Hip Anatomy
The hip is one of the body’s largest and hardest-working joints. It supports your full body weight with every step, keeps you balanced and makes it possible to walk, run, climb and move comfortably. When something goes wrong with your hips, it can seriously affect your daily life.
How the Hip Joint Works
The hip is a ball-and-socket joint. The rounded head of the femur (thigh bone) fits into a curved socket in the pelvis called the acetabulum, forming what’s medically known as the acetabulofemoral joint. Several key structures keep it moving smoothly:
- Articular cartilage covers both bones, creating a friction-free surface.
- The acetabular labrum—a ring of tough tissue that rims the socket—deepens the socket, adds stability and seals in synovial fluid, the joint’s natural lubricant.
- The joint capsule and ligaments hold the joint together and limit excessive movement.
- The femoral arteries supply blood to the hip and surrounding tissue.
The Muscles That Move Your Hip
The gluteal muscles (or glute muscles) in your buttocks power hip extension and drive forward movement. The hamstring muscles run along the back of the thigh and work alongside the gluteus maximus to extend the hip and flex the knee. Muscles attached at the greater trochanter, a bony bump on the outer femur, help rotate and stabilize the leg during movement.
Where Is Hip Pain Most Commonly Felt?
Location is one of the most useful clues when it comes to hip pain.
Pain at the front of the hip often signals a problem inside the joint, like a labral tear (damage to the tissue that cushions the socket), femoroacetabular impingement (where the hip bones are abnormally shaped) or osteoarthritis.
Pain on the side of the hip often signals irritation around the outer hip bone. This is usually caused by tendon inflammation, bursitis or IT band issues. Common triggers include muscle imbalances, inactivity or even sitting with your legs crossed.
Pain in the back of the hip can be “referred pain,” meaning it originates elsewhere and travels to the hip. Sciatic nerve compression, hamstring tendinopathy (inflammation of the tendons behind the thigh) or ischiofemoral impingement (pinching at the hip joint) can all produce hip pain.
How Do You Know if Hip Pain Is Bone or Muscle?
It can be hard to tell where hip pain starts. Joint pain usually feels deep and achy in the groin or front of the hip, especially when standing or walking. Muscle pain often feels like burning or tightness along the outer thigh or buttock.
Because back issues or pinched nerves can also cause hip pain, it is important to see a provider. If pain persists or limits your movement, we can help identify the cause and get you back to the activities you love.
Here for Your Hips
For more than 25 years, the experts at Summit Orthopedics have been providing people in our region with expert orthopedic care—including surgical and nonsurgical treatment of hip issues.
Find your Summit Orthopedics hip expert, request an appointment or call us at (651) 968-5201 to schedule a consultation.
