Definition
Hip pain can occur in people of any age. They are one-sided or bilateral and are felt either directly in the hip joint, in the groin or on the lateral thigh, depending on the cause. If the pain occurs at night, it is felt to be particularly stressful and prevents good sleep hygiene. The cause can either lie in the joint itself or be found in the bursae, nerves or muscles. Even an unsuitable mattress can sometimes be the trigger for night-time hip pain.
Causes
Basically, there are many possible causes for nightly hip pain. In general, however, it can be assumed that pain occurring at rest is rather inflammatory, whereas pain occurring during stress is more likely to be caused by wear and tear. An inflammation of the hip joint can be rheumatically caused, if for example a rheumatoid arthritis or a morbus Bechterew exists.
In addition, a metabolic disorder such as gout can rarely lead to inflammation of the hip joint. Bursitis also leads to night-time complaints. It must always be clarified whether the hip pain actually originates from the hip or whether it is radiating pain, e.g. from the spine.
Thus, under certain circumstances, a herniated disc can also lead to nocturnal hip pain. Bursa sacs are small tissue bags a few centimeters in size that are filled with the same fluid that is also found inside joints. They serve as natural cushions and are found in particularly stressed areas of the body, such as large joints or in the space between tendons and bones.
When the bursae become inflamed, there is painful swelling, redness and overheating of the affected area. As a rule, the corresponding joint cannot be fully moved by the pain. The bursitis can occur as a result of trauma, but it can also be the result of over-irritation or incorrect loading of the joint.
Rheumatic diseases or bacterial inflammation after surgery on the corresponding joint can also lead to bursitis. In very rare cases, gout is the cause. There are many bursae at the hip, which lie directly at the hip joint capsule.
Most often, however, an external bursa is affected by an inflammation. This bursa is located on a bony prominence of the thigh bone, over which a large tendon plate passes. This bursa is therefore subject to a great deal of pressure during movement and is quickly over-stimulated.
An inflammation of the bursa of the hip usually manifests itself through hip pain or groin pain. At night, the pain usually occurs when lying on the side of the thigh, as the pressure on the inflammatory bursa lying on the side is increased. With the aging society, the number of people with hip arthrosis is constantly increasing.
Arthrosis refers to wear and tear of the joint cartilage. Due to the missing cartilage, the bones at the joint rub directly against each other. This can be very painful.
The wear and tear of the cartilage is a natural phenomenon in old age. On average, patients are between 50 and 60 years old when the symptoms first occur. The hip arthrosis becomes noticeable through pain in the groin and on the upper, lateral thigh.
Classically, the pain does not initially occur at night, but during the day when the patient is moving. With hip arthrosis, walking uphill is particularly painful and internal rotation is only possible to a limited extent. Particularly painful is the beginning of a movement and very long lasting strains.
As the disease progresses, it becomes chronic and the symptoms also occur at rest and at night. Pain that occurs at night and improves during the day through plenty of exercise is not, on the other hand, indicative of arthrosis. This is rather an inflammatory disease. The diagnosis of hip osteoarthritis is made by the doctor based on the symptoms of the complaint, a physical examination and an X-ray of the hip joint.
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