Hip Pain

My dad fell on his hip three days ago.  Nurse practioner said, after examination, that he would be sore, but he did not have a broken hip or bone.  He seems OK when seated or lying down, but when he tries to walk with the walker, he says it hurts a lot, especially in his right groin.  The doctor says he could not walk at all if his hip were broken or cracked.   Anyone know if this is true?  Could  he be walking if his hip were fractured?  I want to trust the doctor, but I see my dad's expression when he walks, and then I wonder.

[sofa weight]

It is not true that he would not be able to walk at all if he had a fracture. He could have a hairline fracture or could have torn some cartilage or something like that and still walk. I partially dislocated my hip and I could stll walk. It hurt like heck, but I could still walk. I also broke my foot once and I could still walk. It all depends upon what kind of a fracture it is and where the fracture is. And even if tere is no fracture, there could be plenty of other injuries that could result from a fall that would cause pain in that area, but would not prevent the person from being able to walk. It is really annoying when people state such absolutes without bothering to gather any information to support their assertion. Were any x-rays or MRI images or anything done?

[DGPG]

No xrays or MRIs were taken.  The doctor has looked at him two times, the day it happened and three days later.  Daddy says it only hurts when he walks, and he says the pain is not bad, but it is hard to know if it is serious because of the state of his mind and memory.  He is 86 with some dementia.   In addition, he has always thought to admit pain was not OK for a  man.  Ridiculous Thinking in my opinion!  The grimace on his face when he is walking with his walker tells me, it must hurt quite a bit.

[sofa weight]

My dad is the same way, he will not admit when things hurt. It just seems suprising (well, not really) that the doctor just sends him on his way saying nothing is broken when no images were taken. I had a friend who broke her pelvis falling down during baisc training and she went on with training that day, but then the pain was too much so she went to get checked out and they found she had that break. but lots of times this stuff happens.
I can't say wat to do, but I saw your post and just wanted to answe your question that just because someone can walk doesn't mean they are not injured or that they don't have a broken bone. And if it hurts him, there must be something hurt. Older folks don't generally just spontaneously decide to declare that little bit of autonomy to hurt too much to keep making use of it. Sometimes I think, when doctors don't check things out like that they must think they are paying for the tests out of their own pockets.