Managing Hip Bursitis without Narcotics

The pain from hip bursitis can limit your mobility, reduce your ability to exercise and stay active, and impact your quality of life. In the past decade, it’s become more common for narcotics to be prescribed to alleviate the pain of hip bursitis.  You don’t need to turn to narcotics to manage your bursitis – there are several other steps you can take to keep the pain under control. Any initial treatment for hip bursitis at Pinehurst Surgical Orthopaedic & Joint Replacement Center is nonsurgical. Certain lifestyle changes can calm the inflammation and relieve the pain.

Switch Up Your Exercise Routine

If you typically jog or play tennis or other impactive sports for exercise, consider switching to a form of exercise that isn’t so hard on the joints – just until the inflammation is under control. Since extra weight can exacerbate hip pain, continuing to exercise is important. Try swimming or cycling.

Ice and Heat Can Improve Hip Bursitis Pain

When symptoms first occur, ice can help reduce pain and swelling, and moist heat is very beneficial during a bursitis flareup. You can soak in a tub or hot tub or use a moist heat heating pad.

Physical Therapy

Physical therapy can help improve hip bursitis. There are a number of exercises and stretches that can improve your mobility and alleviate hip pain.

Ibuprofen Can Help Reduce Inflammation

Ibuprofen is very effective for reducing inflammation. Ibuprofen is not addictive, but care must still be used when taking it. You should not drink alcohol or take more than the recommended dosage, as it can harm your liver.

Cortisone Shots

Pinehurst Surgical Orthopaedic & Joint Replacement Center can provide injections of a corticosteroid along with local anesthetic to relieve your pain. Cortisone injections can provide months of relief or even permanent relief, but this treatment can only be used on a limited basis because it can damage surrounding tissues.

If nonsurgical treatment doesn’t relieve your symptoms of hip bursitis, Dr. Moore may opt for surgery. With hip bursitis, surgery is rarely needed, but in some cases the bursa remains inflamed and painful despite physical therapy and other treatment. Surgery involves removing the bursa. This doesn’t affect the function of the hip and it doesn’t damage the hip.

Dr. Moore prefers to perform this surgery arthroscopically, if possible. He makes a small incision over the hip and a small camera, an arthroscope, is inserted. This provides guidance for miniature surgical instruments to be inserted through a second small incision to cut out the bursa.

For more information about Hip Replacement Surgery with Dr. Moore to reduce your joint pain or improve its function, call our office in Pinehurst, NC at (910) 295-0224.