Causes and Treatments of Pain in Right Hip Area of the Female
Muscle injury, osteoarthritis, and pelvic floor issues cause pain in right hip area of the female. Pregnant women can get it. Exercise, stretching, and painkillers can help. Right hip pain has many causes and resolves on its own. Doctors diagnose and treat.
Causes of Female Hip Pain
Doctors treat female hip pain patients based on age, build, and activity. For a thin 20-year-old runner or a heavy, sedentary 80-year-old grandmother, “the possibilities at the top of my list will be different. Common causes of hip pain in women:
Arthritis
Osteoarthritis, commonly referred to as "wear-and-tear" arthritis, results in pain, stiffness, and a diminished range of motion. Joint edge bone spurs from arthritis increase pain and limit motion.
Bursitis
Inflamed bursae, the small fluid-filled sacs between joints, can worsen joint pain when sitting or exercising. Bursitis can result from falls, joint trauma, overuse, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, and lupus.
Hip Misalignment and Injuries
Fractures from falls, sports, osteoporosis, and arthritis cause pain, tenderness, swelling, and leg weight. Misaligned hips grind bones, causing pain and inflammation. Hip misalignment can impair walking, hip motion, and activity-induced pain.
Pregnancy
During pregnancy, relaxing loosens joints and muscles for childbirth. Hip instability hurts. Untreated chronic hip pain can persist after childbirth.
Sciatica
Compression or irritation of the sciatic nerve, which runs from the lower back to the leg, causes this. Herniated discs, spinal stenosis, and pregnancy cause sciatica. Sciatica causes sharp, shooting pain from the lower back to the buttocks or leg and numbness or tingling.
Your doctor may prescribe NSAIDs, exercise, physical therapy, weight loss, heat and cold therapy, or rest for pain in right hip area of the female. Consult your doctor before taking drugs. For severe cases, hip replacement or resurfacing may be needed to realign and stabilize the hip.
Other Hip Pain Causes
Outside the above causes, other conditions cause referred hip pain in women. Thus, injury or pain in one body part causes pain elsewhere.
Alternative hip pain causes include groin or inguinal hernias, often located near the hip bone. As muscles weaken with age, these hernias develop.
The sciatic nerve in your lower back can cause hip pain. The sciatic nerve root leaves your spine and passes behind your hip. This nerve pain burns or tingles like one leg "goes to sleep". Soft tissue issues in the back or hip can cause hip pain.
In endometriosis, tissues grow around pelvic and hip nerves. Abnormal growths can press pelvic nerves, causing hip, buttock, and leg pain and numbness.
Treatments for Hip Pain
Treatment for hip pain depends on diagnosis. Treatment usually includes self-care, medication, physical therapy, and surgery.
Self Care Advice
Your doctor may recommend self-care like:
- Avoiding hip-pain-causing activities like stair climbing
- Improve independence and mobility with a cane or walker.
- RICE protocol: Rest, ice, compression, and elevation can help sports-related hip pain until you see a hip pain doctor in Plano.
Medications
Tylenol or an over-the-counter NSAID can relieve hip pain from osteoarthritis and femoroacetabular impingement. Opioids may be needed for hip fractures and infections. Diagnosis may require additional drugs. Treating rheumatoid arthritis with DMARDs. IV antibiotics treat joint infections.
Physical Therapy
Physical therapy is necessary for many hip pain causes. It improves hip mobility, flexibility, and strength.
Massage, ultrasound, heat, and ice can help a physical therapist treat inflammation. You may resume sports or other activities with their help.
Surgery
Hip fractures may need surgery. Totally replacing the hip may help osteoarthritis. Hip arthroscopy repairs torn hip labrums.
Prevention of Hip Pain
Hip pain may be unavoidable, but prevention is possible:
- If you are overweight? Reduce your weight.
- For bone health, eat vitamin D and calcium.
- Choose low-impact sports like swimming or biking.
- Stretch before and after workouts.
- Custom shoe inserts for leg lengths.
- Wear good running shoes and avoid asphalt.
- Discuss daily strength training with your doctor.
- Yoga and tai chi improve balance and prevent falls.
See a doctor or midwife for pregnant pain at your next appointment. See a pain clinic in Plano if hip pain persists or worsens, or if recommended treatment worsens or causes side effects.
Summary
Hip pain can be discomforting and hinder daily activities. Psoas syndrome, osteoarthritis, and pelvic girdle pain may cause pain in right hip area of the female. See a doctor if the pain persists, worsens, or does not improve with home treatment or if the person is pregnant. Right hip pain can be diagnosed and treated by a doctor.