I'm A Hip Surgeon. Here's The 1 Thing I'd Never Do If I Have Hip Pain.

It can be alarming to realize you’ve been having hip pain for a bit too long. After all, most people know someone who has had a hip replacement, and it’s easy to conclude that’s the only fix. According to the American College of Rheumatology, 544,000 hip replacements are done every year in the United States, and a 2020 study found that hip pain affects 10% of the general population and increases with age.

But like any joint, there can be a wide variety of issues with the hip ― and it isn’t an ailment that just affects older folks. Dr. Derek Ochiai, a board-certified arthroscopic hip surgeon and sports medicine doctor at Nirschl Orthopaedic Centerin Arlington, Virginia, said there are a variety of hip issues that affect younger people, too. In fact, a 2023 studyreported that 22% to 55% of individuals reporting hip pain have a labral tear, a condition affecting the hip socket that Ochiai often treats in younger people.

It can be easy to dismiss hip pain as an inevitability of getting older. But Ochiai stressed that’s the one thing he wouldn’t do if he personally was dealing with a hip problem.

Why Putting Off A Doctor’s Appointment For Hip Pain Could Be Seriously Harmful

If you’ve had pain for more than a couple of weeks, it’s time to visit a physician.

“Don’t ignore it. If you’re a young patient and you can’t sit in the car for 30 minutes at a time or you’re walking down a hallway and noticing you take a turn by using little steps, not twisting, that is not normal,” he said. “That could be a fixable, treatable hip condition.”

Pain with sitting, driving or sex might be a hip joint issue that needs to be evaluated, Ochiai added. Putting it off can put you at risk of arthritis, especially if you had a labral tear ,