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Hip Pain Treatment in the Raleigh Area

How the Hip Works

The hip joint is a ball and socket joint: the ball, or femoral head, is at the upper end of the thigh bone (femur) and fits into a socket (acetabulum). A thick cushion of cartilage covers the ball and lines the socket, allowing the ball to move easily. When the coating of cartilage is damaged or worn out, it cannot repair itself.

Expert Hip Specialists in Wake County

The hip specialists at Raleigh Orthopaedic include Dr. Albright, Dr. Barker, Dr. Chiavetta, Dr. Eskildsen, Dr. Evan James, Dr. McNabb, Dr. Vaughn, Dr. Watters, and Dr. Wyker, who are trained to diagnose causes of hip pain and treat minor injuries, as well as perform total joint replacement.

While the hip may be the most flexible, free-moving joint in the body, chronic or acute hip pain can make your life miserable. Since so many things can cause hip pain, prompt treatment is recommended. Our hip specialists are available at all of our clinics in Wake County, NC.

Hip Treatments in Wake County

In general, your hip pain should fall into one of 3 categories.

Types of Hip Pain

Hip pain can present in several ways. For some, it might be a dull ache that intensifies with movement or pressure. Maybe you feel more intense discomfort when you lie on your side. In general, though, hip pain is categorized into three different types.

Hip flexor pain

The pain usually occurs on the outside of the hip, down the upper thigh, or along the buttocks. Usually, this pain is caused by a soft tissue injury involving the muscles, ligaments, or tendons. Hip flexor pain may also be caused by tendonitis.

Hip joint pain

This pain normally feels more deeply rooted than hip flexor pain. It will mostly occur on the inside of your hip or groin region. This pain is normally rooted in an injury or deterioration of the hip labrum, which is a band of cartilage-like tissue that lines the outer part of the hip socket.

Referred hip pain

Certain nerves that travel through the body can cause pain in the hip despite being located in a different part of the body. These cases of referred pain can be caused by several factors, such as lower back pain, pinched nerves, herniated discs, diabetes, and cancer.

Non Surgical Treatment for Hip Pain

Most patients that experience hip pain will never need surgery on their hip. Instead, a more conservative treatment plan will be assigned that will provide a less invasive solution with the best long-term outcome. Your treatment plan for hip pain may include:

  • Altering or reducing your current activity workload.
  • The use of crutches, a cane, or other assistive device.
  • Rest. Ice. Compression. Elevation, which is a treatment plan that any young athlete should be familiar with.
  • Physical therapy, which is a strong option for those with hip trouble. It will enable you to gain long term knowledge, as well as treatment, that will help strengthen and improve your hip’s flexibility.
  • The potential prescription of over the counter or prescription medication.

Hip Surgery in Raleigh

Utilizing small surgical cameras and tools, a hip arthroscopy will allow minimally invasive repair of the hip joint and also reveal to doctors any further damage in the area. A common use of arthroscopy is to repair a torn hip labrum.

More invasive, open hip surgery may be done to implant screws in the case of a fracture. In the case of severe osteoarthritic deterioration, your doctor may also use open hip surgery to perform a hip replacement. You can learn more about hip replacement surgery here.

Hip replacements will likely need to be replaced after several years. In rare cases, a patient may also have a less than stellar result, which can cause the continuation of pain and discomfort. In either case, hip replacement revisions will typically be undertaken by Raleigh surgeons to improve your long term outcome. Adjustments or total replacement of the prosthesis may be supported utilizing specialized implants to help compensate for any additional damage to the bone or soft tissue.

Hip Pain Clinics in Wake County

Raleigh Orthopaedic provides treatment for hip pain at six separate clinics in the Triangle Community. Our clinics can be found in Raleigh, North Raleigh, Cary, Garner, Holly Spring, and West Cary-Panther Creek. For those in need of shoulder surgery, we have two surgery centers in Raleigh and Panther Creek.

Additional Information for your Hip Appointment

  • Aetna / Coventry
  • Alignment HC
  • Blue Cross
  • Cigna
  • Humana
  • Humana Military/ Tricare East
  • MedCost
  • Medicaid
  • Medicare
  • Multiplan / PHCS
  • Prime Health
  • United Healthcare

 

Please come to your first appointment 30 minutes early with your photo ID, insurance card, and if applicable, any images or scans related to your visit. If your insurance plan has a copay, that will be collected at time of check-in. At your first appointment with Raleigh Orthopaedic, you will be expected to complete new patient forms, including a medical history questionnaire. You can update your demographics and fill out your new patient forms prior to your appointment through our Patient Portal. These forms will be used to get a baseline overview of pre-existing conditions and a better initial understanding of where and how you’re experiencing pain or discomfort. Conditions such as arthritis, osteoporosis, anemia, obesity, hypertension, and diabetes may all impact both diagnosis and treatment plan options.

If you are in need of emergency medical care for your hip, please go to UNC Rex Hospital. Raleigh Orthopaedic specialists are on call for orthopaedic trauma at all hours of the day.

Explore other Services Available at Raleigh Orthopaedic

In addition to the treatment of hip conditions, Raleigh Orthopaedic also provides the following orthopedic services and specialties to the Triangle Community.

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