Injections for hip arthritis
An injection into the hip can give some people a period of relief. This page explains the options honestly, including where the evidence is strong and where it is not.
Hip injections are image-guided
The hip is a deep joint, tucked under thick muscle, so it cannot be injected reliably by feel the way a knee can. Injections into the hip are done with imaging, using ultrasound or X-ray, so the needle reaches the joint accurately.
An injection is a way to buy comfort for a while. It does not repair the joint or change the course of the arthritis. For some people it helps enough to delay surgery or get through a busy season; for others it does little.
What can be injected
Corticosteroid (cortisone)A short-term option
A steroid injection can settle inflammation and ease pain for a period, often some weeks to a few months. Guidelines describe it as a reasonable short-term option for hip arthritis. The relief tends to fade, and repeated steroid injections into a joint are used sparingly.
Hyaluronic acid (gel injection)Not recommended for the hip
Sometimes called a lubricating or gel injection, hyaluronic acid is used in some knees. For the hip, high-quality studies show it works no better than a dummy injection for pain or function, and national guidelines strongly recommend against it. We are honest about that rather than offer a treatment the evidence does not support.
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP)
PRP uses a concentrate from your own blood. For hip arthritis the evidence is limited and it is not an established treatment. It is not usually funded, and we would only discuss it with a clear explanation of how little is known.
- American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Management of Osteoarthritis of the Hip (2023): corticosteroid injection may be considered for short-term relief (moderate); intra-articular hyaluronic acid is strongly not recommended for the hip.
Timing matters before a hip replacement
We do not operate within six months of a hip injection
A steroid injection into the hip raises the risk of infection around a new joint if surgery follows too soon. The research shows this added risk settles by about three months. Because a hip replacement is a planned, elective operation, Dr. Khoshbin takes the cautious path and does not schedule surgery within six months of a steroid injection into that hip. There is no reason to accept even a small avoidable risk when the timing is in our hands.
This is one reason injections and surgery are planned together rather than in isolation. If a hip replacement is likely within the year, it is worth deciding about an injection with your surgeon first. If you have already had one, tell the surgical team when, so the timing of surgery can take it into account.
- Evidence: intra-articular corticosteroid injection within three months before total hip arthroplasty is associated with increased periprosthetic joint infection risk; the effect is not seen beyond three months. (Meta-analysis and single-centre series, J Arthroplasty, 2023 to 2024.) The six-month interval used here is a deliberately conservative practice policy for elective surgery.
This page is general information, not personal medical advice. Whether an injection suits you, and its timing, depend on your hip, your symptoms, and your plans. Please decide with your doctor.