Hip Bursitis | Causes | Symptoms | Treatment

In general, hip bursitis or trochanteric bursitis is the irritation of small, fluid-filled sacs in the hip which is called bursa. One of the major causes of hip pain is bursitis. Bursa is a fluid-filled sacs which are located near joints. With the help of bursa, your joints easily move which enables muscles and tendons gliding over bone and as well as other structures. Overall, there are 150 bursae in the human body.

Inflamed bursa, in turn, is the main reason for bursitis. Since the condition affects the zone of the bone which is called trochanter, the syndrome related to the condition is known as trochanteric bursitis. The location of the trochanter is particular in the hip – it is at the tip of the thigh bone.

You can read more in order to learn more about the causes of the condition and as well as symptoms, treatment and more. Although there is no permanent cure available for hip bursitis, available range options deliver mobility improvement while reducing the pain.

Causes of Hip Bursitis

In general, the condition is caused by inflammation and in fact, it is a noninfectious situation. The main cause of the inflammation is local soft-tissue trauma or strain injury. In some cases, the problem can be complicated when the bursa is infected with bacteria which is called septic bursitis.

In other rare cases, the hip bursa can even become inflamed by crystals which accumulated there due to scleroderma causing calcinosis.

What are the symptoms of Hip Bursitis?

When patients experience the condition, they start feeling pain on the outer side of the hip which is the location where the outer hip is linked to the upper thigh bone. This is, generally, is the most prevalent symptom of the condition.

In general, most of the patients suffering from hip bursitis may experience the following symptoms. They may have hip pain. The most common symptom that you can experience when you have hip bursitis is having pain at the outside of the lower part of the hip. The description of the pain by patients is often sharp. When left untreated the pain may shift to more of an ache after some period of time. Please note that patients with iliopsoas bursitis will feel the pain more in their groin area.

Another symptom of the condition is worsening pain after a period of inactivity. According to most patients experiencing hip bursitis, the pain gets aggravated after their sleep or being seated for some time.

Some repetitive activities can also worsen pain. Patients can describe intensifying pain when they perform certain repetitive hip movements like walking, stair climbing and etc.

Most of the times individuals suffering from the condition complain about having tenderness and pain over the side of their hip. Please note that you may suddenly feel more pain when you lie down on the impacted side of the hip.

Pain may radiate. At first, patients feel mainly at the outside of the lower hip. Sometime later the pain may radiate down the outside of the thigh and prolonged to some other points in the body. This may cover the lower back, buttock and as well as groin.

What are the treatment options?

The main goal during the treatment process of hip bursitis is generally focused on regulating the inflamed area of the bursa. If hip bursitis emerges from injury or even overuse, then resting and application of certain remedies often relieves the condition.

However, when septic bursitis happens, which is the result of the infected bursa, your physician may prescribe the intake of certain antibiotics in order to overcome the spread of infection. Please also note that all patients need to watch for all hip bursitis symptoms is gone before resuming their regular activities, since proceeding with activities which can result in friction or stress on the bursa before it is completely healed will probably worsen the symptoms.

Resting and modification in certain activities. When you have hip bursitis you need to avoid performing movements that can worsen or intensify inflammation in the bursa. This may include refraining performing sports that include standing for long periods of time.

Physical therapy is one of the good options of treatment to be prescribed by your physical therapist which can help stretching and strengthen hip muscles. This, in turn, can support the treatment of prevailing bursitis and prevent future cases of the condition.

When patients have skeptic trochanteric bursitis, their doctor may require them to have a treatment course with antibiotics. The selection of antibiotics for the treatment may depend on the type of the microorganism causing the infection in the hip.

Although the surgery is one of the uncommon options for treatment of hip bursitis, it still may be necessary for some challenging situations caused by chronic hip bursitis.