Ask the Expert: All About Hip Pain

Dr. Peter Hanson, a Sharp-affiliated orthopedic surgeon, answers common questions about dealing with hip pain and how it can be treated.

How severe can hip pain become?
When hip pain occurs because of an injury, certainly a patient can judge whether or not they need to see a physician based upon the intensity of the pain or the disability that’s there. If they have some minor pain that they think they can treat at home, things like ice and anti-inflammatories can be very helpful. If that pain continues, they really should seek the evaluation of a health care practitioner for that because there are bad things that can happen with hip pain.

Is hip pain common?
Tendonitis around the hip is probably the most common problem I see in my office.

How is it treated?
In almost 20 years, I’ve never operated on tendonitis pain about the hip even though it’s the most common thing I see. So we can use very simple things with ice, basic exercises and anti-inflammatories that can treat that type of pain.

What if the pain gets worse?
Certainly other things we can use when the pain is bad enough is a cortisone injection which is extremely helpful in tendonitis about the hip.

How is hip pain caused?
One cause of hip pain is hip arthritis. It’s fairly common, especially as our population ages, and with our active population it can start out as an ache or it can start out as a very acute type of pain even though they may have arthritis for a long time and didn’t realize it. If that type of pain occurs, most people will try some home remedies like ice and anti-inflammatories, and if the pain or disability is severe enough, they really should seek the advice of a physician. A very simple and physical exam and X-ray can tell us if we have that kind of a problem.

What should I expect if I visit the doctor?
When a patient visits a physician, certain things should probably expect to happen. One is to provide that physician with a good history of how their pain began, how long it’s been there and how severe it is. The physical exam would then be the next most important thing that they would go through or their physician would perform an examination of the hips to try to determine what the cause of their pain is.

The next step is usually an X-ray of the hip. That can provide us a lot of information on bone and joint disorders in that area. Another thing that we look for in physical exams and the history is any potential for back problems to be causing hip pain. This is very common.

What should I do if I have severe hip pain?
Seek their treatment of a health care practitioner. If they don’t have one that they consult, they can certainly call 1-800-82-SHARP and get advice on finding a physician in that area. Another resource they would have would be Sharp.com, where you can find a lot of alternatives both geographically and specialty-wise in treating the disorders around the hip.

Find a San Diego Orthopedic Surgeon
To learn more about orthopedics at Sharp or to find a Sharp-affiliated doctor, search for San Diego orthopedic surgeons or call 1-800-82-SHARP (1-800-827-4277), Monday through Friday, from 8 am to 6 pm.

For More Orthopedics Information
To find general information about orthopedics, visit Orthopedic Surgery in Adult Health or read the Orthopedics News archive.