The hip joint is the ball-and-socket joint between a person’s pelvis and leg bone (femur). This is in contrast to what many people may colloquially understand, referring to the ‘hip’ as the upper part or side of the buttocks.
The hip joint is well-protected by many muscles, and thus it is not easy to injure this joint. However, certain sports injuries are quite common, and these are Hamstring pull/tear, Trochanteric bursitis, or Groin adductor muscle pull.
The majority of such injuries recover well with rest and physiotherapy. In suitable cases, a tissue-healing stimulant injection stimulates and accelerates recovery.
We are experienced in Avascular Necrosis (AVN) and Hip Osteoarthritis.
AVN is a condition where the blood supply to the hip is damaged, leading to dying bone. The causes are excessive alcohol, chronic steroid use, or previous hip fractures.
Untreated AVN can lead to Hip Osteoarthritis, which is progressive damage of the cartilage.
One of the common hip conditions that we treat is FAI. Patients with FAI have pain when bending over to tie shoelaces or getting in/out of the car. Sometimes, patients feel an ache in the front of the groin after long walks or a run. FAI typically affects people in their 20s to 40s, and affects ladies more.
Early-stage FAI may be treated by physiotherapy to improve hip strength and muscle control. In cases with persistent pain despite conservative therapy, Arthroscopic (Key-Hole) surgery is a very effective treatment to get rid of pain and protect the hip for the years to come.
Early cases of Osteoarthritis can be treated with medications, physiotherapy, marrow injection, and lubricant injection.
Moderate cases may be treated with Key-Hole surgery.
In more severe cases, the most effective treatment is a Total Hip Replacement (THR), which is a surgery to replace the hip joint with artificial prostheses. THR is one of the most successful and cost-effective surgeries in the whole of Orthopaedic Surgery.