Hip pain when lying down | Causes of hip pain

Hip pain when lying down

Hip pain when lying down can also be caused by a variety of factors. Often the pain is felt weaker during physical distraction or movement than when the body comes to rest and one can concentrate on the complaints, as is the case when lying down, for example. In the following, the common causes of these symptoms will be explained.

Hip pain when lying down is often seen in people who lie on their side when sleeping. As a result, a certain amount of pressure is automatically exerted on the hip by the body weight, which can cause pain in the hip area during the night or in the morning. This is particularly common when both the sleeping position and the mattress (too hard or too soft) or the slatted frame are considered unfavorable.

Also flu-like infections and associated aching limbs can be made responsible for hip pain when lying down. In many cases, too much strain on the hip joint or the surrounding muscles can also be the cause of hip pain when lying down. In this case, extended training breaks help against the complaints.

Inflammation of the hip joint (coxitis) or inflammation of the bursa (bursitis) can be the cause of such symptoms. Particularly in patients of advanced age, osteoarthritis of the hip joint (coxarthrosis) should also be considered. In this case, the advanced course of the disease not only leads to initial pain, but also to pain at rest.

Pregnant women also frequently complain of hip pain, which is often felt mainly at rest. The cause can be, for example, a loosening of the symphysis, i.e. a loosening of the pelvic girdle, which can lead to considerable pain. Children and adolescents can also suffer from hip pain, which can also manifest itself when lying down.

In this case, consultation with a physician is particularly important, since the complaints can be attributed not only to bone growth during the growth phase, but also to legs of unequal length. A visit to an orthopedic surgeon is essential to rule out a serious illness and to put together a suitable therapy. With the help of a patient survey (anamnesis), a physical examination and imaging diagnostics, in most cases a cause for hip pain can be found while lying down.

If no reason for the complaints can be found, a change in the patient’s own sleeping position, the purchase of another mattress and/or a new slatted frame adapted to the patient’s own physique can help. In addition, the purchase of a side sleeper pillow can also be recommended. These trivial measures already help in many cases to eliminate the annoying hip pain when lying down.

For muscularly caused hip pain, physiotherapy and/or massages are usually a suitable therapy option. This leads to a reduction in muscular tension, which in turn should have a positive effect on hip pain when lying down. Also a change of the load, and/or the training can create remedy.

In acute cases of hip pain it is important to take a break from training for a certain period of time. Although taking painkillers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen can also improve hip pain when lying down, this is always only a treatment of the symptoms and not the actual cause. Therefore, painkillers should only be taken after medical advice. Depending on the diagnosis, further therapeutic measures for hip pain when lying down may be considered.