At UPMC, our goal is to help you preserve your hips while making them function the best they can. We think holistically about your hips and how they affect other areas of your body.
We treat hip-related injuries and conditions in people of all ages, although much of our focus is on active people and athletes. Once we diagnose and treat you through either a surgical or nonsurgical approach, we then connect you with rehab.
Our doctors, advanced practice providers, and physical therapists work together to help you understand your hip injury or condition, prevent further injury, and return to your active lifestyle.
Certain hip preservation services are offered by orthopaedic providers across our footprint; however, we offer a Hip Preservation Program dedicated to this specialty in Pittsburgh.
Make an Appointment at the Hip Preservation Program
Call 412-784-5770 to make an appointment at the specialized Hip Preservation Program in Pittsburgh.
Conditions We Treat
We treat a wide range of hip-related conditions. The ones we see most often are:
- Athletic hip injuries — We see a wide range of hip injuries related to sports. Sometimes athletes have tendon pain or hip fractures from trauma and overuse.
- Avascular necrosis (AVN) — Also called osteonecrosis of the hip, AVN happens when the top of your thigh bone loses its blood supply. It causes pain and makes you lose mobility in your hip.
- Hip dysplasia — Also called acetabular dysplasia, this happens when your hip socket isn’t shaped correctly. Some people are born with it. But it can often go undetected until later in life when it starts to cause hip pain.
- Hip impingement —Called femoroacetabular impingement (FAI), this condition causes extra bone growth in the area of your hip joint. It can make your bones touch and pinch each other. It’s most common in teens, young active adults, and athletes.
- Hip labral tears — This is a tear to the ring of cartilage that acts like a gasket to keep your joint in place. Hip impingement can cause a labral tear, and so can repetitive motions.
- Hip sprain and strain — Ligament sprains and muscle strains (or muscle tears) are common in athletes. Some muscle tears will need surgery; but with the right therapy, many can heal with rest.
- Osteoarthritis — This condition occurs when the cartilage that cushions your hip joints gradually breaks down. The bones rubbing together can cause damage and pain.
- Sports hernia — This is actually a core muscle injury, but it can hurt in the hip, groin, and lower abdomen. Also called athletic pubalgia, it’s common in athletes who do sports that require twisting and sudden changes of direction.
Hip Preservation Services
We bring together a team of experts from a variety of specialties in one clinic setting.
We’re always communicating with each other — and with you — to help ensure a seamless transition of care from one expert to the next.
Some of the services we provide at the Hip Preservation Program in Pittsburgh include:
- Assessment and evaluation — Because we see many of the same hip conditions over and over again, we’re able to quickly diagnose them. We also offer functional movement assessments (FMA) that help uncover muscle imbalances that can lead to injury.
- Complete nonsurgical care — From pain management and physical therapy to orthotics and alternative treatments, we provide a range of nonsurgical options.
- Hip arthroscopy — We offer this minimally invasive procedure to correct hip impingement and labral tears for hip preservation.
- Hip replacement — We use an anterior approach and robotic, muscle-sparing techniques during hip replacement. Most often for people suffering from hip osteoarthritis or AVN, we’ve worked with patients to return to running or the activities they’re passionate about after replacement surgery.
- Imaging — Part of getting the right diagnosis is having the right imaging. We’re able to efficiently order and read tests like CT scans, MRIs, and x-rays.
- Injections — We offer ultrasound-guided injections, which provide a level of precision to pain relief. We also offer platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and biologic injections to help speed the healing of certain injuries.
- Partnership with pediatrics — We work with the Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Hip Preservation Program at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. We’re able to refer youth back and forth and consult on cases.
- Preservation and prevention fitness programs — These sports performance programs help athletes reach peak performance.
- Soft tissue surgical repair — We offer sports hernia repair, adductor repair, hamstring repair, and gluteus medius repair, plus post-op care and rehab.
- Sports hernia clinic — This monthly clinic brings together orthopaedic and general surgeons since sports hernias affect multiple parts of the body. We work together to develop a treatment plan for athletes and active people dealing with core muscle injuries.
Learn more about our specialized Hip Preservation Program in Pittsburgh.
Hip Education for Providers
View lessons from past Hip Preservation Program conferences and earn CME credits.
