Hip
The hip joint
is made up of four bones: the ilium, the ischium
, the pubis, and the femur (thigh bone). The ilium,
ischium, and pubis combine to form the pelvis.
Where any two bones come together is a joint. There is one main
joint in the hip: the femoroacetabular joint.
The femoroacetabular
joint is a ball and socket joint. That means that a ball anchors
into a socket, which provides a great amount of stability. In the
hip, the ball is the head
of the femur (top of the thigh bone) and the socket is the
acetabulum of the pelvis (a cup located where the three bones
of the pelvis meet).
The acetabulum
is a very deep socket. This provides for a tremendous amount of
stablity. In contrast, the shoulder, another ball and socket joint, has a very
shallow socket, which provides for less stability but more mobilty.
Although the hip gets much of its stability from its bony components,
the joint also gets support from soft tissue such as muscles, ligaments,
and the joint capsule. All of these structures combine to make a
very strong joint which can handle a person’s full body weight for
long periods of time.
The major muscles
attaching to the hip are the gluteus maximus, the gluteus
medius (abductors), the hamstrings (biceps femoris,
semitendonosus, and semimembanosus), the quadriceps
(rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus
medialis, and vastus intermedialis), the gracilis,
the piriformis, the iliopsoas (hip flexors), the
sartorius, and the iliotibial band.
Click on the
links above to learn more about some common hip injuries. This
list is not exhaustive and is not designed to diagnose or treat
any pathology. If you suspect a hip injury, you should seek a formal
evaluation by a licensed sports medicine professional.
Hip
| Knee | Shoulder
