Hip Joint

What is the hip joint?

The hip joint is where your thigh bone connects to your pelvis. It’s the second biggest joint in your body after your knees.

Your hips are ball-and-socket joints. A rounded ball at the top of your thigh bone fits into a socket in your pelvis. They get their medical name from this connection. This socket is the acetabulum. And your thigh bone is your femur. So, the medical term for the hip joint is the acetabulofemoral joint.

What does the hip joint do?

The hip joint has several important functions, including:

• Supporting your body weight
• Helping you maintain your balance
• Moving your upper legs

Your hips can move in lots of directions. You use them for almost any motion that uses your legs or torso. They can:

• Flex your legs up
• Extend your legs out
• Rotate your legs and torso
• Move your legs in a circle

Where is the hip joint?

Your hips are where your upper legs meet your torso. You have one hip joint at the top of each thigh. They’re just below your waist.

What are they made of?

Your hips are made of:

• Bones: Your femurs connect to your pelvis to form your hip joints.
• Cartilage: The top of your femurs and the sockets in your pelvis are both covered in cartilage. It helps your bones move smoothly. It also acts like a shock absorber to protect your hips.
• Muscles: Lots of muscles help your hips move. They also help you keep your balance. Hip muscles include your gluteal muscles, adductors, iliopsoas muscles, quadriceps and hamstrings.
• Ligaments: These are tough, flexible bands of tissue. They hold the bones in your hips together.
• Tendons: Tendons are like ligaments. But they connect muscles to bones. They anchor all the muscles in your hips to your bones.
• Nerves: Your hip joints are connected to three nerves. The femoral, obturator and superior gluteal nerves give your hips the sense of feeling.

What are the common conditions that affect hips?

Some hip conditions include:

• Hip arthritis: The most common type is osteoarthritis. But there are several forms that can cause pain and stiffness in your hips.
• Osteoporosis: Osteoporosis weakens your bones and increases your risk of broken bones. It usually doesn’t cause symptoms. Talk to a healthcare provider about a bone density test if you’re over 50 or know you have a biological family history.
• Hip dysplasia: This happens when your hip joints don’t fit together like they should. It’s most common in babies and young children.

Your hips are usually very strong and stable. But hip injuries can happen. That’s because you use them for so many motions and activities. Some hip injuries can include:

• Hip strains: Strains are common sports injuries. Anything that stretches your hip muscles too far can tear them.
• Hip bursitis: Bursitis happens when something irritates or damages the fluid-filled sacs that cushion your hip joints.
• Dislocated hips: These happen when something puts too much force on your hip. The top of your thigh bone can pop out of your hip socket.
• Broken hips: Any trauma, like a fall or car accident, can break your pelvis or femur. A broken hip is a serious injury. Especially for people over 65.

Signs of a hip issue

Some of the most common hip symptoms include:

• Hip pain
• Stiffness
• Swelling
• Trouble moving your hips as far or as smoothly as usual

Everyone has the occasional ache or pain. And you might be stiff after vegging out on the couch for an afternoon. But don’t ignore symptoms that last more than a week or two. Visit a healthcare provider if you’re experiencing pain or any other symptom that makes it hard to move or use your hips.