Your hip joints are where your thigh bones connect to your pelvis. They support your body weight, keep your balance and let you move your upper legs.
Hip Joint: What It Is, Anatomy & How It Works - Cleveland Clinic
Hip Pain - Is your hip hurting? Learn about the possible causes of hip pain and common ways to get relief from the soreness.
Explore hip bone anatomy with parts, names, functions & labeled diagrams. Learn structure & role of hip bones in movement, support & protection.
The hip joints have very important roles in retaining balance, and for maintaining the pelvic inclination angle. Pain of the hip may be the result of numerous causes, including nervous, osteoarthritic, infectious, traumatic, and genetic.
The hip joint is one of the only joints where the position of optimal articular contact (combined flexion, abduction, and external rotation) is the open-packed, rather than closed packed position, since flexion and external rotation tend to uncoil the ligaments and make them slack.
Firestein GS, et al. Hip and knee pain. In: Firestein & Kelley's Textbook of Rheumatology. 12th ed. Elsevier; 2025. https://www.clinicalkey.com. Accessed .
One of the body's largest weight-bearing joints, the hip is where the thigh bone meets the pelvis to form a ball-and-socket joint. The hip joint consists of two main parts:
Pictures of the inside of the hip joint with explanations of common hip problems, treatments and surgery. Find out why it hurts and what you can do about it
The term hip-spine syndrome is used to describe a situation in which a person has conditions in the hip and the spine which are both causing pain, such as osteoarthritis of the hip and lumbar spondylosis.