The first step to treating your hip pain is determining its cause. For many patients with muscle strains, bursitis, or mild osteoarthritis, our team may recommend conservative treatments including: Physical therapy Physical therapy exercises strengthen the muscles surrounding your hip so you’ll have less pain from mild osteoarthritis and hip bursitis. If you would benefit from physical therapy, your surgeon will refer you to a convenient therapy location. Lifestyle changes Excess weight, lack of exercise, and poor-quality or insufficient sleep can all make hip pain worse. Your surgeon can help you change to a healthier diet, get more restful sleep, and benefit from regular, low-impact exercise. Injections Injections are particularly effective for bursitis – a painful inflammation of fluid-filled protective sacs over your joints. Steroid injections into your inflamed bursa can give you months of pain relief, and possibly more, by reducing inflammation. These nonsurgical treatments can be very effective in resolving many causes of hip pain, including mild to moderate osteoarthritis. However, not everyone finds that these approaches work for them, or what has worked previously may become less effective as time passes.