Hip Treatment

From sleepless nights to difficulty walking, hip pain can have a big impact on your quality of life. At New Hampshire Orthopaedic Center (NHOC), we specialize in hip treatments that relieve symptoms and help you regain your independence.

Hip Care Excellence in New Hampshire

At NHOC, our hip specialists take time to listen as you explain how your symptoms affect your life. We measure success by how you feel — both physically and emotionally — and your ability to get back to the activities and life you love. You also experience:

  • Skilled physicians: Our board-certified hip specialists have all completed fellowship training, the highest level of training in their specialty. They are experienced in routine and complex surgeries as well as specialty care for athletes. This expertise means they’re able to deliver successful outcomes for all hip conditions.
  • Hip replacement expertise: Our team includes hip surgeons who specialize in hip replacement surgery. Their experience with the latest techniques, including anterior hip replacement and same-day hip replacement, leads to faster recoveries.
  • Team approach: When you come to NHOC, you benefit from the expertise of our entire team, not just one doctor. From hip surgeons and physical therapists to patient coordinators and imaging technicians, our team is in constant communication about your care. This close collaboration ensures that we deliver consistent, quality care and excellent outcomes.
  • Coordinated care: Handling the logistics of getting medical care can feel like a full-time job. Our patient coordinators are here to help, so you can focus on healing. They help you schedule and coordinate appointments, understand your insurance coverage, prepare for surgery and recovery, and more. Your coordinator keeps track of all the details involved in your care, so you don’t have to.
  • Convenient locations: We offer hip care near the area’s best hospitals in Nashua, Bedford and Londonderry. Get effective hip care at the office location most convenient for you.

New Hampshire Orthopaedic Center offers many procedures for the hip, including:

  • Arthroscopy
  • Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) for the hip
  • Total hip replacement
  • Resurfacing arthroplasty
  • Revision hip replacement
  • Trochanteric bursitis surgery

 


Understanding Your Hip

The hip joint is one of the largest joints in your body. It’s a ball and socket joint with two major parts:

  • Acetabulum: The acetabulum is your hip socket. It is part of the pelvic bone. If you think of the acetabulum like a teacup, a ring of cartilage called the labrum outlines the cup’s rim.
  • Femoral head: The femoral head is the rounded top of the thighbone (femur). It fits into the acetabulum.

The ligaments, muscles and tendons surrounding the hip joint keep it stable and help it move. There are also fluid-filled sacs called bursae around the hip. They reduce friction between the bones and soft tissues.

Among the five bursae around the hip, the trochanteric bursa is most likely to be injured and inflamed. It sits on top of the pointy part of the hip bone (greater trochanter) on the outside of the hip.

Types of Hip Pain We Treat

Our hip specialists treat the full spectrum of hip injuries and conditions, including:

  • Hip impingement (femoroacetabular impingement): Hip impingement occurs when the femoral head or acetabulum thickens. This overgrowth causes the bones to fit together poorly. As the ill-fitting ball and socket rub together, they can damage the labrum over time.
  • Hip arthritis: Age-related wear and tear on the hip joint leads to osteoarthritis. The cartilage that cushions the bones breaks down, causing the bones to rub together. This friction can lead to hip pain, stiffness and hip labrum tears.
  • Hip bursitis (trochanteric bursitis): Hip bursitis occurs when the bursa becomes inflamed. The inflammation causes pain on the outer part of your hip, especially when you press the area or lay on it.
  • Snapping hip syndrome: This condition can cause audible or painful clicking in the hip. The clicking happens when a tight muscle or tendon moves over a part of the bone that sticks out.
  • Hip fractures: Hip fractures are breaks in the bones around the hip joint or upper third of the femur. Elderly adults and people with osteoporosis (weakened bones) are more likely to experience hip fractures.

Diagnosing Hip Pain

To diagnose the source of your pain, your doctor will perform a physical exam and review your medical history. Our hip specialists take their time during these visits because they know listening is one of the most important diagnostic tools we have. If needed, you may also get X-rays or an MRI scan of the affected area.

At NHOC, we use the latest imaging technologies including MR arthrogram. During this advanced MRI scan, we inject your hip joint with a special contrast dye. This dye makes it easier to see damage that a regular MRI might miss.

Your doctor may also do a steroid or cortisone injection at the same time. The injection may also help relieve your pain.

Nonsurgical Hip Treatments

Our hip specialists offer the full range of nonsurgical hip treatments, including:

  • Counseling and education: Your doctor explains how to relieve your symptoms with rest, activity, lifestyle changes, and over-the-counter and prescription medications.
  • Physical therapy: Physical therapy can help stabilize your hip joint through conditioning exercises. Our skilled physical therapists work with your hip specialist to create a personalized plan that addresses pain and improves your ability to perform everyday tasks. Read more about physical therapy at NHOC
  • Cortisone injections: A cortisone injection in the hip joint can relieve pain, improve mobility and help you benefit more from physical therapy.

Hip Surgery

Hip surgery is one of the most common orthopedic procedures. It involves repairing or replacing the hip joint and pelvic bone.

Hip surgery is usually a last resort. But if you don’t feel better with nonsurgical hip treatments, it may be a good option for you.

Our hip surgeons offer the full range of hip surgery and reconstruction options, including:

Hip arthroscopy

Hip arthroscopy is a minimally invasive hip surgery that can treat hip impingement, snapping hip syndrome and labrum tears resulting from hip arthritis. It’s typically performed on an outpatient basis, which means that you can go home to recover the same day. Learn more about hip arthroscopy.

Hip replacement surgery (arthroplasty)

During total hip replacement surgery, your hip surgeon:
1. Removes the damaged hip joint
2. Replaces the femoral head with a metal stem with a ball on top
3. Replaces the acetabulum with a metal socket
4. Inserts a spacer between the new prosthetic ball and socket so they glide smoothly against each other

Most NHOC hip surgeons perform anterior hip replacement surgery. During the procedure, hip surgeons access the joint through an incision on the front (anterior) of your leg instead of the back. This approach decreases damage to surrounding muscles and tendons, which helps you recover faster and with less pain. Read more about the anterior approach for hip replacement.

Other hip replacement surgery options include:

  • Resurfacing arthroplasty (hip resurfacing): In hip resurfacing, doctors do not remove the femoral head. Instead, they cap it with a smooth metal covering and replace the acetabulum with a metal socket.
  • Revision hip replacement: Over time, your original hip replacement surgery can fail because of injury, infection, problems with the prosthetic hip joint or other issues. During this procedure, doctors re-do the hip replacement surgery by replacing some or all of the prosthesis.

Locations

Nashua
17 Riverside Street, Suite 101
Nashua, NH 03062
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Bedford
9 Washington Place, Suite 101
Bedford, NH 03110
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Londonderry
41 Buttrick Road
Londonderry, NH 03053
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Contact Us About Hip Care

For questions about our hip program, or to make an appointment with one of our hip specialists, call or text 603.883.0091.


Meet Our NHOC Hip Care Specialists


Hip Care Specialists Physicians