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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Symptoms
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Prevention and Risk Factors
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Living With
• Specifics

See, Play and Learn

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Research

• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Teenagers
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Your hip is the joint where your femur (thigh bone) meets your pelvis (hip bone). There are two main parts: a ball at the end of the femur, which fits in a socket in the pelvis. Your hip is known as a ball-and-socket joint. This is because you have a ball at the end of your femur, and it fits into a socket in your pelvis. This makes your hips very stable and allows for a wide range of motion. When they are healthy, it takes great force to hurt them. However, playing sports, running, overuse, or falling can sometimes lead to hip injuries such as:

• Strains
• Bursitis
• Dislocations
• Fractures (broken bones)

Certain diseases also lead to hip injuries or problems. Osteoarthritis can cause pain and limited motion. Osteoporosis of the hip causes weak bones that break easily. Both of these are common in older people.

Another problem is hip dysplasia, where the ball at the end of the femur is loose in the hip socket. It can cause hip dislocation. Babies who have hip dysplasia are usually born with it, but sometimes they develop it later.

Treatment for hip disorders may include rest, medicines, physical therapy, or surgery, including hip replacement.

Start Here

• Hip Problems (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish

Symptoms

• Iliotibial Band Syndrome (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

• Bone X-Ray (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
• Direct Arthrography (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
• Hip Pain (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Hip Problems (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
• Hip Ultrasound (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
• Musculoskeletal MRI (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
• Musculoskeletal Ultrasound (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
• X-Ray Exam: Hip (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Prevention and Risk Factors

• Preventing Falls and Hip Fractures (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Treatments and Therapies

• Hip Replacement: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Iliotibial Band Syndrome (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Living With

• Hip Rehabilitation Exercises (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons)
• Mobility Aids: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• Femoroacetabular Impingement (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons)
• Fracture after Total Hip Replacement (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons)
• Hip Fracture (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Hip Labral Tear (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Inflammatory Arthritis of the Hip (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons)
• Pigmented Villonodular Synovitis (PVNS) (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Femoral Neck Fractures (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Hip Dislocation (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Hip Fractures (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Hip Injuries (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Pelvis (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Quick pathway for patients with high pRobability of dislocatEd hemiarthroplasty or...
• Article: Influences of social support following hip-fracture surgery for older adults with...
• Article: A randomized controlled trial of teriparatide for accelerating bone union and...
• Hip Injuries and Disorders -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Also in Spanish
• Find a Doctor in American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons (American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons)
• Find a Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Physician (American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation)
• National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Also in Spanish

Children

• Developmental Dislocation (Dysplasia) of the Hip (DDH) (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons)
• Hip Problems in Infants (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
• Legg-Calvé-Perthes Disease (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Toxic Synovitis, or Transient Synovitis of the Hip (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
• Ultrasound: Infant Hip (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• X-Ray Exam: Pelvis (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation)

Teenagers

• Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Developmental dysplasia of the hip (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Getting your home ready - knee or hip surgery (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Greater trochanteric pain syndrome (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Hip arthroscopy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Hip flexor strain -- aftercare (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Hip fracture - discharge (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Hip fracture surgery (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Hip joint injection (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Hip pain (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Legg-Calve-Perthes disease (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Slipped capital femoral epiphysis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish