Young or old, hip pain can affect us all. You may start noticing difficulty walking upstairs, bending down, or when performing simple tasks.
When it gets so severe that your normal daily routine is greatly affected, and you can no longer do the things you love, medical intervention is needed.
The causes of hip pain can range from injury to hereditary conditions, but most commonly relate to arthritis. This is where the cartilage in your hip joint (the ‘cushioning’ around the bones) begins to break down, usually through your natural ageing process.
The extent of your arthritis may inform how effective certain treatments will be, so finding an accurate diagnosis should be your first priority. This is all taken care of at an initial consultation with us at Mount Alvernia.
Older patients tend to come in with established arthritis, and our consultants can assess the extent of the arthritis and form a treatment plan accordingly.
If you feel like you are starting to lose your independence, a simple self-referral to Mount Alvernia can get you on the right path towards a treatment plan, relief from symptoms, and a return to a more independent lifestyle.
Whether you’re local to Guildford or travelling from London and further afield, private care at Mount Alvernia aims to get you an accurate diagnosis promptly, as well as appropriate treatment to start addressing your symptoms without any further delay.
When symptoms are severe, hip replacement surgery can improve your condition dramatically. By replacing the damaged hip joint with an artificial implant, the arthritic joint is completely removed, restoring mobility and offering relief from pain.
At Mount Alvernia, we have three main ways of treating the cause of your hip pain:
- Steroid injections
- Arthroscopy (keyhole surgery)
- Hip replacement surgery
Many patients assume they will have to undergo hip replacement surgery when their pain starts to detract from their everyday life, but this isn’t always the case. Non-surgical interventions can make a huge difference, saving the patient the need for a long recovery period after surgery. Steroid injections are one such intervention that can provide excellent relief from symptoms, and repeat injections can be arranged if they have proved effective.
Keyhole surgery in the form of an arthroscopy is available, which involves a minimally-invasive procedure to reduce recovery times. A thin, flexible tube with a camera and light attached to it is passed into the hip joint via small incisions around your hip, allowing your consultant to visualise the joint itself. Occasionally this is performed for diagnostic reasons if other scans have been unclear, but mostly this is used to fix various cartilage issues or impingements.
For younger patients, especially those who wish to return to an active lifestyle, joint preserving surgery may be the most beneficial. This is also achieved with arthroscopic surgery, where your consultant will trim cartilage and/or re-shape the bone to make your hip function better.
After being taken into one of our consulting rooms, your consultant will ask for your medical history, as well as a detailed breakdown of your symptoms. They will most likely want to know:
- What symptoms have you been experiencing?
- How long have you had them?
- If you are in pain, can you describe it? Is the pain sharp or does it spread out? Is it constant or intermittent?
- Have your symptoms become progressively worse?
- Is your pain felt solely in the hip? Is your knee affected?
They will also perform a physical examination of the leg in question, including exercises to bend or lift the leg, assessing your pain levels, mobility, and looking for signs of injury to your tendons and ligaments. If you are experiencing pain in your knee, this examination will help determine if the pain is localised to the knee, or if it is referred pain from the hip joint.
Usually, your consultant will want you to have an x-ray in order to take a good look at the hip joint, especially the bone structures of the hip. Arthritis can be diagnosed in this way, and the severity of the arthritis normally shows up on the scan, allowing your consultant to start planning the appropriate level of treatment. If the arthritis has been discovered early, non-surgical measures may be suitable in addressing your symptoms.
Once your consultant has made an accurate diagnosis, the two of you can discuss the best options for your personalised treatment, allowing you to weigh up all the benefits of a potential surgery and make an informed decision on the course your treatment takes. All treatment options will be presented to you in a clear and concise manner, and your consultant will be happy to answer any remaining questions at this point.
Whichever course of treatment you choose, you will have the full extent of the facilities at Mount Alvernia available to you, supported by an experienced nursing team in theatre and on the ward, with excellent physiotherapy services to help you in your recovery.
By choosing to have your treatment at Mount Alvernia, you’ll be able to take advantage of all these great benefits:
Assessments ASAP – If your quality of life has been affected by your symptoms, you’ll want to be seen by a consultant without any unnecessary delay. By seeing patients rapidly, our consultants can get you started on the right course of treatment as soon as possible.
Patient Satisfaction – 98.2% of other patients in 2019 said they would happily recommend the Mount Alvernia Hospital to friends and family in an independent report, and we’re confident that you’ll agree. 98.8% also said that the quality of care here at Mount Alvernia Hospital was either ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’. We aim to make your stay with us as comfortable as possible, and these results highlight our continued efforts to ensure this is achieved.
Personalised care – We believe in a bespoke approach to treatment, tailoring each experience to our patients’ needs and whatever may be best for you.
A Multidisciplinary Approach – Our teams at Mount Alvernia work in tandem with each other to provide you with the best possible care from start to finish. Working closely with physiotherapists, as well as a dedicated team of radiographers, anaesthetists, and nurses, you have support from medical professionals every step of the way during your treatment.
Convenient appointments – With appointments available at dedicated clinics 5 days a week, you are sure to find an appointment slot that suits your needs and availability.
Park with ease – We know that parking should be the least of your worries when attending hospital, so our car park has ample space to accommodate your needs. On particularly busy days, you can also find nearby parking bays and on-street parking if spaces are limited.
If you have been suffering from persistent hip pain, why not get in touch with our reception team today to book a consultation? Our consultants can organise the necessary diagnostic tests to investigate your symptoms, and outline all treatment options for you promptly, arranging any further scans or surgery if required.
For peace of mind and expert care, book an appointment online now.
