@pjjr My 69 yr old wife had your exact situation but even more so: elliptical machine 6 days/wk- zero pain!
Had an issue which seemed like sciatica/piriformis; consulted chiropractor who did range of motion tests and literally said “Well, it’s definitely NOT your hip!” Gave her exercises which did not help.
I finally convinced her to see an orthopedist ‘just because’….
He took an XRay, declared ‘bone on bone, you need a new hip, call me when you can’t stand the pain anymore’ and walked out…we were stunned and in disbelief.
Got a second consult at HSS and orthopedist said the same thing, but since there was no pain from the hip itself, maybe it was referred pain and suggested a steroid shot into the capsule…useless.
But the doc said waiting would have NO bearing on the outcome and even if she postponed surgery by a few years it would not impact the chance for success.
But not being a procrastinator, she went ahead and had the hip replaced since she knew it was inevitable. She’s almost 5 months out and that pain she had is gone; she does, however, have some twinges here and there from the surgery itself and it may take a full year until all that is completely resolved.
FYI - this is NOT an atraumatic surgery and muscle/tissue manipulation is anything but ‘delicate’, even by our HSS surgeon who used the STAR approach and did the entire procedure virtually on his laptop before picking up a scalpel. Best,
Phil