severe hip pain after a fall, sudden severe hip pain without injury, or hip pain not improving after two weeks: when to seek care

Start with safety rather than a home diagnosis. Severe hip pain after a fall with an inability to walk or put weight through the leg is an emergency pattern. Tingling or loss of feeling in the hip or leg after an injury is another emergency sign. Go to an emergency department or use local emergency services; do not drive yourself if doing so is unsafe. Do not attempt deep squats, repeated leg lifts, a long walk or a forceful stretch to prove that the hip is not seriously injured. The NHS lists these symptoms for immediate emergency care and notes that severe pain with inability to walk after a fall or injury can occur with hip fracture. [1]

The absence of a fall does not make severe pain safe to watch. Sudden severe hip pain without injury merits urgent same-day assessment. The urgency is higher when the hip is hot or swollen, surrounding skin has changed colour, or pain occurs with a high temperature, feeling hot, cold or shivery, or feeling unwell. These features do not identify the cause; they are reasons for prompt assessment. If the person becomes very unwell or cannot access timely urgent care, use emergency services. See hip pain warning signs for a compact reminder. [1]

Pain location and timing can make a consultation more useful, but neither replaces assessment. Hip-related pain may be felt at the groin, outer hip, buttock, thigh or lower back. Notice whether it began at the moment of a fall, appeared during a new activity, developed gradually, or woke you at night. Record whether stairs, getting in or out of a car, standing from a chair, or lying on one side changes it. Limping, reduced range of motion, warmth, swelling and tenderness may accompany different hip problems. A clinician combines history with examination and, when appropriate, tests; a symptom pattern alone cannot reliably name the cause. [3]

It is tempting to label every outer-hip ache as a strain or every groin pain as arthritis. Hip pain has many possible causes. The NHS links different patterns with broad possibilities including strain, tendon problems, osteoarthritis, bursitis, fracture and joint infection, but these associations are not a diagnosis tool. At home, distinguish emergency, urgent and routine patterns rather than named conditions. Our page on when to see a doctor for hip pain expands on that decision without replacing examination. [1]

Preparing for care is not about arriving with a diagnosis. Note the date and approximate time symptoms began, the mechanics of any fall or twist, and whether pain was immediate or later. Describe the most painful area: groin, outside of the hip, buttock, upper thigh or lower back. Say whether pain travels down the leg and whether there is numbness, pins and needles, weakness, swelling, heat, colour change, fever or a break in the skin. If someone is helping you, ask them to bring the information rather than asking the injured person to repeat painful movements for demonstration.

Bring or have ready a list of regular medicines, allergies, previous hip or back operations, and relevant scans or reports. Hospital guidance notes that a medical history and physical examination are central to assessment, and imaging or laboratory tests may be considered according to the situation. Do not assume an old scan explains a new symptom, or that an image alone explains every painful movement. The clinician decides whether imaging, blood tests, referral, rehabilitation advice or another step is appropriate. A photograph of visible colour change or swelling may help only if it does not delay care and can be shared privately with the clinician. [3]