If you cannot bear weight after a fall, or a replaced hip suddenly becomes deformed and intensely painful, seek emergency care now. This may indicate a fracture or a dislocated implant. Also seek urgent care for a hot, swollen hip with fever.
Wear of the ball-and-socket joint at the top of the thigh bone. Hip replacement is among the most successful operations in all of surgery, and recovery is generally quicker and more predictable than after a knee replacement.
The first task is confirming the pain is actually coming from the hip. Groin pain usually is. Pain in the buttock or down the leg frequently comes from the spine instead, and a hip replacement will not help it.
The hip is a ball and socket. The ball at the top of the femur and the socket in the pelvis are both lined with cartilage, and in osteoarthritis that lining wears away until bone contacts bone. The joint stiffens, movement becomes restricted, and the leg may shorten slightly as the joint space collapses.
Where the pain is felt matters diagnostically. Hip arthritis characteristically causes groin pain, sometimes radiating to the front of the thigh and occasionally to the knee — a child complaining of knee pain may in fact have a hip problem. Pain in the buttock or down the back of the leg is more often spinal in origin.
Stiffness is as disabling as pain and often more revealing. Difficulty putting on socks and shoes, cutting toenails, or getting in and out of a car are the practical markers that the hip is severely affected.
Common causes beyond simple wear include avascular necrosis, which has its own page, previous childhood hip disease, and subtle shape abnormalities of the hip that concentrate load abnormally over decades.
Hip and spine problems frequently coexist in the same age group, and their symptoms overlap. A hip replacement performed for pain actually arising from the lumbar spine leaves the patient with the same pain and a new operation. Where the picture is unclear, an injection of local anaesthetic into the hip joint is a simple and decisive test — if the pain disappears for a few hours, the hip is the source. Ask about it if there is any doubt.
A standing X-ray of the pelvis answers most questions.
A single film showing both hips allows direct comparison and reveals the joint space under load. Tell us precisely where the pain is felt — groin, buttock, thigh or knee — and whether you can put on your own socks. Those two pieces of information tell an experienced surgeon a great deal before any imaging is examined.
Non-surgical treatment helps less in the hip than the knee, but is still worth a proper trial in earlier disease.
Weight reduction lessens load, and strengthening the muscles around the hip improves function and pain. Simple analgesics and anti-inflammatory medication help symptoms. These measures generally give less benefit in the hip than the knee, but a proper trial is still reasonable in earlier disease.
A steroid injection under imaging guidance can relieve pain for weeks to months, and the local anaesthetic component confirms the hip as the source of pain. Injections within roughly three months of a planned replacement raise infection risk, so the timing matters.
The femoral head and socket are replaced. It is among the most reliable operations in surgery for relieving pain and restoring function, and patients are frequently walking with support on the day of surgery. Modern bearing surfaces commonly last twenty years or more.
The femoral head is capped rather than removed, preserving bone. It is now used in a narrow group — typically younger, larger-framed men with good bone quality — after concerns about metal wear particles reduced its use considerably. It should not be offered routinely.
Groin pain and restricted internal rotation point to the hip. Buttock and leg pain may be spinal. This must be settled before operating.
Ceramic on polyethylene is the common modern combination. Cemented or uncemented fixation depends on your age and bone quality. Ask which is planned and why.
Diabetes control, weight, dental health and cardiac assessment all affect the risk of infection and complication, and all can be optimised before you travel.
If your X-ray shows a well-preserved hip joint and your pain is in the buttock, we will suggest your spine is investigated before anyone replaces your hip.
Sudden inability to bear weight in an arthritic hip may mean a fracture and needs an X-ray locally today rather than a flight.
Photographs taken on your phone are fine. Reports in Arabic, Russian or Bengali are fine — we translate them ourselves.
Generally yes. Hip replacement patients are often walking with support on the day of surgery, and the pain relief tends to be more immediate and complete. Knee replacement demands more rehabilitation work to achieve range of movement. Both require the full physiotherapy period, but hip patients usually find it easier.
Possibly not. Groin pain with restricted internal rotation is characteristic of hip arthritis. Buttock pain radiating down the leg is more often spinal. The two frequently coexist in the same age group, and an injection of local anaesthetic into the hip settles the question quickly — if the pain vanishes for a few hours, the hip is responsible.
Depending on the surgical approach, you may be advised to avoid crossing your legs, bending the hip beyond ninety degrees, or twisting on the operated leg for a period. Some modern approaches require fewer restrictions. This matters a great deal for sitting cross-legged and for floor-level toilets, so raise it before surgery if either is part of your daily life.
Ceramic on highly cross-linked polyethylene is the most widely used modern combination and has good long-term data. Metal-on-metal bearings have largely been abandoned because of concerns about metal wear particles. Ask which combination is planned for you and why — any surgeon should answer readily.
Surgeons aim for equal leg lengths and usually achieve it within a few millimetres. Small differences are common and most patients do not notice them; where noticeable, a shoe insert corrects it. Tell your surgeon if you already have a leg length difference, since that changes the plan.
Many patients can, but it depends on the surgical approach and any precautions advised. This is genuinely important to discuss beforehand rather than discover afterwards, and it can influence which approach the surgeon uses. Tell us in your first message if floor-level activity matters to you.
Send a standing X-ray of the pelvis showing both hips, and tell us exactly where the pain is felt. Location alone often settles whether the hip is the problem.
Your reports go directly to our medical team. We do not share your records with hospitals until you tell us to.
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Coordinators available 9:00–20:00 IST. We speak Arabic, English, Russian and Bengali.