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The Gilbert Hip Path
A practical East Valley guide to the next two years

The Gilbert Hip Path

What do people ask about a sore hip?

This page answers common questions about hip soreness, home relief, blood-based shots and surgery.

What exercises can help an older person with hip pain?

Try a short comfortable walk or rise slowly from a firm chair. Start with a repeatable amount, then check sleep and soreness the next morning.

How long does a sore hip bursa, the small fluid cushion outside the joint, take to settle?

There isn't one sure timetable because the nearby tendon, a tough cord joining muscle to bone, can hurt too. That cord may take longer to calm than the small cushion.

Can hip bursitis, soreness in that small outer-hip cushion, go away on its own?

Mild soreness may settle when you stop sleeping on that side and shorten painful walks. If it keeps returning, an exam can check the nearby cords and guide safe strength work.

Does PRP, a shot made from prepared blood, work for older people?

Staff draw and spin your blood, then use the concentrated part in the shot. Some human studies found relief, while broader reviews found no clear advantage over other shots. In Chandler, QC Kinetix offers this regenerative treatment; regenerative here means made from your blood. The clinic can't promise relief, and staff first check your health, medicines, movement and scan.

Can I live without having a hip replacement?

Many people keep doing daily tasks without replacement while soreness and stiffness stay manageable. If sleep, walking and dressing keep getting harder, it's reasonable to discuss surgery.

What are the first signs you need a hip replacement?

There isn't one first sign. Surgery becomes worth discussing when deep groin soreness, poor sleep, short walks and hard stairs continue after basic care.

What happens if you wait too long for a hip replacement?

A long wait may mean weaker muscles, less walking and more soreness while resting. Surgery has risks too, so your doctor can weigh your present limits against them.

Will a hip labral tear heal on its own when the soft rim around the socket is torn?

A tear on a scan may not cause your soreness because painless hips can have one too. The sore place, stiff movements and exam must match before anyone chooses treatment.

Sources

  1. The 2026 Cochrane update of exercise for hip osteoarthritis (18 trials, 1368 participants) found that against attention control or placebo, exercise may have little to no effect on pain (MD -6.31 points on 0-100, 95% CI -12.98 to 0.35, low certainty) and may improve physical function only slightly; against no treatment or usual care it probably reduces pain slightly (MD -7.19, 95% CI -10.70 to -3.68, moderate certainty) but the review states these improvements are unlikely to be clinically meaningful. This is a weaker result than the equivalent knee evidence and it must not be overstated.

    Hall M, et al. — Exercise for osteoarthritis of the hip.. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2026. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD007912.pub3.

  2. In a three-arm randomized trial of 204 people with MRI-confirmed gluteal tendinopathy, an eight-week physiotherapist-led education and exercise programme produced success on global rating of change in 51/66 participants at 8 weeks versus 38/65 for a single corticosteroid injection and 20/68 for wait-and-see. Education plus exercise beat the injection at 8 weeks (risk difference 19.9%) and still beat it at 52 weeks (20.4%).

    Mellor R, et al. — Education plus exercise versus corticosteroid injection use versus a wait and see approach on global outcome and pain from gluteal tendinopathy: prospective, single blinded, randomised clinical trial.. BMJ, 2018. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.k1662.

  3. In a double-blind RCT of 80 patients with chronic gluteal tendinopathy, a single ultrasound-guided intratendinous PRP injection produced a significantly better modified Harris Hip Score at 12 weeks than a single corticosteroid injection (74.05 vs 67.13, P=.048), with 82% versus 56.7% reaching the minimal clinically important difference.

    Fitzpatrick J, et al. — The Effectiveness of Platelet-Rich Plasma Injections in Gluteal Tendinopathy: A Randomized, Double-Blind Controlled Trial Comparing a Single Platelet-Rich Plasma Injection With a Single Corticosteroid Injection.. American Journal of Sports Medicine, 2018. DOI: 10.1177/0363546517745525.

  4. A Bayesian network meta-analysis of 11 randomized trials (1353 patients) in hip osteoarthritis found that at 2-4 months and 6 months NO injectable - corticosteroid, hyaluronic acid or platelet-rich plasma - significantly outperformed a saline placebo injection for pain or function. Pooled change from baseline exceeded the minimal clinically important difference in every arm including placebo.

    Gazendam A, et al. — Intra-articular saline injection is as effective as corticosteroids, platelet-rich plasma and hyaluronic acid for hip osteoarthritis pain: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2021. DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2020-102179.

  5. Pooled analysis of national joint registries (Australia and Finland, 215,676 hip replacements) put 25-year all-cause construct survival at 57.9% (95% CI 57.1-58.7); pooled case series gave 77.6% (95% CI 76.0-79.2). The authors conclude patients and surgeons can expect a hip replacement to last 25 years in around 58% of patients.

    Evans JT, et al. — How long does a hip replacement last? A systematic review and meta-analysis of case series and national registry reports with more than 15 years of follow-up.. The Lancet, 2019. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31665-9.

  6. A population-based analysis of 63,158 total hip replacements found 10-year implant survival of 95.6% and 20-year survival of 85.0%, but the LIFETIME risk of revision rose sharply with younger age at surgery - about 5% for those operated after 70, up to 35% (95% CI 30.9-39.1) for men in their early 50s, with a median time to revision of 4.4 years in those operated before 60.

    Bayliss LE, et al. — The effect of patient age at intervention on risk of implant revision after total replacement of the hip or knee: a population-based cohort study.. The Lancet, 2017. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)30059-4.

  7. FDA states verbatim that regenerative medicine products including stem cells, stromal vascular fraction, umbilical cord blood, Wharton's jelly, amniotic fluid and exosomes have NOT been approved 'for the treatment of any orthopedic condition, such as osteoarthritis, tendonitis, disc disease, tennis elbow, back pain, hip pain, knee pain, neck pain, or shoulder pain.' The only FDA-approved stem cell products in the United States are blood-forming (hematopoietic progenitor) cells derived from umbilical cord blood, approved only for disorders affecting blood production.

    U.S. Food and Drug Administration — Consumer Alert on Regenerative Medicine Products Including Stem Cells and Exosomes.. FDA, 2026.

  8. In a single-surgeon RCT of 90 patients OVER 40 with MRI-confirmed symptomatic labral tears and limited radiographic OA (Tonnis 0-2), arthroscopic labral repair plus physical therapy beat physical therapy alone at 12 months (iHOT-33 +12.11, P=.007; mHHS +6.99, P=.04). 63.6% of the physical-therapy-alone group crossed over to surgery, which both supports the result and limits it.

    Martin SD, et al. — Hip Arthroscopy Versus Physical Therapy for the Treatment of Symptomatic Acetabular Labral Tears in Patients Older Than 40 Years: A Randomized Controlled Trial.. American Journal of Sports Medicine, 2021. DOI: 10.1177/0363546521990789.

Would you like the hip checked?

At the Chandler clinic, QC Kinetix offers regenerative treatment options, meaning non-surgical care made from your blood. Your first consultation is free, and clinic staff will check your hip, health and medicines.

Schedule a free consultation