Sleep is when your body regenerates itself, and when we do not get even a little sleep, it can quickly lead to problems with our emotional and physical well-being. Unfortunately, nighttime hip pain can throw a crimp in your sleep routine. If you are experiencing pain while sleeping in or near your hips, here is what you should know.
You may think hip pain is more common during the day. After all, at that point your hips are getting more and more active. But the fact is that hip pain at night alone is very common. To some extent, if you have hip pain at night it depends on what is causing your pain to start.
What to know about osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is one of the most common causes of hip pain and stiffness, and unfortunately, these symptoms can follow you all day and all night. Muscle problems and hip swelling Inflammation of the small sacs of fluid in the limb are other common causes of hip pain.
Osteoarthritis occurs when inflammation and injury to the joint cause the breakdown of cartilage tissue. The damage, in turn, results in pain, swelling, and paralysis. Cartilage is a solid, rubber material that covers the ends of bones in normal joints.
It is made up mainly of water and protein. The primary function of cartilage is to reduce friction in the joints and to serve as a “shock absorber.” The shock absorber quality of a conventional cartridge is due to its ability to change shape when compressed.
The two main types of osteoarthritis are:
- Primary; The most common osteoarthritis that affects the fingers, thumbs, spine, hips, and knees
- Secondary; Osteoarthritis that occurs after an injury or inflammation of a joint, or as a result of other conditions that can affect cartilage structure, such as hemochromatosis.
How osteoarthritis affects hip joints?
Patients who have hip osteoarthritis sometimes have difficulty walking. Diagnosis can be difficult at first. That is because pain can be felt in various places, including the groin, thigh, buttocks, or knee. The pain can be severe and can be severe, and the hip is often severe.
How do you know if you have osteoarthritis of the hip?
Hip osteoarthritis is usually a progressive disease that gets worse for weeks or months, often crawling slowly over a long period of time. In some cases, what appears to be an innocent event at the time may cause pain. For example, stumbling, misleading or lacking in action.
You will start to see your hips stiff and aching when you finish work such as putting on your shoes and socks or getting out of the car. The pain is usually in the groin and around the hip but can also extend down the front and side of the thigh to the knee.
Symptoms
Symptoms of osteoarthritis can affect a person’s ability to walk, work, and enjoy life. For most patients with mild arthritis, pain can be controlled with ice, relaxation, activity adjustment, tablets, or joint injections.
- Hip joint pain is the main symptoms of hip arthritis. As it progresses, joint deformities and leg length differences may result.
- The most common pain from arthritis of the hip is in the thigh or buttocks. Pain is generally exacerbated by weight-bearing activities.
- Some patients report “start-up” pain – severe discomfort when standing after a long stay. This sometimes works on its own after a few steps.
- Osteoarthritis of the hip is not an emergency. However it can lead to confusing “flare ups” and increased pain and stiffness. Most patients who experience a sudden outbreak will go to a doctor for care.
Other symptoms of osteoarthritis hip pain at night:
- Pain that develops slowly
- The pain that gets worse in the morning
- Pain in buttocks, groin, thighs and hips
- Fastening, clinging, grinding and grinding can occur while walking or moving
- Excessive or excessive activity can cause pain
- Difficulty slows down your range, making walking or bending difficult
- The pain can spread to the knee or back
If you suffer from any of the symptoms listed above, do not hesitate to make an appointment with one of our hip specialists, so that they can give you an accurate diagnosis and recommend treatment options.
Causes
It is impossible to predict who will get hip osteoarthritis. However, there are several risk factors that can increase the likelihood that the hips will be arthritic. These risk factors include:
Rheumatoid arthritis; The next most common cause of arthritis, can also affect the hip. It tends to cause other organs to become involved and often causes more than a set of inflammatory symptoms and can, in fact, affect other organ systems as well.
Greater trochanteric bursitis; This causes pain over the “point” of the hip, consider the part of the hip that would touch the ground if a person lay directly on his side. It also causes mildness and sensitivity to pressure.
Spinal stenosis; This condition often causes pain in the buttocks, lower back, and back of the upper thigh. Spinal steno is a lower back problem, not a hip problem. Spinal stenosis causes pain in the buttocks area which some recognize as part of the hip.
Other causes may include;
- Acquired conditions such as vascular necrosis can lead to hip arthritis if left untreated or if treatment fails. Vascular necrosis can be caused by excessive alcohol consumption, certain medications, and certain medical conditions that affect blood clotting.
- Differences in the anatomy of the hip, including a condition called Femoroacetabular impingement can cause the hip to become arthritic.
- Severe trauma. A fracture or traumatic separation of the ball from the hip joint can, over time, lead to hip arthritis. Whether this is “osteoarthritis” or should be considered a different type of arthritis is still an open question.
- Obesity. Some studies have linked this condition with hip arthritis. Although the interesting thing is that obesity is more associated with arthritis in the knees than arthritis in the hips.
Diagnosis
Getting the right diagnosis is important to make sure you are setting up the right treatment plan for you.
Hip osteoarthritis is diagnosed on X-ray. All doctors will be able to send you an X-ray. Your doctor may also refer you for blood tests to eliminate any other systemic causes of your pain, such as rheumatoid arthritis. X-ray will also assess the stage of arthritis; be it light, medium or strong.
But it is very important to remember that the amount of osteoarthritis you have on X-ray is not always related to pain and dysfunction. It is not uncommon for a patient to have severe pain but minor arthritic changes on X-ray. It is also known that most patients over the age of 40 have osteoarthritic changes on X-ray but do not experience pain.
Treatment of osteoarthritis hip pain at night
Hip osteoarthritis may respond well to physiotherapy. This may include soft tissue techniques, joint mobilization, acupuncture and an ongoing home exercise program. Here are a few key tips that you may also want to try for yourself:
1. Activity modification
Every time you step, your hip joint carries the weight of your entire body. Over time, hip osteoarthritis causes the joint to be less able to carry this weight, and too much stress on the joint makes arthritis worse.
By avoiding high-impact activities that put extra stress on the hip joint for example, climbing stairs, running, or playing tennis it is possible to slow down the progression of arthritis and reduce pain and stiffness.
Doctors also recommend maintaining a healthy weight as part of any treatment plan for osteoarthritis of the hip. Losing weight can directly reduce stress on the hip joint, causing less pain and improving function.
Our doctors understand that weight loss is not easy, and they offer nutritional advice to help you design an improved weight loss program to achieve your goals and fit your lifestyle. If appropriate, our specialists may also consider surgical options.
2. Pain Relief Medication
Many doctors recommend acetaminophen or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which include aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen. These drugs are taken orally and are available at pharmacies.
Acetaminophen blocks pain signals that travel from the site of the inflamed limb to the brain, and NSAIDs reduce the pain and swelling that occur when the body’s immune system responds to arthritis damage caused by arthritis.
Many people find that painkillers reduce pain and stiffness in the arthritic joints, making movement easier. Your doctor can prescribe the risks and prescribe you safe medication based on your symptoms, age and other health conditions that may affect or interact with these medications.
3. Physical Therapy
Specialists in rehab, and physiotherapists can help you incorporate simple stretching and strength exercises to improve flexibility, range of motion, and overall hip joint function.
In particular, building strength in the muscles of the thighs and buttocks provides extra support for your hips and relieves some of the stress of the hip joint as you walk and exercise. Our team of hip replacement experts can show you how to do these exercises correctly and design an exercise routine that you can do at home.
4. Surgery
Hip replacement is a surgical procedure that reduces pain and improves quality of life for many patients with severe hip pain. Typically, patients undergo this surgery after non-surgical treatment such as anti-inflammatory drugs or hip injections have failed to relieve arthritic symptoms.
Surgeons have undergone hip replacement for over four decades, generally with better results. Most reports have success rates of ten years over 90 percent.
5. Check your mattress
If you suffer from hip pain that is worse at night, first check your mattress. As we mentioned in our mattress post for back pain, the mattress you choose can help greatly reduce pain.
First, try another bed to see if that will ease your pain. Then, SleepJunkie.org provides a good summary of how to get the best mattress for hip pain. They also discuss some of the alternatives to internal springs that cause pain in many mattresses. They recommend replacing memory foam or rubber mattress.