Hip Pain

Pain in the hip can arise from many sites and pathologies. Hip problems can present with limp.

Key points:

• Hip pathology can cause pain in the groin, thigh or knee (this is known as referred pain).
• In addition, "hip pain" can be due to problems in other areas, such as the sacroiliac joints, low back, pelvis and abdomen - and don't forget to check hernia sites, and in boys, testes.
• Pain in the hip can be referred from the lower back, so check the spine (especially sacroiliac joints), the pelvis and abdomen.
• Hip pathology covers red flag conditions, inflammatory arthritis (albeit single joint involvement at the hip is unusual) and orthopaedic conditions (Slipped Upper [Capital] Femoral Epiphysis, Legg-Calve-Perthes disease, Transient synovitis and Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip) and rarely idiopathic chondrolysis of the hip or protrusio acetabulae. 

 The photograph below shows a short leg secondary to hip disease (Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis)