Apart from hip pain which is caused by a specific injury or an arthritic hip joint, most pain in the hip, groin or top of the leg is caused by a mechanical overload from a problem elsewhere.
This will usually be from the lower back or pelvis, but can be from the knee or even the foot.
Recurring groin strains are common in sports people, especially footballers, and a twisted pelvis is often the root problem, which causes a weakness and an overload of the muscles and tendons in the groin.
Pain in this area often makes walking very difficult and patients often "seize up" if they have been sitting for too long.
If a chronic groin or hip problem is not treated it will usually cause problems with the lower back as the patients start to adapt the way they walk.
"Wear and Tear" is occasionally found on X-rays. This is called osteo-arthritis and is usually not as bad as it sounds. It is a degenerative process in the joints which cause them to wear, and occurs in most people as we get older. It is rarely the wear and tear that causes the pain, rather it is the stiffness and muscle tightness...and the good news is that this usually responds very well to chiropractic treatment!