How do I know my pain is hip arthritis?

Arthritis in the hip joint has a home address: the groin. It may spread down the front of the thigh toward the knee. It is worst getting up from a chair, getting out of a car and putting on shoes. The hip loses its turn, so crossing your legs gets hard before walking does.

Pain on the outer point of the hip that hurts to lie on is usually the tendons, not the joint. Pain in the buttock that runs down the back of the leg usually starts in the spine. Our hip pain page sorts those three in detail, and sciatica covers the spine. An X-ray and an exam settle most cases. A numbing injection into the joint settles the rest.

Why do hip cortisone shots stop working?

Cortisone puts out the fire in the joint lining. It does not touch the cartilage or the bone under it. The first shot can feel like a miracle. The second does less. By the third, you are counting the weeks. That is not your body failing. It is the shot doing the only job it has, on a joint whose problem has moved past that job.

Each steroid dose also raises blood sugar for days, and repeated doses are hard on cartilage. So we do not run standing courses of it. Our page on when injections stop working explains how we read a shrinking response.

Does PRP work for hip arthritis?

A 2026 analysis of seven studies with 465 hip arthritis patients found PRP relieved pain better than gel injections at six months, with the benefit still present on one pain score at twelve. The patients who did best got leukocyte-poor PRP and more than one injection.

Why do platelet dose and placement decide hip results?

The hip is the deepest joint you have. It sits under thick muscle, and a needle placed by feel often lands outside the capsule. An injection outside the joint treats nothing. We place every hip injection under ultrasound or X-ray, as explained on our image-guided joint injections page.

Then the dose. A quick, cheap spin leaves a thin product. We prepare a high platelet count, because the repair signal only counts if enough of it reaches the joint. When the bone under the cartilage is swollen on imaging, bone marrow concentrate placed into that bone is another option.

What rehab makes hip PRP hold?

The platelets calm the joint. The muscles around it decide how much load the cartilage takes with every step. A painful hip makes you walk less, the glutes shrink, and the joint takes more of the hit. So your plan rebuilds the glutes and the deep hip stabilizers, restores the rotation you lost, and fixes the limp that has been grinding the worst spot.

The blood matters too. High insulin and blood sugar keep cartilage and joint lining inflamed from the inside. We check them at the visit and build that work into the plan. An injection without rehab is a repair crew sent to a house that is still being knocked down.

Why does age change the hip decision?

A new hip is built to last a long time, but not forever. Put one in at 50 and there is a real chance you will face a second operation later in life, and the second one is harder than the first. Put one in at 75 and the math changes. That is why we treat a 52-year-old hip differently from an 80-year-old hip with the same X-ray. For the younger hip, each year you keep your own joint while staying active is worth a lot. For the older hip, the right answer may be the replacement now, done well, with good rehab behind it.

What happens on the day?

You are awake. We numb the skin and the path to the joint with local anesthetic, and most people drive themselves home. Plan on a sore hip for about 48 hours. Light walking starts right away, and rehab picks up from there. Whether you need a second injection depends on how the first one worked.

When is a hip replacement the right answer?

When the ball has collapsed, when the X-ray shows bone on bone with a lost range of motion, or when you cannot walk a block despite a fair trial of the steps above, a new hip is the right operation. We tell you so and coordinate the referral. For a younger hip, buying years matters, because a replacement put in at 50 may need to be redone later in life.

Frequently asked questions

Is hip PRP safe if I have diabetes?

PRP contains no steroid, so it does not raise blood sugar the way a cortisone shot does. We still check your sugar control, because it affects how well the hip heals.

Can I walk out after a hip injection?

Yes. Most people walk out and drive themselves home. The hip is usually sore for a day or two.

How soon can I exercise after hip PRP?

Easy walking starts the same day. Harder work waits until the soreness settles, then the rehab plan builds week by week.

Does insurance cover PRP for hip arthritis?

Most plans do not. That is a budgeting decision about what a plan pays for, not a judgment on the treatment. HSA and FSA funds can generally be used.

I am 52 and was told I am too young for a new hip. What now?

That is the patient this treatment is for. The goal is more years with your own hip, less pain and fewer pills while you decide when surgery makes sense.

Can hip arthritis cause knee pain?

Yes. The hip often refers pain to the front of the knee. We examine the hip at every knee visit for that reason. See our bone-on-bone knee page if the knee is worn too.

Related reading

• Hip pain
• When injections stop working
• Image-guided joint injections
• Sciatica
• Bone-on-bone knee
• Shoulder arthritis