Back pain can be caused by a hundred different reasons. But oftentimes people confuse it with hip pain. A lot of hip conditions also cause pain in the back. Here are the common signs to diagnose the actual origin of your pain.
Causes of Lower back and Hip Pain
When you experience pain in your lower back and hip pain simultaneously, there are a lot of chances that both pains have a common cause. The pain can be a result of overuse, any injury, or a medical condition. There can be many causes of hip and back pain. You may experience pain on your right side or your left side. Here are all the possible causes of lower back and hip pain:
- Strain in the joint caused by sports injuries, lifting heavy objects, a sudden twist or an accidental fall
- Sprains in the hip flexor muscle
- A herniated disk in which the disk between the vertebrae slips out of place
- A condition of sacroiliac joints (SI) called sacroiliac joint dysfunction
- Arthritis
- Ankylosing Spondylitis
- Piriformis syndrome
- Bursitis of the hip
- Can be a rare disease called Paget’s disease
Signs that Pain Originates from Hip
There can be a lot of conditions in which the pain is actually only caused due to the joint or muscles in the hip area. A lot of symptoms and signs can depict its origin from the hip. A very obvious sign is groin pain. If you are experiencing pain and stiffness in your groin the most probably the problem is in the hip region. The pain may radiate towards your knees as well.
Another sign is the pain above or over your hip. Hip pain or any hip condition can also cause pain in the lower back which confuses whether it is actually back pain or hip pain. Stiffness and immobility of hips can be a sign. You may experience difficulty in walking as well. It gets easier to walk gradually after taking some steps if it is due to overuse of the hip joint.
The most common cause of hip pain is the Osteoarthritis of the hip in which patients report buttock pain, groin pain, front thigh, and knee pain. There can be other causes as well like Piriformis syndrome in which patients experience mild buttock and lower back pains. It can cause sciatica as well. Severe pain is caused by avascular necrosis.
Signs that Spine can be the Reason
Conditions of the back generally cause pain in the back itself. However, due to the connection of several nerves of the hip and spine region, you can experience hip pain in back diseases as well.
A sign can be sciatica or a pinched nerve which can detect a bigger problem. The pain itself may radiate from the back to the buttocks, hamstrings and goes past the knees to the calf area. The pain gets worse when you are sitting and when you bend.
Herniated discs, spinal stenosis, and spondylolisthesis can be some of the medical conditions related to spine originated pain. The pattern of the pain depends on the medical condition that you are dealing with. The pain can be due to constant standing or sitting.
Treating Back Pain and Hip Pain
Early diagnosis is the key to better treatment and speedy recovery. Once your disease has been identified, your doctor can now make a specific treatment plan for its cure. It will include both medications and physiotherapy for the recovery of the muscles and joints. The medications often target the pain and inflammation while physiotherapy ensures the complete recovery of the hip or back area. You can find physiotherapists for sessions at physiotherapy near me. Depending upon the conditions, your doctor may recommend weight loss or changing your activity status, or quit smoking.
