Hip Pain at Different Ages: From Sports Injuries to Arthritis
Understanding Hip Pain Throughout Your Lifespan: Causes, Prevention, and Treatment
Hip pain doesn’t have an age limit. Whether you’re a teenager experiencing your first sports injury, a young adult battling mysterious groin pain, or an older adult managing arthritis, hip problems affect millions across every stage of life. The challenge is that hip pain looks different at different ages—what causes pain in a 16-year-old athlete differs dramatically from what triggers pain in a 60-year-old. At Signature Orthopedics, we recognize that effective hip care requires understanding these age-specific differences. A growth plate injury in a young athlete demands different treatment than age-related arthritis in a senior. That’s why our orthopedic specialists take a comprehensive, age-appropriate approach to hip pain diagnosis and treatment. We understand that hip pain at any age can significantly impact your quality of life, athletic performance, and daily function. Early diagnosis and treatment are crucial—especially for younger patients, where prompt intervention can prevent long-term complications and preserve natural hip function for decades to come.
Hip Pain in Young Athletes: Growth Plate Injuries and Sports Trauma
Understanding Youth Hip Injuries
Adolescents and young athletes face unique hip injury risks. Young athletes are at particular risk for various apophyseal and epiphyseal injuries due to lack of ossification of cartilaginous growth plates. These growth plates don’t fully harden until the mid-20s, making them vulnerable to fractures and avulsion injuries.
Hip avulsion injuries occur when a small piece of bone attached to a tendon gets pulled away from the pelvis due to very high forces, often happening in sprinting activities including football, basketball, soccer, and track. Slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE) develops between ages 10-15 and can cause significant pain during sports, with delayed treatment potentially disrupting blood supply and increasing arthritis risk.
Why Early Treatment Matters
The danger with youth hip injuries is that many are dismissed as “growing pains.” If left untreated, hip pain in children, teens, and young adults can become worse and eventually lead to early arthritis. This is particularly concerning because untreated injuries compound over time, setting the stage for arthritis in the patient’s 30s or 40s rather than their 60s.
Hip Pain in Young and Middle-Aged Adults: Impingement and Structural Issues
Femoroacetabular Impingement (FAI)
Hip shape abnormalities were present in 87 percent of young patients complaining of hip pain, with FAI being a common cause of hip pain in teenage athletes. FAI occurs when either the ball or socket portion of the hip joint is malformed, causing the femoral head and acetabulum to rub together painfully and eventually damage the labrum.
What makes FAI particularly tricky is that athletes or physically active young adults may experience FAI symptoms such as hip pain, limping and stiffness earlier than those who are not active, and FAI must be treated promptly or it can cause labral tears and advance osteoarthritis.
Labral Tears and Hip Dysplasia
Hip labrum injury, FAI, and ligamentum teres injury are common sports-related hip pathologies in young athletes. When the labrum tears, the hip joint loses stability and lubrication, eventually causing deep, sharp pain in the hip or groin, a locking sensation, feelings of instability, and weakness.
Hip dysplasia is a disorder where the hip socket does not fully cover the head of the femur, creating an unstable hip, and it’s the leading cause of hip arthritis for people under 60.
Hip Pain in Older Adults: Managing Arthritis and Degeneration
Age-Related Changes
Older athletes are more likely to present with tendinitis and are at risk for degenerative arthritis and fracture of the femur and pelvis. Although osteoarthritis has traditionally been considered a disease of older age, hip OA can and does affect younger adults, with obesity and history of traumatic injury being key risk factors.
The Role of Prevention Across Lifespans
The common thread across all age groups is that early intervention matters. Hip preservation treatments are designed to improve and prolong natural hip function in an effort to prevent arthritis and, ultimately, eliminate the need for total hip replacement later in life.
Taking Action: Your Next Steps
Hip pain at any age deserves professional evaluation. Whether you’re a young athlete, an active adult, or managing age-related changes, understanding your hip pain is the first step toward effective treatment.
Ready to address your hip pain and restore your mobility? Contact Signature Orthopedics today to schedule a comprehensive hip evaluation with our orthopedic specialists. We offer age-appropriate treatment options designed to get you back to the activities you love—whether that’s competitive sports, recreational fitness, or simply enjoying daily life without pain. Call us or visit our website to book your appointment.