M10.25: Drug-induced gout Pelvic region and thigh

You have gout, which is causing discomfort in your pelvis or thigh.

The pelvis is made up of different bones. There are 3 bones on each side which each merge to form one large pelvic bone. A joint connects these two large pelvic bones to the sacrum at the back of the body. The sacrum is part of the lower spine. The two pelvic bones plus the sacrum form a bony pelvic ring or girdle. In front, the two pelvic bones are tightly joined to one another by ligaments and cartilage fiber. The hip joints are outside, to the side of the pelvis. They connect the pelvis to the thighbones. The hip joints enable the legs to be moved in different directions.

Gout involves uric acid crystals being deposited in tissue and causing discomfort. Uric acid crystals may be deposited when there is too much uric acid in someone’s blood. There are various reasons why you can have too much uric acid in your blood. There is an increase in uric acid in the blood when someone eats a lot of meat or drinks a lot of alcohol, for example. Uric acid is excreted by the kidney. So one may also have too much uric acid in the blood if the kidney ceases to function correctly.

Medication has caused you to have too much uric acid in your blood, or to have deposits of uric acid crystals in tissue.

Uric acid crystals can be deposited in joints. When uric acid crystals are deposited in joints, the joints affected may become inflamed, or damaged in some other way. An inflammation in the joints can cause various symptoms. Typical is a swollen, painful joint. The skin above the joint may also be red. It may also no longer be possible to move the joint as usual.