In the course of biological evolution, man got to his feet from all fours. And the hip joint became his main supporting joint for movement, running, jumping.
Erect erectness, of course, freed the man's hands for labor, but the hip joints were doubly loaded. This is the most powerful joint in our body, but it is not easy for it to cope with stress and diseases. The location of the pain and the causes are varied.
Pain in the back of the thigh while running - causes
There are congenital diseases, acquired as a result of rash actions, diseases. A common cause of hip pain is improper running technique, long-term physical activity, high intensity, weakness or overload of the thigh muscles, bones, ligaments, tendons, etc.
Hip pain can be due to medical conditions. Inflammatory (acute) or chronic. Let's look at the most common reasons.
Hip tension
There are so-called neuromuscular clamps.
Stress can occur:
- the muscle is strained too long and intensely;
- the person does not warm up before exercising.
This phenomenon is especially common among athletes. The risk group includes people with insufficient muscle elasticity, with an injury.
The amount of force that caused the rupture determines the severity of the injury. Perfectly removes tension, deep massage. If you add to this and stretching exercises, the muscle tissue will begin to lengthen, the problem will recede by itself.
Overloading of ligaments, muscles and tendons
Often the cause of pain is physical overload, excessive overexertion of the hip joint. Or excessively active movements lead the body to an overload of the ligaments, muscles, etc. Painful sensations appear over a period of time, sometimes quite long.
This occurs on the side of the spasmodic inflamed muscles and joints. This is especially true for novice athletes who do not follow the training regimen. It can hurt in the hip after jumping, splitting, running, etc. In order not to bring your ligaments, muscles to overload need to adhere to a sparing schedule.
Otherwise, often repeated overloads will necessarily lead to: sprains, ruptures, micro-tears of muscle fibers. Often cases and damage to the joint. Only regular training, preliminary warm-up and the correct dosage of the load will help to avoid pain in the hip.
Osteochondrosis
What does the word - osteochondrosis mean?
Let's analyze in stages:
- osteon - bone;
- chondros - cartilage;
- oz - denotes a non-inflammatory disease.
From this it follows that this is not an inflammatory disease of bone and cartilage, but a degenerative lesion of the intervertebral discs. Over time, the disease progresses to spread to the vertebral tissue. The most important signs of osteochondrosis are pain in the lower back, back of the thigh, and chest.
The dynamics of the disease is negative, especially in the absence of timely and qualified therapy. Atrophy of muscle tissue occurs, sensitivity is impaired, and dysfunction of internal organs occurs. The causes of development are most often: physical overstrain, uneven load on the spine, prolonged stay in an unnatural position, lifting weights, etc.
At stages 1-2, there are almost no symptoms, sometimes pain occurs during exertion, continuous movement. At stages 3-4, a person is no longer mobile enough, numbness and pain in the hips, neck occurs, fibrous ankylosis (joint immobility) occurs.
Arthrosis
Arthrosis of the back of the thigh is a serious, incurable disease of the musculoskeletal system. Over time, degenerative processes begin to appear in the joints, resulting in their deformation and functional inability. The disease can be provoked by: heredity, inflammatory processes, infectious and autoimmune diseases, etc.
Also, arthrosis is promoted by frequent injuries, fractures, bruises, etc. Initially, due to a decrease in the natural volume of the articular fluid, the functions of the joint are only impaired. Soreness is felt mainly when moving.
When running, a person begins to feel only pain in the back of the thigh. Then the inflammation of the soft tissues begins. As a result of the destruction of the cartilaginous layer, the bones begin to crunch. Possible deformation of the hip joint, change in its appearance.
Pinched sciatic nerve
If a person feels constant excruciating pain in the back of the thigh. It can be assumed that the sciatic nerve is pinched. This is most often preceded by osteochondrosis with protrusion, or hernial protrusion of the disc (L5-S1).
This spine carries all the static and mechanical stress. Even at rest, this disk is under tremendous stress. And when playing sports and a weakened muscle frame in the lumbar region, the process of destruction of the cartilaginous disc begins earlier.
The disc quickly loses its natural cushioning properties. And the vertebrae begin to compress the sciatic nerve. At first, this is manifested only by soreness in the lower back, then numbness in the thigh begins. Finally, the patient experiences unbearable pain in the back of the thigh.
The sciatic nerve is the longest, starting in the lower back and ending in the legs. It is also very thick (about the size of a little finger) especially in the pelvic area. Therefore, it is easily pinched in various places. Thus, provoking its pinching.
Most often it is pinched in the lower back, between the lower back and the piriformis muscle (located deep in the thigh). But the pain in hypertonicity brings a person great. Pinching also happens due to damage, injury, severe physical overload.
Bursitis
Bursitis is an occupational disease, observed mainly in athletes: runners, weightlifters, etc. It is characterized by inflammation of the joint capsules, with the formation of exudate in them.
The main signs of bursitis:
- pain in the back of the thigh;
- swelling of the joint;
- disruption of the hip joint.
Acute bursitis always develops after an infectious disease, or overuse or injury. Chronic appears against the background of various articular inflammatory diseases of the joints.
Its localization:
- trochanteric - causes soreness above the trochanter, and in the back of the thigh;
- sciatic-gluteal - there is soreness in the back of the thigh and is especially aggravated when the body is upright.
First aid for pain in the back of the thigh while running
If the pain is associated with an overload of the joint or a minor injury, try giving yourself first aid:
- Stop any physical activity.
- Give a light massage.
- Applying a cold compress or ice will reduce blood flow and therefore ease pain.
- With inflammation of the femoral muscle, you can take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: ibuprofen, nimesulide, etc.
- If there is no swelling, a pain relieving and anti-inflammatory ointment can be used.
- Compression bandages also support the injured area and reduce inflammation.
When to see a doctor?
If the pain in the back of the thigh does not go away for more than 3-4 days, but on the contrary, the painful sensations only intensify. There is unnatural swelling or bruising that did not need to be seen by a therapist earlier.
He will advise which specialist you need to contact and give you a referral. If you cannot get there on your own, call a doctor at home.
Preventive measures
To prevent pain in the back of the thigh, it is recommended:
- Moderate physical activity, do not overexert yourself.
- Dose the load according to your physical fitness.
- Always warm up and stretch your muscles.
- Do not overcool, eat right.
- Treat infectious diseases and endocrine diseases in time.
- Avoid injury.
- After an hour of work at the table, you need to take a break and warm up.
- Weight control, excess weight puts stress on the joints.
Pain in the back of the thigh in a person most often indicates the development of the disease. Therefore, it is necessary to listen to your body and seek medical help in a timely manner if necessary, and not wait until it passes by itself.
This is especially important when the pain is accompanied by dangerous signs: fever, unnatural swelling, dizziness.
