Why Do I Have Pain in the Front of My Hip?

When you have pain in the front of your hip, it’s likely to be one of two problems. If the pain is felt near the surface, it’s probably a strain of the tendon that helps lift your leg. However, if the pain feels deep, it could be an inflammation in the hip joint.

 

 

The front of your thigh has four quadriceps muscles. All of these muscles straighten your knee and help you walk up and down stairs. Only one of them helps you lift your thigh. That muscle is called the rectus femoris. It has two jobs: It helps the other quadriceps straighten the knee, and it lifts the thigh.

 

Finding Where the Tendon Is Attached

 

If you put your finger on your hipbone at the front of your pelvis and move your finger down about an inch, this is where that muscle is attached to your hip. A muscle has a tendon at either end of the muscle. The lower tendon passes over the knee and attaches to the lower leg, and the upper tendon goes from the thigh and crosses over the hip.

 

 

The Hip Joint 

The hip joint is where the round ball of the upper thigh, called the femur, fits into the socket of the hip. The hip socket is very deep, which makes it very stable. The round ball at the end of the thigh bone and the hip socket are covered with a thin Teflon-like cartilage that allows the bones to glide against each other seamlessly.

 

Hip Joint Pain

When that Teflon-like cartilage wears away as we age, pain begins, followed by a limitation of our ability to move in certain directions. We call this osteoarthritis of the hip joint. The wearing away happens on both surfaces: the round end of the thigh and the surface of the hip joint socket.

 

Differentiating a Muscle Tendon Strain from Hip Joint Inflammation

 

A skilled therapist trained in assessment and treatment would do a series of very simple physical tests to determine if it’s the tendon or the hip joint that’s the source of the pain. Some of the tests would activate the muscle, and others would be what we call passive. In the passive tests, you relax, and the therapist takes you into different positions to see if they have limited movement or are uncomfortable or painful. Once it’s determined what the problem is you know what kind of treatment will be helpful.

   

Two Types of Treatment

Tendon Therapy

When there is a strain of the tendon of the front thigh muscle that crosses the hip, hands-on treatment is very effective. The goal is to break down the poorly formed scar tissue. A specialized type of work called friction therapy works with injured tendons. The important thing is finding and treating the exact area of injury.

 

Hip Joint Therapy

When the hip joint is painful, hands-on therapy is not helpful. In the early stages of joint deterioration, injection therapy is often helpful. However, if you begin to limp, hip replacement is usually recommended.

 

In Conclusion

If you have a pain in the front of your hip that feels near the surface, find a therapist who knows how to assess and treat tendon injuries. If you live in the Boston area, you can contact me. If you have a pain that feels deep inside the front of your hip, be sure to see a physician specializing in hips.

 

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If you are experiencing hip pain and live in the Boston area, schedule an appointment or a complimentary 10-15 minute phone consultation.

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Ben E. Benjamin holds a Ph.D. in Sports Medicine and was the founder and President of the Muscular Therapy Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  He is the author of dozens of articles on working with injuries and chronic pain as well as the widely used books in the field, Are You Tense? Exercise Without Injury and Listen To Your Pain: The Active Person’s Guide to Understanding, Identifying and Treating Pain and Injury. Dr. Benjamin has been in private practice for over 50 years and teaches therapists throughout the country.