Hip Joint Injections

What are hip joint injections, and how do they work?

The orthopedic hip specialists at OrthoNeuro in Columbus, Ohio, offer comprehensive treatment options for a wide variety of injuries and degenerative conditions that can cause hip pain.

When appropriate, your physician may recommend a hip injection as part of a multidisciplinary treatment program to relieve your pain and restore your hip joint function.

Types of Injections for Hip Pain Relief

Depending on your condition, your physician may recommend a corticosteroid injection.

Cortisone injections combine a local anesthetic and an anti-inflammatory corticosteroid to reduce inflammation within a joint.

Viscosupplementation introduces hyaluronic acid into an arthritic joint to provide supplements to the synovial fluid that lubricates the joint and creates smooth gliding surfaces on the femoral head and the acetabulum (socket) in the pelvic bone.

Why Would I Need a Hip Injection?

The OrthoNeuro team uses hip injections to both treat and diagnose problems associated with the hip joint, such as osteoarthritis or tears of the hip labrum.

A diagnostic hip injection can confirm the location of the problem in your hip joint — if the injection relieves your pain, it confirms the source of the pain.

The team also uses these injections to relieve pain. They are part of a multimodal approach for pain management and to help restore function to the patient.

What Happens During a Hip Injection?

Hip injections are usually done in an outpatient setting.

You will change into a gown and lie face-up on a special table. Your physician will clean the skin on your hip and inject a local anesthetic.

In some cases, they might provide an intravenous sedative to help you stay comfortable and relaxed.

X-ray guidance is used to ensure the proper location of the needle and increase the accuracy of the injection into the hip joint.

If using fluoroscopy, your surgeon will inject a small amount of contrast dye into the hip to confirm the location of the needle.

When the needle is in the correct position, your physician will inject the medicine. You may be asked to rest on the treatment table for approximately 20 minutes. This gives the injection some time to take effect.

Your physician may ask you to move or stretch your hip in a way that would typically cause pain to see if the injection has improved or eliminated your pain.

If you still have discomfort, you may need further diagnostic tests.

What Should I Expect After a Hip Injection?

Cortisone injections combine a local anesthetic and a corticosteroid.

The local anesthetic medication should provide temporary pain relief while the steroid takes more time to take effect.

Your physician may ask you to keep a pain diary for a week or so after your injection. This information helps your physician to evaluate the effectiveness of the injection and plan future tests or treatments.

How Long Do Hip Injections Last?

A hip injection usually provides pain relief for several months, although not all patients are the same. Some patients may experience a shorter duration of relief while others may experience a longer duration of relief.

Most of the time, your physician will physical therapy or other treatments to avoid recurrence of pain.

How Painful Is a Hip Injection?

The OrthoNeuro team uses a local anesthetic to numb the injection area, so you shouldn’t feel much pain during the procedure.

Some patients may experience soreness following their injection. You can use ice packs and over-the-counter pain medications to manage these symptoms.

How Long Should You Rest After a Cortisone Injection in the Hip?

Your physician will give you personalized instructions after your injection. It is generally recommended to rest and protect your hip for 24-48 hours and avoid strenuous activity for five to seven days.

Call OrthoNeuro today or make an appointment online if you have hip pain and need expert help.

Make an Appointment with an OrthoNeuro Hip Specialist Today!

Patients who are experiencing the symptoms of hip pain should not delay a diagnosis.

The decision of what treatments are best for you will be determined by what you and your OrthoNeuro Specialist feel are best. Best of all, most patients can be seen within 24 hours of making an appointment.

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IF YOU HAVE SEVERE OR PERSISTENT HIP PAIN THAT INTERFERES WITH YOUR LIFE, CALL ORTHONEURO OR SCHEDULE A CONSULTATION ONLINE TODAY. OUR ORTHOPEDIC SURGEONS PROVIDE STATE-OF-THE-ART DIAGNOSIS AND PERSONALIZED TREATMENT.