About 40% of adults who play sports experience hip pain today, and older adults often experience hip pain due to degenerative conditions. At Denver Sports Medicine and Spine, experienced physical medicine and rehabilitation specialists Yani C. Zinis, DO, and Raili Donnelly, PA-C, offer nonsurgical treatments, including injections, that are intended to alleviate your symptoms and send you back to an active life. Call our office or use the online scheduling feature to set up your appointment today.

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What is the hip?

The hip joint is the ball-and-socket joint where the femur bone meets the pelvis deep in the groin.  Hip joints provide stability and allow you to move smoothly. Hip joint damage can occur due to chronic disease, injury, or repetitive strain, causing pain and other limitations.   Often hip injuries and symptoms arise outside of the joint as well, commonly due to tendonitis or bursitis.

What conditions can affect the hip joints?

Conditions that can occur in the hip joints include:

Arthritis

Several kinds of arthritis can affect the hips, but osteoarthritis is the most common.  In this type of arthritis, the cartilage has worn partially or completely, with stiffness and pain from progressive “bone on bone” contact.

Hip impingement

Hip impingement typically happens when the femoral head (the ball of the joint) or the acetabular socket develop small or large bone spurs.  The “impingement” can be caused from old or acute injuries, typically causing a sharp “catch” or groin pain with movement.  Hip impingement can also occur when the ball or socket has a genetic or aquired unusual shape.

Labral tear

Labral tears are an acute or chronic tearing of the cartilage rim around the socket.  These can be chronic/degenerative or acute following injury.

Hip bursitis

Hip bursitis occurs when the bursae (small cushion-like sacs that minimize friction) become acute or chronically inflamed.  This may be a result of forceful contusion or pressure on teh side of the hip, and/or from progressive tightness to the IT band.

Other mechanical issues can also caus symptoms in the hip area. For example, sacroiliac (SI) joints, which connect the pelvis and lower spine, can cause pain and other symptoms that may feel like they’re coming from the hip joints or from the lower back.  Additionally, acute or chronic tendonitis or tears of the gluteal tendons frequently result in hip pain.

When do hip symptoms require treatment?

If you’re struggling with hip symptoms, you deserve effective treatment. Some issues that warrant a visit to Denver Sports Medicine and Spine include:

  • Pain
  • Stiffness
  • Difficulty walking
  • Difficulty climbing stairs
  • Difficulty rotating your legs

The expert team can diagnose the sometimes complex cause of your hip issues and recommend a treatment plan that gets you back to doing the things you love.

How are hip symptoms treated?

The Denver Sports Medicine and Spine team will always evaluate first if non-surgical options are appropriate, including cortisone, platelet-rich plasma (PRP), or potential for alternative treatments including allograft tusue injections.

With their extensive referral network of top-tier physical therapists and excellent orthopedic surgeons, the team can also arrange other types of personalized hip treatments based on your needs.  Often if surgery is unavoidable, the team at DSMS will ensure that you are referred for more than one surgical opinion and will guide you to be sure the best surgeon is involved in your care.  Also, we as a team will follow post-operatively to ensure the best outcome and full fundtional recovery.

To learn more about how alternative injections and other advanced approaches can help you get back in the game after hip pain, call Denver Sports Medicine and Spine or book your appointment online now.

*Viscosupplementation is FDA-approved for treatment of knee osteoarthritis.

*Some tissue injections are FDA-approved only for the treatment of certain cancers, blood disorders, and immune disorders