Non operative management options for hip arthritis are the mainstay of treatment if you have suspected hip osteoarthritis. These can be used even before you consider having any investigation, as it is normally relatively clear that your symptoms relate to hip osteoarthritis. Unless you’ve had a sporting injury or trauma to the hip of any kind, you would probably not require any Xray to start with. The following are some treatment options that many of our patients have found helpful in managing early hip osteoarthritis. As always, please check with your regular general practitioner who can check that the following modalities are safe.

1. Regular Panadol Osteo – This is the same as regular Panadol (Paracetamol) however the dose per tablet is slightly higher. This means that you should only take up to a maximum of 6 tablets per day rather than the usual 8 for Panadol.
2. Glucosamine and Fish Oil – A large study performed in the USA found that there was a benefit in approximately 2/3rds of patients suffering from pain from osteoarthritis of the knee or hip. This helped to reduce the perceived pain. Glucosamine and Fish oil act as a natural anti-inflammatory and can be a great supplement to your usual medications as the risks are comparatively low. Fish oil has other beneficial effects for the rest of the your body, not just your joints. These agents will never repair cartilage, but can act to prevent inflammation which can be harmful to a joint.
3. Anti-inflammatory medication – Taken in short spurts, this can be a safe and effective method to reduce pain. Anti-inflammatory medication can interact with other medications, so ensure that you check with your doctor first. You should only take this sort of medication on a short burst regimen. A few days on and then a few days off.
4. Weight loss – maintaining a healthy weight will decrease pain on any joint.