Hip Pain course for GPs

This session covers the causes, investigation and management of hip pain in adults, and includes a discussion of the indications for referral and complications of total hip replacement.

This session was reviewed by Khyati Bakhai and last updated in January 2022.

Learning objectives

By the end of this session you will be able to:

• describe the main differential diagnoses of hip pain in adults
• apply the basic principles of history and examination of the painful hip
• describe in detail the non-operative management of the painful hip
• explain when and why to refer for a specialist opinion
• describe the advantages and disadvantages of hip replacement to a patient

Hip pain in childhood, trauma and medical management of inflammatory arthritis affecting the hip are not covered in this session.