Yes, hip pain is very common in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) due to nerve damage causing spasms, muscle weakness, altered walking (gait), and balance issues, leading to strain on joints, but it can also stem from secondary orthopedic problems like osteoarthritis, making it a frequent and complex symptom. The pain can be direct nerve pain or indirect musculoskeletal pain from how MS affects movement, often felt in the hips, back, and legs.
The most common pains in people with MS are burning pain in the legs or arms, back pain, painful spasms, trigeminal neuralgia (stabbing, intermittent facial pain), and Lhermitte's sign (shock-like sensation down the back and into the arms when dipping your chin to your chest).
Red flags for hip pain needing urgent attention include sudden, severe pain after injury, inability to bear weight, significant swelling/redness/warmth, night pain disrupting sleep, fever, unexplained weight loss, night sweats, neurological symptoms (weakness/numbness), or a history of cancer, as these can signal serious issues like fractures, infections, or malignancy, requiring prompt medical evaluation beyond typical muscle soreness.
Three key warning signs of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) often involve vision problems (like blurred vision or pain with eye movement), numbness or tingling sensations, and fatigue, along with balance issues, weakness, and coordination difficulties, though symptoms vary widely and can include cognitive or bladder problems too.
What are the early symptoms of multiple sclerosis?
Invisible symptoms of MS – fatigue, pain, blurred vision, numbness, and brain fog – which often go unnoticed by other people, can also interfere with daily functioning and be just as debilitating.
Some conditions behind chronic hip pain include hip fracture, arthritis, trochanteric bursitis, and avascular necrosis. If you experience pain or discomfort in your hip, seek immediate medical assistance. You can book an appointment with us by contacting us on our website.
If you experience any of the following symptoms, you should consult an orthopedic physician:
Hip pain is a common problem that can affect people of all ages. Your pain could result from an activity or sport that puts a lot of stress on your hip joint. Or your pain could be caused by some type of arthritis. Or a congenital condition that affects your hip anatomy could be to blame.
Musculoskeletal pain (nociceptive pain)
This type of pain can be caused by other MS symptoms, such as muscle stiffness and spasms. Other symptoms like weakness or balance problems can change how you walk. This may cause hip or back pain.
Dawson fingers are periventricular hyperintensities that that display high specificity for multiple sclerosis over all other demyelinating conditions. Intriguingly, they are also seen in cerebral small vessel diseasespectrum maladies.
The Action Research Arm Test (ARAT) is a 19 item observational measure used by physical therapists and other health care professionals to assess upper extremity performance (coordination, dexterity and functioning) in stroke recovery, brain injury and multiple sclerosis populations.
And this is characterized by attacks, or relapses. We don't know what causes MS, but there are certain factors that may increase the risk or trigger its onset. So while MS can occur at any age, it mostly makes its first appearance in people between the ages of 20 and 40.
However, triggers that may provoke or worsen a multiple sclerosis attack include:
MS-related itching can happen anywhere on the body and can affect one or both sides. It most commonly affects the face, torso, arms, and legs.
If the pain is limited to your groin and coincides with ovulation or your period, the cause could be endometriosis or uterine fibroids rather than a problem with the hip. Urological and gastrointestinal issues, such as gastroenteritis and prostate cancer, could also cause pain that's easily mistaken for a hip injury.
Pain felt on the inside of the hip or in the groin area typically suggests issues within the hip joint itself. Hip pain on the outer side of the hip, upper thigh or outer buttock typically is related to issues with the muscles, ligaments, tendons or other soft tissues, such as bursal sacs, surrounding the hip joint.
A variety of conditions can cause hip pain when sleeping. The most common causes are bursitis, osteoarthritis, sciatic-piriformis syndrome and tendonitis. Other causes include injury to your muscles or soft tissues, pregnancy, the position you sleep in and your bed or pillows.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation throughout your body and attacks your joints. Ankylosing spondylitis is a type of arthritis that inflames your spine and causes pain to travel to your hip.
Bone Cancer. Bone cancers occur due to the abnormal growth of bone cells in your body. Chronic hip pain is one of the major symptoms of bone cancer in the hip. Some patients experience a mass or swelling in the hip.
The good news is that hip pain is treatable. Dealing with the emotional causes of your pain, such as anxiety or depression, can help prevent future discomfort, but it's critical to release the existing stored tension through movement.
Some of the most common symptoms include:
Lifestyle and home remedies
Uncontrollable or inappropriate crying and laughing (Pseudobulbar affect) Pseudobulbar affect (PSA), also called pathological crying or laughing, is uncommon but not rare in MS. It occurs when the brain circuits that link emotions and facial expressions are disrupted.