Arthritis is the most common reason that the hip joint wears out. Arthritis happens from chronic inflammation inside the joint, which wears out the protective cartilage around the bone. When the cartilage wears out, it weakens the area around the joint and the ligaments. As the protective cartilage is worn away, bone begins to rub on bone, which causes pain and makes it harder to move.

There are many things you can do to treat hip pain caused by the joint wearing out. Usually, the doctor will try to treat the hip pain without surgery. This is called conservative, or nonsurgical, treatment.

Conservative treatment includes:

• Medication

• Activity changes

• Physical therapy

• Steroid injections into the hip

• Walking aids, such as a cane or walker, and

• Control of medical conditions.

Patients with hip arthritis and pain usually do not get better with time, and often their symptoms get worse. In the end, surgery may be the best option.

The most common surgery performed is a total hip replacement. Total hip replacement, also called total hip arthroplasty, is a surgical procedure performed over one hundred thousand times each year.

The main reasons for performing a total hip replacement are to replace a worn out hip joint, improve the motion of your hip, and relieve pain.