| When Should You Seek Treatment? |
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It is hard to say how long and how bad something should bother you before you decide to have it checked out. In general, if you begin experiencing hip symptoms, think back on whether you can identify any activity or change in your routine that may have precipitated the symptoms. If you can modify or avoid these for a while, it may be appropriate. Many people will try a little over the counter non-steroidal medication such as ibuprofen or naproxen if it is not contraindicated for them. If symptoms persist or seem to be worsening, then it is probably prudent to have this investigated further. Your primary care physician can assist in obtaining radiographs as well as implementing conservative treatment. However, remember that some hip joint disorders can be elusive, even to experienced orthopaedic surgeons. X-rays are an important part of any routine evaluation. However, except for a few conditions including arthritis, x-rays are often unremarkable for most disorders inside the joint. MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) is a sophisticated, non-radiation scan that helps to look at the various soft tissue structures within and around the hip, including cartilage, ligaments, tendons, and muscles. However, not all MRI machines are the same. It takes a particularly high quality machine with high resolution images to detect any of the problems normally seen inside the joint. Even these studies are imperfect, and may overlook many of these disorders. Sometimes your doctor may order an MRI where dye is injected inside the hip before the scan. This may be more sensitive at detecting some injuries, but is still less than perfect. Also important, sometimes hip joint symptoms may coexist with tendinitis or back problems just to mention a few. When the dye is injected in the hip, they can also inject anesthetic which will temporarily numb up the interior of the joint for a few hours. This can be especially helpful in differentiating how much of your pain may be emanating from a problem inside the joint. |
