The skeletal structure of the hip includes a ball-and-socket joint in which the head of the femur, or thighbone, is cradled within a socket in the pelvic bone known as the acetabulum. A hairline crack that develops in a bone due to repeated or prolonged forces acting on the bone is known as a stress fracture. In the hip joint, stress fractures most frequently appear in the femoral neck, a length of the femur that branches medially and ends in the femoral head.
Pain
The pain associated with a stress fracture is most often located in the front of the groin on the affected side. This pain is exacerbated by standing and moving, and can become so intense during strenuous activities that the patient often must stop doing such things as running or climbing stairs.
A doctor investigating for possible hip stress fracture may detect tenderness over the greater trochanter, which is the bony outgrowth that protrudes from the lateral side of the hip.
Orthogate, the Internet Society of Orthopaedic Surgery and Trauma, states that this pain may be relieved through the use of hot and cold treatments, or with medication. If surgery is opted for, pain can persist for several months following the procedure while healing of the bone takes place.
Instability
FamilyDoctor.org notes that hip fractures can interfere with the individual's ability to support the body weight on the affected hip. The person who has incurred a stress fracture of the hip may have difficulty walking, due to instability and pain. If the fracture cracks the bone all the way through, the bone may be displaced, causing a difference in length between the affected leg and the unaffected leg.
Following surgery to correct a hip fracture, a patient may require the use of crutches for walker for several months in order to remove pressure from the joint while the bone heals.
Swelling
The body responds to injury by flooding the affected area with histamines. These chemicals in turn cause the blood vessel walls to become more permeable. This allows fluids to flow out of the bloodstream and carry white blood cells to the injury site.
As a result of increased fluids gathering in the area of a hip fracture, swelling may ensue. Inflammation of the synovial lining, which provides lubrication to the inner hip joint, as well as the muscles and tendons of the hip joint, can result in swelling.
