Northeast Ohio’s Most Experienced and Trained Hip Preservation Team

Patients with hip-joint pain or lack of movement don’t always need joint replacement surgery. University Hospitals fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeons are among the most experienced and skilled in the nation with hip-preserving minimally invasive arthroscopy procedures, averaging more than 300 such surgeries each year. No other surgeons in northeast Ohio offer UH’s combined experience and specialized hip preservation expertise.

Hip arthroscopy is highly effective for some hip conditions that until recently would have required a total joint replacement. The procedure uses incisions of no more than two to three millimeters and a small camera, about the diameter of a pencil, to repair the hip joint. As a result, patients have less pain and a higher level of function than before the surgery. The procedure has also shown to prevent or delay hip arthritis.

Leaders in Treating All Hip Injuries and Conditions

UH orthopedic surgeons are fellowship-trained, which means they have years of additional training, specifically for hip conditions. One such increasingly common condition is femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) which causes pain and leads to cartilage damage and eventually arthritis of the hip. In fact, a study shows that 70 to 90 percent of all hip arthritis was due to FAI or hip dysplasia.

When symptoms of hip impingement start to develop, it usually means there is damage to the cartilage in the hip socket and FAI is likely to progress. That is why seeking prompt diagnosis and treatment for hip pain from a highly trained and skilled orthopedic care specialist is so crucial.

Advanced Diagnostic Tests for Hip Joint Problems

Understanding the cause of hip discomfort or lack of mobility requires imaging tests of the joint. Those tests may include radiographs or X-rays of the hip and pelvis. If you and your surgeon decide surgery is the best treatment course, then a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is performed with a special injection of contrast dye so the surgeon can better see all the joint’s ligaments and cartilage.

A computed tomography (CT) imaging scan may also be performed. With some hip conditions, a three-dimensional-reconstruction CT scan is often necessary. The three-dimensional perspective is created on the CT equipment by taking multiple images of the hip in different locations.

The surgeon and radiologist will study the images from all your tests to confirm a diagnosis and design a customized treatment plan. Receiving care at UH allows you to receive these diagnostic imaging tests quickly and at several convenient locations throughout northeast Ohio.

Comprehensive Treatments to Restore Hip Joint

Regardless of the hip pain or other hip condition, our highly-qualified team of orthopaedists, sports medicine doctors, physical therapists and other providers will determine the right treatment program based on your unique care needs, which may include:

• Activity modification: Assessment of functional or activity issues, including avoiding actions that may cause increased pain or additional symptoms.
• Medication: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications can reduce inflammation and pain.
• Physical therapy: For strengthening and increasing range of motion, hip exercises to build muscle and ease stress on the cartilage and bone will be a part of your treatment plan.
• Local anesthetic: A cortisone or platelet-rich plasma injection may be used to provide temporary hip pain relief.
• Surgery: Apart from hip arthroscopy, open hip osteotomies is another surgical procedure that is performed for patients with a type of dysplasia or complex rotation deformities.

Schedule Your Appointment Today

FAI and other hip conditions often worsen without proper diagnosis and treatment – increasing pain and limiting movement. Please contact us today to schedule an appointment with one of our specialists conveniently located throughout northeast Ohio. Call 440-848-5027 or use our Online Request Form.