The Most Popular Treatments for Hip Pain: Are They Safe and Effective? Consider Healthier Alternatives

If you suffer from ongoing hip pain, you’ve probably tried many of the treatments recommended today, including both non-pharmaceutical treatments and drugs. You may have even been told that surgery is your only hope. But are these popular treatments for hip pain really safe? Do they work? Let’s review the most common treatments for hip pain along with some alternatives for hip pain relief your doctor may not have suggested for you.

Often when a patient presents in the doctor’s office with chronic hip pain – hip pain that has been going on for a while versus a sudden injury – the provider will recommend “conservative” treatments first. Typically, this entails lifestyle modifications or light exercise programs, as well as complementary medicine treatments. Common non-pharmaceutical treatments include:

• Gentle exercise, like walking or swimming
• Yoga or tai chi
• Stretching
• Mat exercises for strengthening
• Electric stimulation at the doctor’s office
• Portable TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) unit for home use
• Heat or cold applications
• Massage
• Acupuncture
• Improving ergonomics, such as posture and positions when sitting, driving, or working
• Support pillows to help with posture
• Mattress replacement for a better sleep surface

Some patients, independent of the doctor’s office, also pursue chiropractic treatments or body alignment practice, like the Alexander technique. They may also elect to use topical rubs made of essential oils and other natural substances.

Frequently, non-pharmaceutical treatments may be combined with drug regimens. Doctors may recommend over-the-counter medications, such as NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). These include naproxen (Aleve) and ibuprofen (Motrin).
If the pain is really bad, a physician may prescribe something more serious, such as:

• Muscle relaxers
• Anticonvulsants
• Antidepressants
• Opioids

There are multiple problems with this approach, however, which is often used for patients with arthritis and other types of chronic hip pain. First, many drugs simply mask pain. They may be fine to use short term to get through physical therapy, for example, but long term, they’re not helping the patient get to the root of their problem.

Also, all of these medications, even the over-the-counter ones, have a long list of potential side effects that come with them. Nonprescription pain drugs can increase the risk of cardiovascular problems as well as stress internal organs, like the liver and kidneys, which work hard to metabolize these medications.

Prescription medications have even more serious adverse events associated with them, including:

• Drowsiness
• Dizziness
• Nausea and vomiting
• Headaches
• Increased blood pressure
• Weight gain
• Loss of libido
• Seizures
• Difficulty stopping the medication
• Physical and psychological addiction

You may be trading one medical problem for another when you get on the drug treadmill. Do you really want to take a blood pressure medication because your pain meds are causing hypertension?

And of course, there’s the expense of medications you may be on for the rest of your life because you’re never really solving your pain problem, just covering it up. The medical establishment views these treatment methods as “conservative,” but in reality, many are risky and not conservative at all.

Surgery may look like a promising option when you’ve been trying all of the above with little or no relief. Joint resurfacing or joint replacement is sometimes suggested for hip pain, as well as piriformis surgery. The piriformis muscle runs between the low back and the hip, and when it’s tight or inflamed, it can irritate the sciatic nerve that crosses it or pull on the hip joint, causing or exacerbating trochanteric bursitis. Sometimes spine surgery is recommended if a nerve problem is causing radiating pain to the hip.
There are many negatives to surgery worth considering:

• Expense, as even with insurance some items may not be covered
• Downtime and disruption during recovery
• Complications of surgery (infection, clots, nerve damage, etc.) and anesthesia (cardiovascular events, malignant hyperthermia, etc.)
• Failure to get anticipated results

Surgery should really be your absolute last option when all other treatments have been thoroughly exhausted, and only when you have carefully reviewed all the pros and cons. However, some doctors jump to surgery very soon in their treatment protocol before they’ve informed you about alternatives like the ones at Core Medical & Wellness.

You don’t have to suffer from hip pain, nor do you need to put your general health at risk with the current popular treatments. At Core Medical & Wellness, we offer alternative hip pain treatments that don’t involve surgery. We also provide non-surgical orthopedics, spine, and sports medicine.

Our team works to uncover the cause of your pain and fix it, if possible. If we can’t eliminate the cause of the pain, we explore long-lasting pain management treatments that are alternatives to surgery.

We are experts at treating tendinitis, hip and low back pain (which often go together), iliotibial band syndrome (which can provoke trochanteric bursitis), groin injuries, neuropathic pain, sports injuries, and wear and tear caused by repetitive use, such as from work-related motion. Some of our most successful treatments for hip pain include:

• Nerve blocks and epidurals
• Trigger point injections
• Peripheral nerve and spinal cord stimulation
• Fluoroscopic-guided hip injection
• Sacroiliac joint injection

Core Medical & Wellness also provides innovative platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and bone marrow concentrate (BMC) therapies. These methods use elements derived from your body’s own blood in injections for the site of an injury. The platelet-rich plasma or bone marrow concentrate encourages natural regenerative healing, stimulating cells to reduce inflammation and even grow new tissue.

The renewal process continues long term, as new cells are constantly generated. These treatments are on the cutting edge of sports medicine and degenerative joint care. They are one of the hottest areas of scientific study for their application to all kinds of injuries and health conditions.

It’s easy to see if PRP or other alternative hip pain treatments are right for you. Simply schedule an initial consultation at Core Medical & Wellness. We’ll perform a physical exam, as well as any medical imaging necessary, and combine that information with your personal history to determine the best course of action together. Call us today at 888-521-0688, or reach out online for more assistance.