How Long Does a Cortisone Injection Take to Work for Hip Impingement?

The injection usually contains a local anaesthetic and a corticosteroid. The anaesthetic can make the hip feel better soon after the procedure, but that early change may wear off. The corticosteroid works by reducing inflammation around irritated structures in the hip, so its effect is not always immediate. Hip impingement can still cause pain when the joint is repeatedly flexed or loaded, even if inflammation settles. Relief therefore does not necessarily mean the underlying shape or movement pattern has changed.

Follow the activity instructions given by the clinician who performed the injection. Keep the area rested for the advised period, then return to movement gradually. Avoid testing the hip with deep squats, forceful pivots, or the activity that reliably provokes symptoms while it is settling. If pain improves, physiotherapy may use that window to work on hip movement, strength, and load control. Record which movements become easier and whether pain returns as activity increases; this helps your clinician judge whether the injection clarified the pain source.

Contact the treating clinic promptly if the injection site becomes increasingly red, hot, swollen, or painful, or if you develop fever or feel unwell. Seek urgent help for severe worsening pain, new leg weakness, or loss of bladder or bowel control. If there is no meaningful improvement after the timeframe your clinician discussed, arrange review rather than repeating strenuous activity or arranging another injection on your own.

Ask whether the injection was intended mainly to treat inflammation, confirm the hip as the pain source, or support rehabilitation. Clarify when you can resume driving, exercise, and physiotherapy, what level of post-injection soreness is expected, and what the next step should be if relief is brief.