12 Thigh Pain Causes You Should Know (Common Triggers)

The thigh is a thick, muscular part of the leg that extends from the hip to the knee. This leg part is composed of some of the largest muscles in the body. Its function allows the lower body to make movements such as bending, flexing, and rotating. It also bears the body’s weight and keeps the legs and hips aligned. In doing so, it keeps the body’s balance. 

There are groups of muscles found in the thigh, which are categorized by their location and function. These are the adductors, hamstrings, pectineus, quadriceps or quads, and sartorius. The adductors allow the body to bring the thigh towards each other. The hamstrings allow the hip to extend, while the pectineus enables the body to flex and rotate the thigh. The quadriceps allows the body to flex the hip, and the sartorius helps the body to move the thigh from the hip joint. 

When the musculoskeletal is injured or damaged, a burning sensation may occur in the thigh area, called thigh pain. Thigh pain is accompanied by itching, tingling, numbness, burning sensation, and difficulty walking. This discomfort can disrupt daily activities in life. 

This article discusses some of the possible causes of thigh pain.

Meralgia Paresthetica

Meralgia paraesthetica is described by the tingling, numbness, and burning sensation experienced on the outer thigh. This condition is also known as lateral femoral cutaneous nerve entrapment. This medical condition results from pressure, compression, or squeezing of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve. This typically occurs only on one side of the body. 

The lateral femoral cutaneous nerve is a huge sensory nerve which travels from the spinal cord to the thigh. Many factors cause the compression of the said sensory nerve, like injury, obesity, pregnancy, and diseases such as diabetes. People affected with meralgia paraesthetica often experience pain in the outer thigh as its main symptom. Other symptoms include burning, aching, stabbing, numbness of the thigh, pain when the thigh is touched, pain and discomfort when walking, and occasionally in the groin or the buttock’s region.

The thigh pain experienced in meralgia paraesthetica is due to the compressed nerve. This nerve provides sensation to the skin that covers the thigh area. When the nerve is injured, it affects the blood flow in that area, leading to muscle damage and pain sensation on the thigh.