Hip Pain

The hip is a ball-and-socket joint that supports body weight and allows walking, sitting, rotation, and other everyday movement. Pain can develop when injury, inflammation, or degenerative changes affect the joint, surrounding tendons, muscles, ligaments, or soft tissue. Hip pain may begin suddenly after an injury or develop gradually. Its cause, location, severity, and effect on movement help guide evaluation and treatment.

Common Causes

Symptoms can include deep aching or stiffness in the groin or outer hip, pain with movement or prolonged sitting, clicking or catching, pain that travels down the thigh, reduced flexibility, and weakness.

Treatment depends on the cause of pain, the severity of symptoms, activity goals, and overall health. Initial care often aims to relieve pain, improve mobility, and protect joint function.

Standard Treatment Categories

• Physical therapy, stretching, and low-impact exercise
• Anti-inflammatory or pain-relieving medicines when appropriate
• Corticosteroid injections for selected conditions and short-term symptom relief
• Weight management, posture modification, or assistive devices when appropriate
• Orthopedic procedures for conditions such as labral tears, impingement, or advanced joint degeneration

Hip arthroscopy, resurfacing, or total hip replacement may be considered when symptoms or structural problems do not respond adequately to appropriate nonsurgical care.

Stem cell therapy for osteoarthritis and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy are being studied as injectable biologic approaches for some hip conditions. Researchers are evaluating different products, preparation methods, injection techniques, and patient groups.

What Researchers Are Studying

• Influence inflammation and cellular signaling in the joint
• Be delivered safely and feasibly for selected hip conditions
• Improve pain, function, mobility, or other patient-reported outcomes
• Be further evaluated alongside established orthopedic care

PRP, cell-based products, and umbilical-cord-derived extracellular-matrix products are distinct approaches. Results can vary by product, diagnosis, disease severity, injection technique, rehabilitation plan, and the outcomes measured.

Note: Stem cell and PRP therapies for hip pain are investigational and are not FDA-approved.

How Regenerative Medicine for Hip Pain Is Being Studied

Researchers are studying PRP, umbilical-cord-derived products, and other biologic approaches for hip osteoarthritis and related conditions. Studies examine pain, stiffness, function, range of motion, imaging findings, and safety. This work is helping identify the products, delivery methods, and patient groups that warrant continued clinical study. Regenerative treatment for hip pain remains investigational.

2025: PRP Reported Improvements in Hip OA Pain, Stiffness, and Function

Comparative Efficacy of PRP Injection vs. Ultrasound-Guided Hyaluronic Acid Injection in Hip OA Rehabilitation — Read Study

This study included 150 people with hip osteoarthritis who received ultrasound-guided PRP injections or hyaluronic acid treatment. Both groups improved after treatment. PRP was associated with statistically greater improvements in pain, stiffness, and hip-function measures than hyaluronic acid, although the researchers noted that the differences between treatments were small and may not represent a clinically meaningful advantage.

2024: Wharton’s Jelly Allograft Reported Reduced Hip OA Pain

Retrospective Evaluation of Cryopreserved Human Umbilical Cord Tissue Allografts in Hip Osteoarthritis — Read Study

This retrospective study included 69 people with hip osteoarthritis who received injections of a cryopreserved human umbilical-cord-tissue allograft, described by the researchers as Wharton’s Jelly extracellular matrix. Participants reported lower pain levels during follow-up, with 78% experiencing what the study defined as meaningful pain relief, and no major adverse events were reported.

2022: Cord-Derived PRP Reported Earlier Pain Relief in Hip Osteoarthritis

Umbilical Cord PRP vs. Autologous PRP for Hip Osteoarthritis — Read Study

This study included 100 people with hip osteoarthritis who received either umbilical-cord-derived PRP or PRP prepared from their own blood over three weekly treatment sessions. Both groups experienced significant improvements in pain and hip function after treatment. Cord-derived PRP was associated with earlier pain improvement, and the researchers reported particularly favorable longer-term results among people with less severe osteoarthritis, with no serious adverse events reported.