Hip Pain
Assessed and treated in English by the physician who reads your imaging. Hip pain often starts somewhere other than the hip.
Overview
Hip pain can come from the joint itself, the tendons and bursae around it, or be referred from the spine or sacroiliac joint. Treating the wrong source is a common reason hip pain persists.
At Nucellin Orthopedic Clinic in Hannam-dong, Seoul, Dr. Kim personally evaluates each patient and can conduct the consultation in English.
This page explains which hip conditions we commonly see, how they are assessed and which non-surgical treatments may be considered.
Common Hip Conditions
- Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) and labral irritation
- Greater trochanteric pain syndrome and hip bursitis
- Hip flexor and gluteal tendinopathy
- Adductor and groin strain
- Early hip osteoarthritis
- Referred pain from the spine or sacroiliac joint
- Post-injury and post-surgical rehabilitation
Diagnosis
Diagnosis starts with your story and a hands-on examination, not with the scan.
- Examination of the hip, spine and gait
- Functional testing, including single-leg stance, step-down and squat patterns
- Point-of-care musculoskeletal ultrasound for tendon and bursal problems
- X-ray or MRI when clinically indicated
The purpose is not simply to identify an abnormality on a scan. It is to determine whether that abnormality explains your pain and loss of function.
Treatment Options
Treatment is stepped. We start with the least invasive option that can plausibly change your symptoms.
- Regenerative physical therapy, load management and a personalised home exercise programme
- Ultrasound-guided injections where indicated
- Activated PRF therapy for tendon involvement
- Shockwave therapy for chronic tendon and soft-tissue pain
- Stem cell therapy considered for selected joint conditions
With consistent rehabilitation, many patients notice progress within three to six weeks. Procedures are added selectively, when the examination and response to treatment indicate them.
When to See a Doctor
See a doctor if hip or groin pain has lasted more than a few weeks despite sensible load changes, limits walking, or wakes you at night.
Seek urgent care after significant trauma, if you cannot bear weight, or if the hip is hot and swollen with fever.
Information about insurance and payment is available on the Insurance & Payment page.
To arrange an evaluation, please contact the clinic.
Hip or groin pain that keeps returning?
Send your scan and get a second opinion from the doctor, in English.