Lasting Improvements For Hip Treatment

Orthopaedic surgeons at the University of Chicago Medicine provide innovative, comprehensive hip care. Our team uses the latest treatment approaches and technologies, which we tailor to each patient to treat hip pain, instability or disability. We offer non-operative, arthroscopic and joint replacement.

Find relief for your joint pain at UChicago Medicine. Your joints are involved in almost every activity you do. When you suffer from hip or knee pain, everyday activities can feel unbearable. Knee and hip pain can be caused by many conditions. At UChicago Medicine, we can help relieve your pain.

You may find relief using nonsurgical treatment options. If these do not provide relief, your doctor might recommend a partial or total joint replacement. In joint-replacement surgery, also called arthroplasty, your surgeon replaces damaged bone and cartilage with an implant that will allow you to move your joint without pain.

At UChicago Medicine, we perform a high volume of joint-replacement surgeries every year. Higher surgery volumes are associated with better outcomes and lower rates of complications. Our orthopedic surgeons are at the forefront of joint-replacement surgery, including using robotic-arm-assisted technology. This technology helps to customize surgery to your unique needs.

Let's take a closer look at a total knee replacement. First, a CT scan of the knee generates a virtual 3D model of your unique joint. Your surgeon uploads this model into software to create your surgical plan. Your surgeon has the flexibility to modify this plan at any time based on your needs.

Your surgeon guides the robotic arm to remove the damaged bone and cartilage from the knee, keeping your healthy bone and cartilage in place. With the diseased bone gone, your surgeon inserts a knee implant into the joint space.

Robotic-assisted technology is just one example of how UChicago Medicine uses less-invasive surgery to help you recover faster. Our orthopedic program includes less-invasive surgery, specialized anesthetic techniques, and rapid-recovery physical therapy. Many of our patients are up and walking with more mobility and less pain within a day of surgery.

Ready to relieve your joint pain? UChicago Medicine is here to help.

Non-Surgical Treatments for Hip Pain

If you have persistent hip pain, it is important to consult a physician. An examination will help to determine what is causing the soreness, as hip pain can come from locations other than the hip, such as the spine, pelvis or leg. Common non-surgical treatments for hip pain include:

  • NSAIDs. Anti-inflammatories, commonly known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (usually abbreviated as NSAIDs) are used primarily to treat mild to moderate hip pain.
  • Physical Therapy. Physical therapy is an integral part of managing hip pain. The hip joint is a very deep joint surrounded by many muscles. Physical therapy aims to strengthen these muscles, increase flexibility, maintain range of motion of the joint, and decrease associated inflammation.
  • Injections. Hip joint injections involve injecting medicine directly into the joint. Injections can help diagnose the source of pain and alleviate the discomfort. Cortisone is a common time-released injection that can help reduce inflammation and its associated pain.

Hip Preservation Treatments

For younger people with hip pain, eventual replacement of the joint is no longer a given. Our orthopaedic surgeons are skilled in the latest advancements in hip arthroscopy for soft tissue tears, dysplasia and abnormalities which can help patients with non-arthritic hip pain. This can relieve pain and preserve the natural joints in order to delay or avoid total hip replacement.

Hip preservation at UChicago Medicine focuses on the following tailored treatment for patients under 50 with hip pain:

  • Arthroscopy

  • Femoral and acetabular osteotomy (surgery to reshape the hip joint)

  • Cartilage restoration

  • Hip resurfacing

  • Hip replacement (arthoplasty)

Hip Replacement

At UChicago Medicine, orthopaedic surgeons are experts in hip arthroplasty and use less-invasive techniques to reconstruct diseased hip joints or bones. We are committed to providing innovative and effective treatments for patients who are suffering from severe hip pain or disability. We are extremely skilled in helping those experiencing discomfort due to:

  • Osteoarthritis

  • Rheumatoid arthritis

  • Traumatic injury

  • Failed joint replacements

  • Deformities

  • Cancer

We perform a large volume of joint replacements every year. Our experience and expertise contributes to our patients’ excellent outcomes and low rate of complications.

In many cases, hip replacement surgery is performed with robotic-arm assisted technology, a technique that improves the accuracy of hip implant placement. We also preform anterior hip replacement surgery, a unique alternative approach that accessing the hip joint from the front, or anterior.

Recover Faster, Walk Sooner

Many of our patients are up and walking within a day of surgery. This quick recovery is due to a multifaceted program for hip arthroplasty that includes less invasive surgery, specialized anesthetic techniques, multi-modal pain management and rapid-recovery physical therapy.

Joint Replacement Education Class

There is wide range of specialists at the University of Chicago who specialize in simple arthritic issues, also complex arthritic issues, such as total hip and knee revisions, oncological issues, such as tumors of the bone, soft tissue tumors and more.

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