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Hip Arthritis Treatment in Scottsdale, AZ
Hip arthritis has a way of affecting everything. Getting up from a chair, walking through a parking lot, climbing stairs, sleeping comfortably on your side. These daily activities that most people don’t think twice about can become genuinely difficult when the hip joint is inflamed and breaking down. For a lot of patients in the Scottsdale and Phoenix area, that’s exactly where they find themselves, sometimes for years before seeking care beyond pain medication.
Non-Invasive Relief for Hip Pain, Stiffness, and Inflammation
At LaserTech Pain and Back Relief Center, we provide non-invasive hip arthritis treatment designed to reduce inflammation, improve mobility, and help you get back to the activities that matter to you. Led by Dr. Zimmerman, our clinic has helped patients find relief…even patients who were told a hip replacement was their next step.
What Is Hip Arthritis?
Hip arthritis refers to the breakdown and inflammation of the hip joint, and it most commonly takes one of two forms.
Osteoarthritis is the most prevalent type. Sometimes called wear-and-tear arthritis or degenerative joint disease, it develops when the cartilage cushioning the hip joint gradually wears down over time. As that cartilage thins, the bones begin to move with less protection, causing friction, inflammation, pain, and stiffness that typically worsens without treatment.
Rheumatoid arthritis can also affect the hip, though through a different mechanism. Rather than cartilage wearing down through use or age, the immune system mistakenly attacks the joint lining, causing inflammation and progressive damage to the joint itself.
Both conditions can significantly limit how you move and how you feel day to day. Both also respond to the kinds of non-invasive, inflammation-focused physiotherapy modalities and technologies we use at LaserTech.
Symptoms of Hip Arthritis
Hip arthritis doesn’t always present in an obvious way. Some patients feel pain directly in the hip or groin. Others notice it more in the thigh, knee, or buttock — areas where referred pain from the hip joint commonly travels.
Common symptoms include:
- Aching or stiffness in the hip, groin, thigh, or buttock
- Pain that worsens with activity and eases somewhat with rest
- Stiffness in the morning or after sitting for extended periods
- A grinding, clicking, or catching sensation in the hip joint
- Reduced range of motion, particularly when rotating the leg or crossing it
- Difficulty walking, particularly on uneven surfaces or for longer distances
- Pain that disrupts sleep when lying on the affected side
- A gradual change in gait or posture as the body compensates for hip discomfort
If you recognize several of these symptoms, it’s worth having them evaluated. Hip arthritis is a progressive condition, meaning it tends to worsen over time without treatment.
What Causes Hip Arthritis?
Hip arthritis develops through a combination of factors and understanding what’s contributing to your condition helps guide effective treatment.
- Age. Cartilage naturally loses resilience over time, making osteoarthritis significantly more common after age 50. That said, it can develop earlier, particularly following injury.
- Previous injury. A hip fracture, labral tear, or other trauma to the hip joint can accelerate cartilage breakdown, sometimes by decades. Many patients develop hip arthritis in the same joint where they sustained an earlier injury.
- Repetitive stress. Occupations or activities that place repeated load on the hip — including certain sports, manual labor, and prolonged standing — can contribute to earlier degeneration.
- Weight. The hip is a major weight-bearing joint. Excess body weight increases the compressive load placed on the joint with every step, accelerating cartilage wear and worsening inflammation.
- Genetics. Family history plays a role in osteoarthritis risk, including in the hip. Joint structure and cartilage quality are partly inherited.
- Bone or joint abnormalities. Conditions like hip dysplasia or femoroacetabular impingement (FAI), in which the ball and socket of the hip joint don’t fit together properly, can cause abnormal wear patterns that lead to early arthritis.
How We Treat Hip Arthritis at LaserTech
At LaserTech, treatment is built around understanding what’s driving your hip pain and addressing it directly. Dr. Zimmerman personalizes every care plan based on your condition, history, and how your body responds to treatment. The goal is not to mask inflammation temporarily but to support healthier joint function and help your body do what it is designed to do.
Depending on your situation, treatment may include:
Cold Laser Therapy
Our computerized multi-laser system delivers targeted light energy into the joint tissue and surrounding structures, working to reduce inflammation, support cellular repair, and improve circulation to the area. Cold laser therapy is one of our foundational physiotherapy technologies for arthritis and chronic joint pain.
BEMER Therapy
BEMER uses a low-intensity pulsed electromagnetic field to support healthy local circulation at the microvascular level. The hip joint and surrounding tissue depend on adequate blood flow to deliver oxygen and nutrients and to remove metabolic waste. When that circulation is compromised, healing slows and inflammation persists. BEMER is incorporated into treatment for hip conditions at LaserTech specifically because of its ability to support that microcirculatory function, helping create better conditions for the other physiotherapy modalities we use to work effectively.
Shockwave Therapy
Radial pressure wave technology stimulates the body’s natural healing response in inflamed or damaged tissue. It is particularly useful for patients with chronic hip pain that has not responded well to other approaches, and for addressing soft tissue involvement around the hip joint.
Additive Care
Many patients with hip arthritis benefit from a more comprehensive approach that goes beyond the joint itself. Additive Care options at LaserTech include functional rehabilitation to rebuild strength and stability in the muscles supporting the hip, manual soft tissue therapy to address the muscle tension and compensatory patterns that develop around a painful joint, and nutritional and inflammation-based care to support the body’s healing process from the inside out.
Dr. Zimmerman also brings a whole-body perspective to hip arthritis care, looking at how factors like gait, posture, and overall inflammation load contribute to the condition rather than treating the hip in isolation.
Hip Replacement Is Not Always the Only Answer
One of the most common things patients say when they come to LaserTech with hip arthritis is that they’ve been told a hip replacement is inevitable. For some patients with severely advanced joint destruction, surgery may ultimately be necessary. But for many, that conversation comes too early, before non-invasive options have been meaningfully explored.
Hip replacement is a significant surgery with a real recovery and rehabilitation process, and outcomes vary. It’s worth knowing what non-surgical options are available before committing to it, particularly if your arthritis has not yet reached the stage where the joint is completely compromised.
Here is what one of our patients recently shared after coming to LaserTech while facing that exact decision:
Schedule a free consultation for Hip Pain Relief in Scottsdale.
If hip pain has been limiting your life, or if you’re facing a hip replacement and want to understand your options first, we’d welcome the conversation. Dr. Zimmerman offers a free consultation for new patients. There is absolutely no obligation, just a thorough look at your condition and an honest discussion of what treatment at LaserTech might look like for you.
Call today to schedule your free consultation.
Hip Arthritis Treatment FAQs
Is hip arthritis treatment at LaserTech painful? No. Our physiotherapy modalities and technologies are non-invasive and well tolerated. There are no injections, no drugs, and no downtime involved. Most patients find sessions comfortable.
How many treatments will I need? This depends on the severity of your condition, how long it has been present, and how your body responds to care. Dr. Zimmerman outlines a realistic treatment plan during the free consultation so you have a clear picture from the start.
Do I need a referral? No referral is needed. You can contact us directly to schedule your free consultation.
What if I’ve already been told I need a hip replacement? We evaluate each patient individually. A recommendation for surgery from another provider doesn’t mean non-invasive treatment won’t help. It’s not uncommon for patients to come to us facing that recommendation and then experience significant improvement through care at LaserTech. The consultation will give you and Dr. Zimmerman the information needed to determine whether our approach is a good fit for your specific situation.
Can hip arthritis be reversed? Cartilage that has already deteriorated cannot be fully regenerated. However, the inflammation, pain, stiffness, and functional limitations that come with hip arthritis can often be significantly reduced with the right treatment approach, allowing patients to move more comfortably and maintain a much better quality of life.
Meet The Doctor
With more than 30 years of experience treating chronic and complex pain conditions, Dr. Zimmerman has dedicated his career to helping patients find relief when other treatments have failed. His expertise includes conditions such as sciatica, neuropathy, herniated discs, spinal stenosis, arthritis, and chronic nerve-related pain. Dr. Z combines advanced, non-invasive therapies with a whole-body approach focused on reducing inflammation, improving nervous system function, restoring movement, and addressing the underlying causes of pain, not just masking symptoms. He is also the author of Unlocking the Chronic Pain Code, where he shares his approach to long-term pain relief and functional recovery. [Read Dr. Z’s full bio here.]
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