Bad posture, injuries, or strain can lead to pain in your lower back and hips. It can also be caused by arthritis, slipped discs, or being overweight. Effective treatment is widely available. Many people experience lower back pain. Nearly 80% of adults experience lower back pain at some point in their lives, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. The pain can feel like a dull ache or sharp feelings that make it hard to move and enjoy life.
Causes of Hip Pain And Lower Back Pain
Following are the causes of hip pain and lower back pain:
Muscle Strain
Acute back pain usually comes from strained muscles. Sprains happen when ligaments are stretched too far or torn. Strains happen when a tendon or muscle is stretched too much and may even tear. At first, you might feel back pain, but you could also notice a dull ache in your hips.
Sprains and strains are treated with stretching, and if they are severe, physical therapy may be needed. See your doctor if your pain gets worse to get the right treatment and check for any serious injuries.
Pinched Nerve
A pinched nerve in your back, spine, or hip can cause sharp pain, tingling, and discomfort. It happens when bones, muscles, or tissues put too much pressure on a nerve. Pressure can harm nerves, leading to pain, numbness, and weakness. Old scar tissue from past injuries can squeeze nerves. Other reasons for pinched nerves are arthritis, stress, and repeated movements.
This condition causes temporary pain and usually doesn’t lead to lasting damage. Continuous pressure on nerves can lead to lasting pain and permanent damage to the nerves. Rest is the main way to treat a pinched nerve. If your muscles or nerves are not working well, your doctor might suggest physical therapy to help you move better and get stronger. Your doctor might give you anti-inflammatory medicine to help relieve pain for a short time. You might need surgery if you have serious nerve damage.
Arthritis
Back and hip pain often comes from arthritis. You can also feel it in the front of your thigh and groin. Arthritis, joint inflammation, is often caused by aging and wear and tear.
Common symptoms of arthritis are:
- Pain, swelling, and stiffness.
- limited movement and numbness
Treating arthritis focuses on easing pain and helping movement. Your doctor might give you pain relief medicine or anti-inflammatory medicine. They may prescribe disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs to slow or stop your immune system from attacking your joints. Your back pain doctor in Dallas might suggest physical therapy to help make your joints stronger and improve how far you can move them. Surgery might be necessary for serious cases.
Herniated Disc
Herniated discs happen when the soft center of a spinal disk pushes through its tough outer layer. This can irritate nearby nerves, leading to pain and numbness. Some people with herniated discs may not feel any pain. Along with back pain, you might also feel pain in your thigh. Hip and butt pain with tingling and weakness.
Your doctor might give you painkillers and muscle relaxants for herniated disks. If your symptoms get worse or your well-being decreases, surgery or physical therapy might be beneficial.
SIJ Dysfunction
The SI joint connects your hip bones to your sacrum, the triangular bone between the lumbar spine and the tailbone. This joint helps reduce shock between the upper body, pelvis, and legs. Hip, back, and groin pain can occur due to a strain or injury in the SI joint. Treating SI joint pain can help lessen discomfort and improve movement.
Your doctor says that resting, taking pain medicine, and using hot and cold packs can help relieve muscle tension and swelling. Joint steroid injections are helpful. In serious situations, your doctor might suggest surgery.
How to Take Care of Your Hips and Lower Back Pain?
Most people get better from back and hip pain in a few weeks or months. You can use home therapies to help relieve back and hip pain.
Self-care for lower back and hip pain includes:
- Leaning back.
- Warm up or cool down the area that is affected.
- Over-the-counter painkillers like Tylenol (acetaminophen) and Advil/Motrin (ibuprofen).
- Stay active to keep your muscles strong and flexible.
- Avoid heavy lifting to help reduce back and hip pain.
- Managing your weight and eating foods that help strengthen your bones.
- Feeling at ease in shoes with low heels.
- Sleeping on your side helps reduce pressure on your spine.
- Don’t smoke to improve blood flow to your lower back.
Medical Treatment for Hip and Lower Back Pain
Most people with lower back and hip pain do not require a lot of medical treatment. Over-the-counter pain relief medicines, gels, patches, creams, and self-care methods can be helpful. Your doctor might recommend medications or physical therapy to help you feel better. Complementary and alternative therapies might be helpful. Surgery is the last option for treating back and hip pain.
Prescription Medicines
If your symptoms are serious, your doctor may give you stronger treatments.
Prescribed drugs may include:
- Rx anti-inflammatories.
- Topical products with lidocaine and ibuprofen prescribed by a doctor.
- Muscle relaxants used for muscle spasms.
- Antidepressants can be used for other purposes because they change how pain is felt and help with nerve pain.
- Oral or muscle-injected steroids: An injection can help reduce pain or swelling. An oral corticosteroid can help reduce hip and back pain caused by inflammation.
- Opioids help relieve pain in the brain and body and are used for intense pain. Opioids are prescribed cautiously due to addiction risk.
- Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and biologic drug therapies to manage inflammatory arthritis conditions that affect the spine and lead to back and hip pain
Physical Therapy
If back and hip pain lasts more than a few weeks and affects your daily activities, your doctor might suggest physical therapy. Physical therapy helps lessen pain and enhances movement and the ability to perform tasks. A physical therapist can teach you exercises to manage symptoms, offer manual therapy, and advise you on better ways to move and engage in activities to reduce pain and prevent it from worsening.
Outlook
Back and hip pain are frequent issues. They may also indicate more serious illnesses. If your pain worsens or is accompanied by irregular symptoms, schedule a visit to the pain center in Plano. You and your doctor can talk about the best way to treat your pain and help you feel better.