There are a few basic ways to know if you have hip bursitis or arthritis. If the pain you feel is sharp and severe before spreading out into an ache in the affected area, you may have hip bursitis. On the other hand, if your pain develops slower and is more painful in the morning, it may be hip arthritis.
Symptoms of hip arthritis may include pain in or near the hip joint, stiffness, audible clicking sounds when moving the hip, and weakness. While hip arthritis is usually a chronic condition, there are treatments to help ease the symptoms and reduce further damage.
Symptoms of bursitis of the hip
Symptoms include joint pain and tenderness. You may also see swelling and feel warmth around the affected area. The pain is often sharp in the first few days. It may be dull and achy later.
Both cause aching pain, tender or warmth, stiffness, swelling, and redness in the joint. However, bursitis differs from osteoarthritis in that the pain is generally more acute following repetitive movements, whereas, pain in osteoarthritis is worst following a period of inactivity.
Other things that can aggravate hip bursitis include too much pressure on the hip, poor overall posture, and engaging in activities that overuse the muscles in the hip. Even climbing a single flight of stairs can cause pain for some people with hip bursitis.
Injections. A corticosteroid drug injected into the bursa can relieve pain and inflammation in your shoulder or hip. This treatment generally works quickly and, in many cases, one injection is all you need.
Pain that doesn't go away
Hip bursitis (trochanteric bursitis) may be a sign of a more serious issue. If you continue to have bursitis pain at the hip that has not improved despite extensive treatment, you may have a tear of a muscle located next to the bursa called the gluteus medius.
Hip bursitis will often get better on its own as long as it is not caused by an infection. To heal your hip bursitis, you will need to rest the affected joint and protect it from any further harm. Most patients feel better within a few weeks with proper treatment.
To diagnose hip bursitis, the doctor will perform a comprehensive physical examination, looking for tenderness in the area of the point of the hip. They may also perform additional tests to rule out other possible injuries or conditions.
Exercise is often prescribed to improve joint pain, so walking could be a vital part of managing your bursitis symptoms.
Diagnosis of hip bursitis
Your doctor might order imaging tests such as x-ray, MRIs, ultrasounds, or bone scans. Ultrasound and MRI specifically are used to confirm the diagnosis when the bursae are too deep for regular inspection.
The one leg test
If you can't stand on your problem leg for longer than a minute – even with the support of a door frame or table-top for balance, then you might have a problem with your hip. There are some other exercises you can try at home to see if you could benefit from hip pain treatment.
During the physical examination, your doctor will evaluate the range of motion in your hip. Increased pain and limitation during some movements may be a sign of inflammatory arthritis. The doctor will also look for a limp or other problems with your gait (the way you walk) due to stiffness of the hip.
Initially, the pain may be located primarily at the outside of the lower hip. Over time the pain may radiate down the outside of the thigh or to other points in the body, such as the lower back, buttock, or groin, and may extend down the outside of the thigh towards the knee.
Try sleeping on your back or, if you're a side sleeper, sleep on the side that doesn't hurt and put a pillow between your knees to keep your hips aligned. Around your hip bone and other joints are small sacs filled with fluid that cushion the joint when it moves.
Chronic pain: Untreated bursitis can lead to a permanent thickening or enlargement of the bursa, which can cause chronic inflammation and pain. Muscle atrophy: Long term reduced use of joint can lead to decreased physical activity and loss of surrounding muscle.
It is essential that you avoid all outer hip and gluteal stretches, during your recovery as this can create pain and limit your progress! You will need to avoid any stretch that takes your knee or your ankle towards your opposite shoulder.
It's also really important when suffering this type of pain, to avoid sitting with you legs crossed. At least until your symptoms settle down. It's also important that you sit with your hips a little bit higher than your knees to prevent compression of the hips tendons and bursa.
Foods that can trigger inflammation may make your pain worse so these are ones to avoid if you can. This includes processed foods (ready meals, sliced meat), caffeine, fizzy juice, sugars (cakes, biscuits etc.), and alcohol.
Since prepatellar bursitis is quite superficial, topical NSAIDs such as diclofenac topical gel (Voltaren Gel) can be very effective, with minimal systemic side effects.
Bursa injections contain steroids that soothe bursitis inflammation and joint pain. The steroid injection eases symptoms of hip bursitis, shoulder bursitis and other types of bursitis. If injections don't relieve symptoms, you may need surgery.