Hip pain at 20 years old?

I've noticed over the past few months that when I walk for extended periods of time my right hip hurts really bad. My friend said it might be that I don't have as much cartilage but I'm not sure. At first it starts on either a muscle or ligament or something on the front of my "hip" inbetween my stomach and leg, where the leg meets if you get what im saying. As I move my leg back behind me while walking it feels sore. Recently I walked 10 miles and it was hurting pretty badly less than halfway through, then by the next morning I had to limp around everywhere and not able to lift my leg that well to walk up steps because of the pain.
What could be causing this? Again, I can't fully tell if its muscles or ligaments surrounding the hip that hurt or my actual joint hurting.

[S. Kaul, MD]

Hi there!

Well, without a clinical evaluation it would be difficult to determine the cause of your symptoms. Hip pain could be caused by infections/ inflammations, bursitis, tendonitis, arthritis, capsulitis, ligament/ tendon tears, growths/ tumours, nerve impingement, avascular necrosis, fractures, dislocations, etc. I would suggest getting this evaluated by an orthopedician for an accurate diagnosis and appropriate management. Meanwhile you may try some tylenol/ OTC NSAIDS and see if these are helpful for pain relief.
Hope this helps.

Take care!