What does the evidence say about hip care?

Why doesn't knee research settle a hip choice?

Your hip sits deeper than your knee. Walking presses each joint differently. A knee study can't settle how a treatment affects sore hips.

Pills don't suit everyone, even when they help. Kidney, stomach, heart, and bleeding risks still matter. Have a doctor or pharmacist review your health before you choose.

What can research tell you about a procedure?

Useful research tells you who received the care. It says what people could do afterward. It also says how long any relief lasted.

In Chandler, QC Kinetix medical providers examine your hip before discussing care. Its biologic therapies include PRP, which uses the platelet-rich part of your own spun blood. The provider places the prepared part into your sore area. These treatments don't involve surgery.

Research hasn't clearly shown how well PRP eases hip arthritis soreness. Ask what people with sore hips actually noticed. Also ask when the clinic will check your walking, sleep, or other daily task.

How do you spot a claim that goes too far?

Be careful when every sore hip gets one answer. Groin and outer-hip soreness don't always share a cause. Your exam and X-ray need to fit your symptoms.

Don't accept promises about rebuilding a worn joint. No one can promise a certain outcome. Good care doesn't hide what's unknown and still considers surgery when needed.

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 placebo-controlled, participant- and assessor-blinded RCT of 102 people with radiographically confirmed hip OA, 12 weeks of active physical therapy (education, manual therapy, home exercise, gait aid) did NOT beat sham ultrasound and inert gel on pain (mean difference 6.9 mm favouring sham, 95% CI -3.9 to 17.7) or function at week 13, and mild adverse effects were more common in the active group (41% vs 14%).

   Bennell KL, et al. — Effect of physical therapy on pain and function in patients with hip osteoarthritis: a randomized clinical trial.. JAMA, 2014. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2014.4591.

3. A Cochrane review of 62 trials (6508 participants) found that adjunctive therapies added to land-based exercise - electrophysical agents, manual therapy, acupuncture, taping, insoles and others - produced no clinically important additional benefit for pain, function or quality of life. The reviewers explicitly warn that only one of the 62 trials studied hip OA alone, so extrapolation to the hip needs caution.

   French HP, et al. — Adjunctive therapies in addition to land-based exercise therapy for osteoarthritis of the hip or knee.. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2022. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD011915.pub2.

4. The SPACE randomized trial (240 patients with chronic back pain or hip/knee OA pain) found opioids were NOT superior to non-opioid medications for pain-related function over 12 months, pain intensity was significantly BETTER in the non-opioid group, and medication-related adverse symptoms were significantly more common with opioids. The results do not support initiating opioid therapy for hip osteoarthritis pain.

   Krebs EE, et al. — Effect of Opioid vs Nonopioid Medications on Pain-Related Function in Patients With Chronic Back Pain or Hip or Knee Osteoarthritis Pain: The SPACE Randomized Clinical Trial.. JAMA, 2018. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2018.0899.

5. The Cochrane review of topical NSAIDs for chronic musculoskeletal pain (39 studies, 10,631 participants) found topical diclofenac and ketoprofen give good pain relief for a minority of people with osteoarthritis (NNT 9.8 and 6.9), but states plainly that these efficacy results were 'almost completely derived from people with knee osteoarthritis' - which is why hip-specific guidance on topical NSAIDs is weaker than knee guidance.

   Derry S, et al. — Topical NSAIDs for chronic musculoskeletal pain in adults.. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2016. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD007400.pub3.

6. A meta-analysis of nine RCTs found duloxetine produced modest-to-moderate improvement over placebo in osteoarthritis or chronic low back pain (Brief Pain Inventory 24-hour average pain WMD -0.67, 95% CI -0.80 to -0.53), at the cost of more treatment-emergent adverse events (RR 1.25) and more discontinuations for adverse events (RR 2.31), with no difference in serious adverse events.

   Weng C, et al. — Efficacy and safety of duloxetine in osteoarthritis or chronic low back pain: a Systematic review and meta-analysis.. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, 2020. DOI: 10.1016/j.joca.2020.03.001.

7. A 106-patient double-blind RCT found a single INTRAMUSCULAR gluteal injection of 40 mg triamcinolone reduced hip pain at rest more than placebo at 2 weeks (difference -1.3, 95% CI -2.3 to -0.3) with effects on walking pain and WOMAC pain persisting to 12 weeks - relevant because intramuscular injection avoids entering the joint.

   Dorleijn DMJ, et al. — Intramuscular glucocorticoid injection versus placebo injection in hip osteoarthritis: a 12-week blinded randomised controlled trial.. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 2018. DOI: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2017-212628.

8. The AAOS evidence-based clinical practice guideline on Management of Osteoarthritis of the Hip states verbatim: STRONG evidence supports intra-articular corticosteroids to improve function and reduce pain in the SHORT TERM; STRONG evidence does NOT support intra-articular hyaluronic acid, because it does not perform better than placebo for function, stiffness and pain; STRONG evidence supports physical therapy for mild to moderate symptoms; STRONG evidence supports NSAIDs for short-term pain and function; and MODERATE evidence does not support glucosamine sulfate.

   American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons — Management of Osteoarthritis of the Hip: Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guideline.. AAOS, 2017.

9. OARSI 2019 designates arthritis education plus structured land-based exercise as CORE treatments for hip OA, and explicitly states that intra-articular corticosteroids, intra-articular hyaluronic acid and aquatic exercise - Level 1B/2 treatments for KNEE OA - were NOT recommended for individuals with hip or polyarticular OA. Oral and transdermal opioids are strongly not recommended (Level 5).

   Bannuru RR, et al. — OARSI guidelines for the non-surgical management of knee, hip, and polyarticular osteoarthritis.. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, 2019. DOI: 10.1016/j.joca.2019.06.011.