Whether you participate in sports or your work requires you to move around, the most common complaint would be inner Thigh Pain. This issue prevents you from completing your tasks and can affect your routine. Inner thigh pain can affect the way you move, walk, run and the pain can also distract you from what you are doing.

Inner thigh pain is more disturbing at night which keeps you awake for long hours. This stabbing pain is mostly experienced by people who are performing intense physical exercises. However, the pain may also appear because of health conditions. The duration of the pain and its severity depends on its cause and may last from only few minutes to hours up to days.

What are the Causes of Inner Thigh Pain?

Inner thigh pain can be severe that may hinder the sufferer from completing daily tasks. Sharp pain can also be experienced when climbing up or down the stairs and can also radiate to other parts of the body such as the groin area and knees. In some cases, the pain extends the entire legs. In addition to pain, stiffness, burning sensation and swelling are also present.

Here are the most common causes of inner thigh pain.

1. Strained/Pulled Muscles

When the muscles are strained or pulled, it can lead to inner thigh pain. Strained muscles are a common injury when the muscles are over pulled or stretched. The pain resulted from overstretched can affect the flexibility or mobility of the person temporarily, depending on its severity. People who just started performing running or jumping exercises are also likely to experience inner thigh pain as the muscles new to the activity.

• Hamstring injury – Sudden contraction of the hamstrings muscles can lead to pain or strain. This usually occurs when the hamstrings are less developed than quadriceps muscles.

Runners and persons engaging with sports or intense physical activities are prone to experiencing muscle strain. Depending on the range of strain, the pain can be mild or severe. Inner thigh pain can be severe if a muscle connecting the thigh bone to pubic bone is ruptured completely.

If the cause of your inner thigh pain is muscular and it is not too severe, you can easily treat yourself at home by resting your legs and refrain from any physical activity. You can also apply an ice pack to the affected area to alleviate the swelling.

Read:How to Pop Back Your Dislocated Shoulder

2. Incorrect Positions

• Hip and Pelvis – Your hip, pelvis and lower back all work together. The femur (thigh bone), and pelvis make up the joint of the hip and improper positions of the pelvis can lead to sharp inner high pain as these areas receive stress through the joint.
• Rotated Femur – Another cause of inner thigh pain is the position of the femur. If this thigh bone is rotated externally or internally, the thigh muscles are compressed and results to pain. You may also feel numbness or tingling sensation around the area and the pain can extend to other parts of your legs.

These positions have to be corrected immediately. If not, the hip muscles cannot work properly and will lead to additional strains and joint compression. This will later on lead to deterioration of the femur and hip joint.

3. Kidney Stones

Inner thigh pain can be a sign that the sufferer has kidney stones. If there is a high level of a certain substance in urine, this forms small crystalline matter or kidney stones. These are formed when the volume of urine is decreased or when there is an excess of crystalline matter forming in your urine. The most common type of kidney stone comprises of calcium with either phosphate or oxalate. Other chemical compounds include amino acid cysteine, uric acid and magnesium ammonium phosphate.

One factor that leads to the creation of the stones is dehydration. Aside from inner thigh pain, the symptoms also include blood in the urine, High intake of salt, animal protein, sugar, vitamin D supplements and oxalate-containing foods contribute to the formation of stones.

If kidney stone is the cause of your inner thigh pain, make sure that you drink plenty of water to flush out the formed chemicals in your kidney. You should also seek medical help as the kidney stones can be in a difficult position or they are too big.

Read:10 Natural Home Remedies for Kidney Stones

4. Inguinal (Groin) Hernia

Inguinal hernia occurs when the tissue pushes through your open groin muscle and leads to a bulge in your scrotum or groin. The main cause of inguinal hernia is the opening of the muscle wall that did not close. This makes the area weak and applying pressure on that part can cause the tissue to push through the groin. One symptom of inguinal hernia is inner thigh pain.

You can determine if your inner thigh pain is caused by inguinal hernia if there is a bulge in your scrotum or groin. It usually looks or feels like a lump and can stay for weeks or months. People who have been lifting, straining, bending, coughing and also laughing can develop hernia. Pregnant women are also prone to hernia due to the pressure on their belly walls.

Some people feel better when lying down. But this may get worse in time, or may not. For painless hernias, surgery is not needed. But painful hernia may require surgery in order to fix them. Until your surgery, you will be advised to stop from doing straining activities to prevent the hernia from pushing through further.

5. Pubis Dysfunction

This condition usually occurs to pregnant women. The pelvic bone becomes unstable as the pelvic ligament that keeps the bone in place relaxes to allow the baby’s withdrawal. The symptoms of pubis dysfunction include sharp pain in the pelvic region and may extend to other areas such as the inner thigh. The pain can affect your daily tasks, even when waking and standing.

If your inner thigh pain is caused by unstable pelvis, you can purchase a belt that supports the pelvic area. You can also seek help from a physician if the pain is unbearable.

6. Osteoarthritis

Another cause of inner thigh pain is a disease of the joints or osteoarthritis. Unlike other types of arthritis, osteoarthritis does not affect other organs but it the affected joints are painful. Other symptoms of osteoarthritis include stiffness and joint pain. The most common cause of osteoarthritis is aging but it can also occur because of injury and obesity. The stiffness of the joints may also occur after a long period of inactivity. One example is sitting in the car for long hours. Complete loss of cartilage or severe osteoarthritis produces friction between the bones. This leads to pain and prevents the sufferer from moving around.

You can manage the symptoms of osteoarthritis. People who are overweight are advised to lose weight in order to reduce the amount of pressure on their joints. Mild exercises like walking, yoga and swimming are also recommended and intense physical activities should be avoided.

7. Osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma, also called osteogenic sarcoma, is a type of cancer that arises in the bones. Even though it can occur at any age, osteosarcoma usually occurs in young adults and children. It usually occurs when the bones are developing fast, like the ends of long bones. Some of the cancer starts around the knee but it can start in any bone, such as the jaw, shoulder and pelvis for adults. Other symptoms of osteosarcoma include swelling, tenderness, inner thigh pain and redness of the affected region.

It is required to perform a bone biopsy to make sure that it is really osteosarcoma. One of the treatments is chemotherapy, which can reduce the size of the cancer growth. Then surgery will be done to remove the bone.

Treatments for Inner High Pain:

Here are the most common treatments for inner thigh pain:

• RICE treatment (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) – The basic treatment for inner thigh pain is RICE. You need to rest, apply ice, compression and elevate the affected area.
• Anti-inflammatory medication – The most common medicines for body pain are Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen. These can alleviate inflammation and reduce the redness in the affected region. You can also apply anti-inflammatory ointments for inner thigh pain.
• Cold Compress – You can apply ice packs on the affected area to reduce inflammation but do not apply it directly to the skin as it can lead to circulatory issues. Use the ice packs up to 30 minutes only.
• Massage – Massages can stimulate the flow of blood which can improve the process of healing.
• Heat Compress – You can also apply something warm on the area to alleviate the pain.
• Physical therapy – Perform mild butt and thigh exercises. These are recommended for groin and adductor pulls.
• Hydro-physical therapy – It is easier to move under water, which promotes faster recovery. People who are suffering from pelvic dysfunction are recommended to perform hydro-physical therapy.
• Elastic bandages – You can use elastic bandages to support your strained muscles. This can help in alleviating the pain.

The post Causes and Treatments for Inner Thigh Pain appeared first on Natural Remedy Ideas.