Hip pain is a fairly common complaint which may be caused due to various problems. If you have pain on the inside of the hip or in the groin, the trouble could be within the joint. In case of pain on the outside of the hip, there could be a problem with muscles, ligaments, tendons and other soft tissues which encase the hip joint.
Occasionally, hip pain may be caused due to a disorder in other areas of your body, such as your lower back. Hence, you need to get a few tests and investigations carried out, to ascertain the precise cause in your case.
What Causes Hip Pain After Sleeping?
- Wrong mattress: Often, the cause of hip pain at night could be due to the fact that the mattress is too soft or too hard. If the spine and hips are not supported well when you sleep, they become painful. You will need professional help to understand your posture type as well as the right mattress which will best support your posture, before you buy a new mattress.
- Lower back trouble: If the lower back is stiff and painful, then more strain may be placed on the hip joint, at night and when lying in certain positions.
- Osteoarthritis: Wear and tear in the cartilage of the hip joint causes immense hip pain. It tends to get inflamed and is often worse at night.
- Rheumatoid arthritis: When your immune system attacks the healthy tissue in your joints, the joint swells, gets inflamed and red and is painful.
- Tight muscles: If the muscles around the hip are tight, a lot of strain gets placed on the hip joint in certain lying positions.
- Tendonitis: If you exercise a lot or have started a new fitness regime, the tendons surround the hip bone can get inflamed. The tendons tend to lose some of their flexibility with age as well. This can trigger hip pain, which may be experienced at night or whilst resting.
- Sciatica: When the sciatic nerve, (which travels from the spine to the back of the legs) gets pinched or inflamed, it triggers night time hip pain.
Natural Ways To Relieve Hip Pain While Sleeping
If the hip pain is minor, you don’t need to consult your health care provider. Try these self-care guidelines:
- Rest: Make sure that you give the painful area complete rest. Stay away from repeated bending movements at the hip and never put direct pressure on the joint. Do not sleep on the afflicted side and steer clear of sitting in one posture for long periods of time.
- Pain relievers: You could try over-the-counter analgesics to allay the hip pain.
- Ice and / or heat: Use ice cubes wrapped in a towel over the hip. On the other hand, a warm bath may reduce pain.
- Gentle massage affords relief as well. Use base oil such as olive oil or coconut oil and blend in an essential oil such as clove, nutmeg or ginger; these essential oils work powerfully on the muscles and reduce pain and tension in them.
- Schedule a few sessions with a physical therapist; exercises stretch and strengthen the muscle surrounding the joint and also improve the range of motion.
- If self care does not provide relief, you need to consult your health care provider without wasting too much time. Also, it is vital to have investigations done to understand the precise cause, more so, if there is an underlying medical condition which could aggravate with time.