What is a hip injection?
A hip injection places medication, usually a steroid with local anaesthetic, exactly where your hip pain is coming from. The two most common are:
- Hip joint (intra-articular) injection: deep into the joint, for osteoarthritis and groin pain
- Trochanteric bursa injection: at the side of the hip, for bursitis and tendon pain
Both are given here under ultrasound guidance, after a diagnostic scan.
Do hip injections work for arthritis?
For many people, yes. A steroid injection into the hip joint often eases arthritis pain for several weeks to a few months, making walking and sleep easier and helping you keep active. It manages the symptoms rather than repairing the joint, and in advanced, bone-on-bone arthritis the benefit is often shorter.
Does a hip injection hurt?
Most people find it easier than expected. Local anaesthetic numbs the skin, so you feel a small sting, then pressure or a deep ache as the medication goes in. Ultrasound guidance means the needle reaches the target in one accurate pass. The hip may ache for a day or two afterwards.
How long does a hip injection take to work?
The local anaesthetic can ease pain within minutes, but wears off after a few hours. The steroid usually starts working within a few days, with the full effect at one to two weeks.
How long does a hip injection last?
A steroid hip injection typically helps for several weeks to a few months, sometimes longer. Relief from a trochanteric injection lasts longest when combined with strengthening exercises. How long it lasts depends on the cause and how advanced it is.
What is trochanteric bursitis?
Trochanteric bursitis causes pain on the outer side of the hip, often worse when lying on that side, climbing stairs or after sitting. It is now known as greater trochanteric pain syndrome, as the gluteal tendons are usually involved as well as the bursa. It is most common in women over 40.
Will a steroid injection help hip bursitis?
It usually helps in the short term, easing pain within days and often helping you sleep on that side again. Research shows the best long-term results come from combining it with education and a targeted exercise programme, so your consultant gives you advice and can refer you to a physiotherapist.
Can a hip injection help a labral tear?
It can ease the pain, and the response helps confirm the hip joint as the source, but it does not heal the tear. Your consultant explains whether an injection, physiotherapy or a surgical opinion with an MRI arthrogram is the right next step.
Can a hip injection help knee or back pain?
Hip arthritis often causes pain felt in the thigh or knee, and a hip injection can help that referred pain. Pain in the buttock or lower back is more often from the spine. A diagnostic injection can help show whether the hip is the source.
How often can I have a hip injection?
Usually no more than three or four steroid injections a year in the same hip, spaced at least three months apart. If you are planning hip replacement surgery, tell us: surgeons usually prefer no steroid injection in the months before an operation.
What should I do after a hip injection?
Walk normally, but avoid long walks, running and heavy exercise for 48 hours, then build up gradually. A cold pack and paracetamol help with any soreness. If the hip becomes hot, red and increasingly painful, or you develop a fever, call us the same day.
How much does a hip injection cost?
At Harley Street Ultrasound an ultrasound-guided hip injection is £525, all fees inclusive, whether it is into the hip joint or the trochanteric bursa: the consultant assessment, diagnostic ultrasound, the guided injection, local anaesthetic and your written report.
What happens if I don’t need an injection?
We will never give you an injection you do not need. Every appointment starts with a diagnostic ultrasound of your hip, and if your consultant decides an injection is not the right treatment, it simply does not go ahead. You are charged our standard diagnostic ultrasound rate, not the treatment price.
You still leave with a clear plan: physiotherapy, a different treatment, an MRI, or a referral to the right specialist, with your report and images on your secure portal.
Do I need a referral?
No. Harley Street Ultrasound is a private clinic, so you can book an ultrasound-guided hip injection in London directly, online or by phone: no GP letter and no waiting list. If you are searching for hip injections near me in central London, we are at 99 Harley Street, a short walk from Regent’s Park and Oxford Circus stations.
Prices are published before you book and are all fees inclusive: the consultant assessment, the diagnostic ultrasound, the guided injection, local anaesthetic and your written report. Insured patients should check with their insurer and bring an authorisation number if their policy requires one.
Will I get a report?
Yes. Your consultant explains the scan findings and the treatment in the room, and a written report with your images is published to your secure patient portal, usually the same day, ready to share with your GP, physiotherapist or surgeon.
Can I drive home afterwards?
Usually, yes: there is no sedation or general anaesthetic. The local anaesthetic can leave the area numb for a few hours, so if the injection is in your right leg or foot, or the joint feels weak, it is sensible to arrange a lift or take public transport.
Can I still use the NHS afterwards?
Yes: completely. Coming to us privately never affects your NHS care. Your report and images can be shared with your NHS GP or consultant, and if anything needs onward NHS care, your consultant writes to your GP so you re-enter the pathway with a diagnosis already in hand.
