Burning hip pain is caused by a multitude of conditions like bursitis, tendinitis, a pulled muscle or a pinched nerve. Burning hip pain can feel like a sharp, searing or achy pain in the upper outer thigh. This often results from inflammation. And, if it lingers, it can be debilitating. When left untreated, the pain can become so severe that you may end up unable to walk.

The hip joint is a ball and socket joint. There is cartilage that covers the ball of the thigh bone and lines the socket of the pelvic bone. Your tendons attach muscles in the upper leg and thigh. Burning hip pain develops when any of these components—cartilage, muscles, tendons, nerves or the joint space—are defective, injured or not working properly. 

The hip joint is the largest weight-bearing joint in the human body. It helps the hip remain stable during twisting and extreme ranges of motion. A healthy hip joint allows you to walk, squat and turn smoothly without pain. 

Here are some common causes of hip pain.

Hip impingement, also known as Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI), occurs when the labrum, a thick cartilage that acts like a bumper cushion around the ball and socket hip joint, tears away from the socket. The bones of the hip joint—the acetabulum and the proximal femur—rub against one another during movement, which causes pain.

The wearing down of the cartilage and the friction caused by the rubbing of these two bones causes degenerative changes and osteoarthritis. This can sometimes produce a burning sensation that can also be accompanied by a sharp, stabbing sensation similar to an electric shock.

FAI usually develops from hip deformities or traumatic injury. The pain from this can be felt in the groin area and the outer hip. It’s often worse at night and may be mild, moderate, or severe.

People with FAI often find that it interferes with important parts of life such as sleep, sex, work and exercise.

Hip bursitis is one of the most common causes of burning hip pain. The hip has small, jelly-like sacs, called bursa that help cushion the bones and soft tissues in the joint. The bursa, which usually reduce friction, can become inflamed after repetitive motion injuries or certain medical conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, gout or diabetes.

People with hip bursitis may report a burning sensation as well as sharp, achy pain in the hip and outer thigh. For many people, the pain worsens at night, when lying on the hip, or when getting up after a period of rest. Prolonged activity like walking, climbing stairs, or squatting may also make the pain worse. Injury, like falling on the hip or banging it on a hard surface, athletic activities, and hip-related surgery are the most common causes of hip bursitis.

Meralgia paresthetica is a neurological disorder. It happens when your lateral femoral cutaneous nerve, the nerve that provides sensation to the thigh, becomes trapped. This causes numbness and/or burning pain on the outer part of the thigh.

Wearing tight clothes or belts, obesity, and pregnancy are the most common causes of meralgia paresthetica, although injury and diabetes may cause nerve entrapment. Meralgia paresthetica improves by wearing loose clothing or treating the underlying condition.

If you’ve ever experienced a sharp, burning sensation or numbness and tingling that travels down your leg, after a long period of sitting, you may have a pinched nerve in your hip. If the nerve is pinched for a prolonged period of time, it may even cause weakness. Obesity, a herniated disc, arthritis and/or a strained muscle may cause a pinched nerve. Pain is usually felt in the groin and radiates down the thigh or buttocks.

Hip arthritis mainly occurs in old age due to the wearing away of joint cartilage. This leaves the raw bone beneath it exposed. Without the cartilage pad to protect from friction, pain and stiffness set in. If left untreated, you may develop a joint deformity, which may require hip replacement surgery. Mild burning sensation of the hip may be resolved through modifying activity, medications and/or injections.

Sacroiliac joint pain is accompanied by inflammation at the point of insertion, where the backbone meets the pelvis. The sacrum is made of fused, immovable bones in the spine that attach to the right and left iliac bones of the hip. Together this joint supports the weight of the entire upper body. Repetitive joint use, uneven leg length, previous spine surgery, pregnancy, injury or trauma to ligaments surrounding SI joint and gout can lead to sacroiliac joint dysfunction.

The pain is typically worse with walking or standing and is relieved when lying down. Compression of the joint space and inflammation can cause a burning sensation or stiffness in the pelvic region. Oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen or naproxen are often prescribed. In some cases, oral steroids like prednisone may be taken for a short period of time to relieve severe inflammation.

A hip labral tear occurs when the ring of cartilage that stabilizes the hip joint—the labrum—tears off. Without the shock absorption of the labrum, you can feel a deep pain in your groin or the front of your hip. Sometimes labrum tears are small and you feel nothing, except during rigorous activities like running.

Overdoing the running, especially without strength training, can lead to an imbalance of muscle strength in the muscles and tendons that surround the hip. Strong quads, glutes, back and core abdominal muscles are needed to absorb the forces of running. An imbalance can lead to mechanical failure of the structures that support the hip such as the labrum.

The sensation that you feel depends on the location of the tear, but often a burning sensation is reported. Clicking and clunking of the hip during movement and increasingly more consistent pain are tell-tale signs that you might have a hip labral tear. A clinical examination and an MRI are usually needed to make the diagnosis. 

If hip pain is interfering with your everyday life, it may be time to contact a doctor. If you have a mild or moderate burning sensation in the hip, but are able to complete your activities of daily living, ask yourself these questions to gauge whether or not you should seek help:

• Is the hip warm or tender to the touch?

• Does the hip appear deformed?

• Are you unable to move or bear weight on the affected leg?

• Did your hip suddenly “give out” from under you?

• Did you experience sudden swelling or intense pain in the hip?

• Have home treatments like rest, ice, heat, or over-the-counter (OTC) pain medications failed to improve your symptoms?

Seek immediate medical attention if you experience:

• Sudden pain

• Tenderness

• Swelling

• Muscle weakness

• Limited range of motion

• Fever

• Numbness and tingling

• Loss of sensation or increased pain when moving the hip