, have a fever, or unexplained weight loss
• Are experiencing significant and regular changes to your usual sleeping pattern
• Have a history of recent injury (e.g. from a road traffic collision or a fall) or a history of hip surgery
• Have symptoms such as pins and needles, weakness, or numbness in your legs 
• Have noticed changes to walking pattern (ie. clumsiness or falls)
• Feel the hip joint is locking or giving way when putting weight on your leg 

If you do not have any of the above, you may be able to effectively self manage your condition

There are several ways you can help yourself including: 

• Taking pain medication
• Keep active and avoid static postures/positions
• Find a balance between rest and some activity, try not to overdo things (alter activities that make it worse so they are less painful) 
• Using cold treatment, eg. ice packs, or heat treatment, eg. heat packs

• Maintain a healthy Body Mass Index (BMI).  Being overweight can increase your risk of developing hip pain.