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← Return to Video Q&A about Hip Pain Prevention & Treatment
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I had an acute multiple trauma accident several years ago. The fractures were involved in numerous areas of my body. They told me my left hip would definitely require replacing. Only I will know when. There is little space in the joint. The acetabulum repair with hardware is holding. I also had numerous repairs of the entire pelvis with SI joint fracture (completely fractured from sacrum) and pubic bone fractures. I take pain meds. I have pain in the left hip, and it will eventually resolve so I can walk okay. Lately, it is flaring up. I want to know if anything can help when dealing with trauma to the joint as far as supplements. I seem to remember there is not much to be done. I am just waiting until the time is right. I am also 55 yrs old and want to hold off as long as possible due to the life span of the replacement. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thank you for considering my question.
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Hi, thank you for the question. Here is the response from Dr. Hartigan:
"As far as general medications, the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory of choice done under the supervision of your primary care physician is an option. Alternative medications such as MSM, glucosamine, and chondroitin are precursors to cartilage. There have been studies that show they may help the pain in your hip, but likely not doing as advertised, restoring the damaged cartilage from your previous injuries. Another option would be an injection of cortisone in the hip. In my experience, this will help 75% of patients with their hip pain for a variable amount of time. If this is unsuccessful you may consider viscosupplementation injections. Again, about 75% chance of helping for a variable amount of time. These work best in patients with minimal to moderate arthritis. If severe, it is often times not as successful. In that setting, you may consider putting it off until the hip informs you it is time (can’t sleep, do activities of daily living, significant pain requiring medications…etc)."