What Can Cause Severe Pain in the Hip Joints?

The hip joints are susceptible to developing a variety of diseases and conditions that can cause severe pain and restrictions in function. These problems range from soft tissue problems in and around the hip joint to musculoskeletal abnormalities affecting the hip bones themselves.

Osteoarthritis

• Osteoarthritis, which is a degenerative, or wear-and-tear, joint disorder causing joint deterioration, commonly affects the hip joints and produces significant hip pain. People ages 50 and older are affected.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

• An autoimmune disorder (in which the body's immune system attacks the body itself), rheumatoid arthritis can affect the hips and cause hip joint deformity and degenerative joint disease, which leads to hip pain, loss of hip function and, eventually, total destruction of the hip joint.

Labral Tears

• The hip joint is partially encapsulated by a thick band of fibrous tissue called the labrum. The labrum helps to stabilize the hip joint and reduce intra-joint friction. Tears to the labrum, which generally occur as the result of a fall, can cause severe hip pain.

Avascular Necrosis

• A disorder that results in loss of blood circulation to the femoral head (the ball portion of the hip joint), avascular necrosis can result in collapse, either partial or complete, of the femoral head, which causes severe hip pain and restricted hip movement.

Hip Dysplasia

• Hip dysplasia, which is a developmental disorder resulting in a malformed hip joint, is a common cause of severe hip pain. This condition alters the normal hip joint anatomy and, over time, can cause degenerative changes in the hip.