Hip Pain and Disorders

From osteoporosis to congenital hip conditions, a number of disorders can cause hip pain, or arthralgia. No matter what the cause, the orthopaedic specialists at UT Southwestern Medical Center are experts at evaluating and treating the pain.

Our team of board-certified orthopaedic experts are dedicated to providing personalized  care to patients with hip pain caused by an injury or disorder.

Personalized Care for Hip Pain

At UT Southwestern, we work closely with each individual to determine the most effective course of treatment for hip pain and ensure that we achieve the best outcome possible.

In cases where conservative, nonsurgical therapies fail to relieve hip pain, our skilled orthopaedic surgeons offer a range of evidence-based procedures to treat the underlying cause of the pain.

Symptoms and Conditions

Depending upon its source, hip pain can range from a dull ache to an intense burning, throbbing, or grinding sensation. Whether it’s intermittent or continual, mild or severe, painful hip disorders can limit mobility and affect quality of life.

Conditions that can cause hip pain include:

• Arthritis
  
• Avascular bone necrosis
  
• Bursitis
  
• Degenerative hip disease
  
• Femoroacetabular impingement
  
• Hip dysplasia
  
• Legg-Calve- Perthes disease
  
• Lupus
  
• Malunions and nonunions (previous fractures that didn’t heal properly)
  
• Osteonecrosis
  
• Osteoporosis
  
• Paget’s disease
  
• Pinched nerve
  
• Slipped capital femoral epiphysis
  
• Snapping hip syndrome 
  
• Tendinitis
  

Diagnosis

UT Southwestern’s orthopaedic team uses a variety of techniques and technologies to diagnose the underlying source of hip pain.

Depending on the patient’s history and symptoms, these might include:

• Arthroscopy
  
• Arthrograms (X-rays of the joints)
  
• Computed tomography (CT)
  
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
  
• Nerve-root blocks
  
• X-rays
  

Treatment for Hip Pain

In many cases, we begin treatment with conservative therapies such as medication and physical medicine and rehabilitation. If a patient’s hip pain persists, surgery might be necessary.

Our specialized orthopaedic surgeons perform a number of procedures aimed at treating painful hip conditions that have not responded well to conservative therapies.

These surgeries include both minimally invasive and traditional open procedures, such as:

• Arthrodesis
  
• Arthroplasty
  
• Bone grafting
  
• Core decompression
  
• Femoral-head resurfacing and replacement
  
• Hip reconstruction and replacement
  
• Metal-on- metal resurfacing
  
• Osteotomy
  
• Resection
  
• Revision joint surgery
  
• Synovectomy
  

Following surgery, our multidisciplinary team of physicians, physical and occupational therapists, and nurses provides comprehensive postoperative care to patients to help them regain their range of motion and quality of life.