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The hip joint is a ball-and-socket joint that allows motion and provides stability needed to bear body weight. The socket area, which is inside the pelvis, is called the acetabulum. The ball part of this joint is the top of the leg bone (the femur). It joins with the acetabulum to form the hip joint.
The hip is one of the most stable joints in the body. But its function, bearing the body's weight, makes it susceptible to arthritis due to excessive pressure. Pain in the hip may involve injury to cartilage, muscles, tendons or bursae (small fluid-filled sacs that cushion and lubricate joints).
Common hip problems
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Arthritis - the most common cause of the breakdown of hip tissue. There are three kinds of arthritis that commonly affect the hip, including:
Osteoarthritis - also referred to as "wear and tear" arthritis; this type of arthritis involves the cartilage that cushions the bones of the hip wearing away, letting the bones rub together, causing hip pain and stiffness
Rheumatoid arthritis - a disease in which, for unknown reasons, the synovial membrane lining the joint becomes irritated and produces too much fluid. It damages the cartilage, leading to pain and stiffness
Traumatic arthritis - often the result of an injury or fracture, there are more than 300,000 hospitalizations for hip fractures in the United States every year
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Avascular necrosis - involves the loss of bone caused by insufficient blood supply, injury and bone tumors which may lead to breakdown of the hip joint
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Bursitis - in this condition the bursa, a closed fluid-filled sac that functions as a gliding surface to reduce friction between tissues of the body, becomes inflamed. There are two major bursae of the hip, both of which can be associated with stiffness and pain around the hip joint
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Hip pointer - a bruise or tear in the muscle that connects to the top of the ilium (the crest of the pelvis, just below the waist). Causes of a hip pointer may include a blow, a fall or a quick twist or turn of the body
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Snapping Hip Syndrome - a usually painless and harmless condition with which you may feel or hear a "snapping" sensation in your hip when you walk, get up from a chair or swing your leg around. Snapping Hip Syndrome may frequently be experienced by women and young athletes |
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Watch this video and hear in Restaurateur Randall Selland's own words how Mercy orthopedic specialist Edward Younger, MD, helped him make the "quality of life decision" to undergo hip replacement surgery and what that has meant to his passion for cooking.
Watch this video and hear in B'nica Brown's own words the world of difference hip replacement surgery has made, giving her back a painfree lifestyle and the chance to "live the life we're all meant to enjoy."
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Find a Mercy-affiliated orthopedic surgeon near you using our
online physician directory, or
speak with a Mercy Orthopedics representative at (916) 851-2110.
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