I am 72 and quite active. Three months ago I went to the doctor because I had pain on the outside of my hip. He said I didn’t have osteoarthritis but bursitis. It doesn’t get any less. How did that happen?
On the outside of the hip is a protrusion of the thigh bone: the greater trochanter. This is the attachment point of the muscles that allow you to rotate your leg. Small cracks can occur at the attachments to the bone. That gives an inflammatory reaction with a sharp pain, similar to that of a tennis elbow.
bursa
There is also a bursa over it: a bag of synovial fluid that ensures that it all moves smoothly. It can also ignite. It is often not clear exactly where the problem is, because the entire area participates a bit. Like tennis elbow, it can whine for a long time and come back again and again.
Keep moving well
It is important to keep moving as much as the pain allows, so that there is sufficient blood flow. It is better not to lie on the painful hip, because that hinders the blood flow.
Painkillers
Paracetamol helps with the pain. Anti-inflammatory pain relievers (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen and naproxen also slightly reduce inflammation. Doesn’t all that work? The doctor can also give an injection of a painkiller and an anti-inflammatory agent. That immediately helps. The complaints can come back after a few weeks, but there is also a chance that they will not go away.
