Causes of Lower Back and Hip Pain

Introduction
A large number of American adults suffer from acute lower back and hip pain, which makes their daily life miserable. Lower back and hip pain not just affects your daily schedule at work and leisure; it might have serious consequences, leading to chronic bone or nerve problems. The key to correct the pain is to first figure out the root causes and then treat them accordingly. There are various causes of lower back and hip pain; however, each individual may experience the pain for a different reason.

About Lower Back and Hip Pain

Pain in the lower back can be horrible in itself and when it comes along with a hip pain, it can be really awful. The worst part of the fact is most of the time you might experience lower back and hip pain together. Though this pain is often associated with the aging process, it is very much possible that lower back and hip pain may even happen to young adults due to a variety of causes.

Primary Causes
Inflammations, mis-alignment of the joints and muscle tightness or weakness are some of the primary aspects that cause back pain. These conditions often contribute to hip pain arising from the piriformis syndrome, which further leads to sciatic nerve inflammation. Often, these conditions are created due to a strain or injury in the lower back which flows down to the hips.

Distortion of the pelvis may also lead to lower back and hip pain as the pelvis is attached to the hips. Partial dislocation in the hip joints is caused due to instability of the hips and the disbalanced hip joints lead to lower back and hip pain.

Risks
Certain conditions may aggravate the chances of lower back and hip pain. Pregnancy, over-stress, stooping or bending jobs, smoking, aging, arthritis, diseases or infection in pelvis or the organs of the lower abdomen, heavy lifting jobs, fracture, serious illness (such as kidney stones, tuberculosis, ovarian cysts, spondylitis etc), obesity are some of those.

Types of Pain
Clinically the pain in the lower back and hip are classified under three categories, namely, acute, sub-acute and chronic.

An acute pain is caused due to excessive use of the back muscles or due to traumatic accidental injuries. This kind of pain is followed by a movement or strain that occurs suddenly. In cases of acute pain, usually soft tissues such as ligaments, tendons etc are damaged. Some of the common symptoms of acute pain include lack of adequate sleep, stiffness, finding difficulty in walking, constipation etc.

Patients suffering from sub-acute pain might require a few weeks to return to their normal lifestyle.

As the name suggests, chronic pain lasts for a longer period of time and in some cases, the patient might never fully recover but only be able to keep it less through exercise or medication. Physical conditions such as slip disc, rheumatoid arthritis, spinal disc herniation, osteoarthritis, vertebral fracture might lead to chronic pain.

Other Important Factors
Some of the other important factors that contribute to the combination of lower back and hip pain include the difference in the length of two legs, bone tumors, incorrect posture and mobility and motion of the hip. Excessive depression, oxygen deficiency, pinched nerves, sciatica, spinal arthritis, muscle injury, hip bursitis, osteoporosis etc. are also considered to be significant conditions, leading to lower back and hip pain.

Symptoms
Some of the symptoms that should be looked for in order to diagnose lower back and hip pain are sudden fevers with back pain along with night sweat, pain in the upper spinal, a pain that has been a result of an accident, injury or trauma and is only getting worse with time. Any structural disorder in the leg, feet or joints and a record of cancer or HIV positive can also be aspects to be taken care of while diagnosing pain in the lower back and hip.

Treatments
It is always advisable to consult your doctor in case you experience any unusual pain in your lower back and hip area. Depending on the patient’s age and root cause, different types of treatments are employed to cure this pain. While some causes can be treated with chiropractic treatment and Chinese ways such as massage, acupuncture etc.; use of herbal medicine, anti-inflammatory enzymatic therapy, homeopathy, allopathic and Yoga are common for others. Stretch exercises and physical therapy along with adequate rest can also be very useful for certain conditions, whereas in some cases the patient might need to opt for surgical solutions.

Conclusion
Proper diagnosis and treatment of lower back and hip pain can only happen once the root cause is identified. Therefore, it is essential to consult a specialist immediately if the pain persists for an unusual period of time.