Can Dizziness And Hip Pain Indicate Fractured Hip In An Elderly?

Posted on Mon, 16 Oct 2017

Question: Hello, my mother is 85 yrs old and weighs 205 lbs. She is reasonably active for her age. She walks around the house and yard without any assistance. She is totally lucid. She has been complaining about her hip hurting and dizziness for the last 2 days. She has not fallen at all. Could she have fractured her hip without us knowing about it?
Thank you,
Carma

Answered by Dr. Mahaveer Patil (28 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
sprain more likely

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

Thank you for posting the question.
I have gone through your question in detail.

She is more likely to have a sprain of either ligaments or muscle of the hip which is quite common at her age.

If she is ambulating then having a hip fracture is a very remote possibility.However,having severe osteoporosis and weak bones can sometimes cause a hairline incomplete stress fracture of the hip bone and should be ruled out by consulting a doctor and getting an Xray/MRI done.

Taking rest with analgesics like tramadol,paracetamol can help.

She should avoid squatting ,sitting cross legged or standing for long periods of time.

Dizziness can occur due to fluctuations in her blood pressure,ear infection or vision problems and should be consulted to her family physician.

I hope the answer was useful.

Feel free to ask me any follow up queries that you may have.

Thank you.
Kind regards.

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vishesh Rohatgi