Hip pain

Abstract

Hip pain can be categorized as either anterior groin pain, lateral trochanteric pain, or posterior buttock pain. Reproduction of the pain during passive and active range of motion of the hip against resistance provides the most accurate localization. The very important intra-articular diagnoses with poorer prognoses and more urgent requirement for treatment, such as a septic joint and hip fracture, often present with anterior groin pain. Trochanteric bursitis is the most common cause of lateral pain next to osteoarthritis. Buttock pain occasionally represents a radiation from lumbar disc or facet joint disease but more commonly is muscular in origin. Management of osteoarthritis of the hip successively challenges the primary care physician to provide effective patient education regarding NSAIDs, assistive devices for walking, and optimal timing of total hip arthroplasty.