Symptoms A-Z
Sharp Thigh Pain Symptoms, Causes & Common Questions
Understand sharp thigh pain symptoms, including 10 causes & common questions.
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Reviewed by the Buoy Medical Review Team

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Contents
10 Possible Sharp Thigh Pain Causes
The list below shows results from the use of our quiz by Buoy users who experienced sharp thigh pain. This list does not constitute medical advice and may not accurately represent what you have.
Deep vein thrombosis
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a blood clot that forms in a vein deep in the body. Most deep vein clots occur in the lower leg or thigh.
Rarity: Uncommon
Top Symptoms: fever, thigh pain, upper leg swelling, calf pain, butt pain
Urgency: Hospital emergency room
Compartment syndrome
Acute compartment syndrome describes the damage done to certain muscle groups of the arms or legs after a traumatic injury.
All of the long muscles are bundled into sections – "compartments" – by the white sheets of strong, tough connective tissue called fascia. If something interferes with circulation so that blood flow is trapped within the compartment, pressure rises because the fascia cannot stretch. This causes serious damage to the muscles and other tissues within the compartment.
Acute compartment syndrome is caused by a broken bone; a crush injury; burns, due to scarred and tightened skin; and bandages or casts applied before an injury has stopped swelling.
Symptoms can rapidly intensify. They include severe pain and tightness in the muscle; tingling or burning sensation; and sometimes numbness and weakness.
Acute compartment syndrome is a medical emergency which can result in loss of the limb. Take the patient to the emergency room or call 9-1-1.
Diagnosis is made through patient history and physical examination.
Treatment involves hospitalization for emergency surgery and, in some cases, skin graft.
Rarity: Rare
Top Symptoms: arm numbness, hand numbness, foot numbness, pain in one leg, thigh numbness
Urgency: Hospital emergency room
Thigh nerve issue (meralgia paresthetica)
Meralgia paresthetica is a nerve condition that causes an area of skin over the upper outer thigh to feel numb, tingly, or painful. This is caused by compression of a nerve known as the lateral cutaneous nerve of the thigh as it passes underneath a tough fibrous ligament known as the inguinal ligament.
Rarity: Rare
Top Symptoms: pain in the outside of the hip, pain in one thigh, thigh numbness, tingling upper leg, hip numbness
Symptoms that never occur with thigh nerve issue (meralgia paresthetica): new headache, swollen hip, swollen hips, swelling of one hip, leg swelling, weakness of both legs, leg weakness
Urgency: Primary care doctor
Thigh bruise
A bruise is the damage of the blood vessels that return blood to the heart (the capillaries and veins), which causes pooling of the blood. This explains the blue/purple color of most bruises.
Rarity: Rare
Top Symptoms: pain in one thigh, thigh pain from an injury, upper leg injury, thigh bruise, swelling of one thigh
Symptoms that always occur with thigh bruise: upper leg injury, thigh pain from an injury
Urgency: Self-treatment
Repetitive strain injury of the quadriceps
Repetitive strain injury of the upper leg is caused by consistent repetitive use.
Rarity: Uncommon
Top Symptoms: upper leg numbness, thigh weakness, thigh pain from overuse
Symptoms that always occur with repetitive strain injury of the quadriceps: thigh pain from overuse
Symptoms that never occur with repetitive strain injury of the quadriceps: upper leg injury, severe upper leg pain
Urgency: Self-treatment
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Iliopsoas bursitis
Bursae are small fluid-filled sacks located around the body in strategic locations to provide a cushion and help reduce friction. Iliopsoas bursitis, or hip bursitis, is an inflammation of the hip bursa, causing pain at the point of the hip. The pain may extend to the outside of the thigh area.
Rarity: Uncommon
Top Symptoms: thigh pain, groin pain, limping, snapping or clicking sensation of the hip, pain in the front of the hip
Symptoms that never occur with iliopsoas bursitis: fever, back pain, butt pain from an injury, pain in both hips, unmovable hip lump, hard hip lump, back pain that shoots down the leg
Urgency: Primary care doctor
Greater trochanteric pain syndrome
Greater trochanteric pain syndrome, also called trochanteric bursitis or GTPS, is an inflammation of the bursa of the greater trochanter. Bursae are the small "cushions" between tendons, bones, and muscles. The greater trochanter is the larger of two bony knobs at the top of the thigh bone. Overuse, trauma, or infection can cause inflamed and irritated bursae around the greater trochanter.
Symptoms include chronic, persistent pain on the outside of the hip that(https://www.buoyhealth.com/symptoms-a-z/hip-pain-shoots-knee/).
Treatment largely involves managing the symptoms through weight loss, physical therapy, and over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). In some cases, corticosteroid injections into the hip work well to relieve pain, and surgery can sometimes help.
Rarity: Uncommon
Top Symptoms: lower back pain, pain in the outside of the hip, moderate hip pain, groin pain, limping
Symptoms that always occur with greater trochanteric pain syndrome: pain in the outside of the hip
Urgency: Primary care doctor
Peripheral arterial disease (pad)
Peripheral artery disease is also called PAD, intermittent claudication, or vascular disease. The large main artery from the heart is the aorta, and its smaller branches are the peripheral arteries.
In PAD these peripheral arteries are blocked with plaque, which is debris that builds up in the lining of these arteries and eventually cuts off the blood flow.
Risk factors for PAD include smoking, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
PAD usually involves arteries that lead to the legs, but can affect any artery. Symptoms include numbness and pain in the legs, especially with exercise when more circulation is needed but the flow is blocked.
It is important to seek treatment for these symptoms. PAD can lead to increased risk of heart attack, stroke, and infection as well as to gangrene, a life-threatening medical emergency.
Diagnosis is made through patient history, physical examination, blood tests, and sometimes a treadmill test, MRI, and arteriogram.
Treatment involves medication and surgery to open or bypass blocked arteries, and lifestyle changes regarding diet, exercise, and smoking cessation.
Rarity: Common
Top Symptoms: leg numbness, spontaneous foot pain, decreased exercise tolerance, cold feet, thigh pain
Symptoms that never occur with peripheral arterial disease (pad): calf pain from an injury, thigh pain from an injury
Urgency: Primary care doctor
Thigh bone infection (osteomyelitis)
Osteomyelitis of the thigh is a bacterial or fungal infection of the thigh bone, typically caused by Staph Aureus (40-50% of the time). It is difficult to diagnose as the infection can come from a break in the skin at the area or anywhere else in the body that spreads by blood.
Rarity: Rare
Top Symptoms: moderate fever, constant upper leg pain, spontaneous thigh pain, painful surgical site, warm red upper leg swelling
Symptoms that always occur with thigh bone infection (osteomyelitis): spontaneous thigh pain, constant upper leg pain
Urgency: Hospital emergency room
Chronic thigh bone infection (osteomyelitis)
Osteomyelitis of the thigh is a bacterial or fungal infection of the thigh bone, typically caused by Staph Aureus (40-50% of the time). It is difficult to diagnose as the infection can come from a break in the skin at the area or anywhere else in the body that spreads by blood.
Rarity: Rare
Top Symptoms: spontaneous thigh pain, moderate fever, painful surgical site
Symptoms that always occur with chronic thigh bone infection (osteomyelitis): spontaneous thigh pain
Urgency: Hospital emergency room
Questions Your Doctor May Ask About Sharp Thigh Pain
To diagnose this condition, your doctor would likely ask the following questions:
- Do you run for exercise or sport?
- What is your body mass?
- Do your symptoms get worse when you exercise?
- Have you ever had any surgeries?
The above questions are also covered by our A.I. Health Assistant.
If you've answered yes to one or more of these questions
Take a quiz to find out why you're having sharp thigh pain
Sharp Thigh Pain Symptom Checker Statistics
People who have experienced sharp thigh pain have also experienced:
- 11% Pain In One Thigh
- 8% Lower Back Pain
- 4% Thigh Pain
People who have experienced sharp thigh pain were most often matched with:
- 40% Deep Vein Thrombosis
- 40% Compartment Syndrome
- 20% Thigh Nerve Issue (Meralgia Paresthetica)
People who have experienced sharp thigh pain had symptoms persist for:
- 32% Over a month
- 26% Less than a week
- 22% Less than a day
Source: Aggregated and anonymized results from visits to the Buoy AI health assistant (check it out by clicking on “Take Quiz”).
Sharp Thigh Pain Symptom Checker
Take a quiz to find out why you're having sharp thigh pain