Private Hip Ultrasound Scan in London

At London Private Ultrasound a hip and upper thigh ultrasound scan is £199 for one hip and £299 for both hips, all-inclusive, at our Central London (Harley Street Medical District) and St Albans clinics. The price covers an MSK-specialist appointment, the full hip and upper thigh assessment, a dynamic assessment, same-day verbal results and a written report with images within 24 hours. There are no added fees, and we will share the report with your GP, physiotherapist or specialist on request.

Across London, private hip ultrasound cost generally runs from around £160 to £250 for a single hip — a hip scan in London is rarely cheaper than that once the report is included — and the difference usually comes down to who performs and reports the scan, how long the appointment is, whether the groin and upper thigh are included or only the outer hip, and whether treatment can follow in the same place. When comparing hip scan cost between clinics, that is what the gap between a £160 scan and a £250 one usually represents. Booking both hips together is £299 rather than £398, a £99 saving against two separate single-hip appointments.

Private ultrasound scans in London generally run from about £100 to £350 for a single area, depending on the region scanned, who performs and reports it, and whether a specialist consultation is included. Musculoskeletal scans such as a hip ultrasound usually sit in the £160 to £300 band, while more complex or multi-region studies cost more.

Ours is £199 for one hip and £299 for both hips, all-inclusive. When comparing quotes, check three things: whether the clinician’s assessment and the written report are included in the headline price, whether an MSK specialist performs and interprets the scan, and how much of the region is actually covered. A cheaper scan that looks only at the trochanteric bursa will not answer a groin or hamstring problem.

A hip ultrasound detects the soft-tissue causes of hip, groin and upper thigh pain. That includes greater trochanteric pain syndrome, gluteal tendinopathy and gluteus medius or minimus tendon tears, trochanteric bursitis, calcific tendinopathy, iliopsoas bursitis and hip flexor strain, snapping hip, fluid and active synovitis in the front of the hip joint, adductor and groin strains, proximal hamstring tendinopathy and tears at the sit bone, quadriceps and thigh muscle tears, haematoma and seroma, meralgia paraesthetica from compression of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve, inguinal and femoral hernias, and soft-tissue lumps such as lipomas, ganglions and cysts.

Because the scan is dynamic, it also shows problems that only appear on movement, such as a snapping iliopsoas or iliotibial band. What it does not assess is the inside of the joint: the labrum, the cartilage, the bone and the shape changes of hip impingement need an X-ray or MRI.

A hip and upper thigh ultrasound scan is the same appointment described two ways. Some clinics call it a hip scan, others a hip and upper thigh scan or a hip and thigh ultrasound, and it covers one continuous region: the outer hip and gluteal tendons, the front of the hip and groin, the buttock and hamstring origin, and the muscles of the upper thigh down towards the knee.

At London Private Ultrasound the upper thigh is included as standard at no extra cost, because a great deal of what patients call hip pain arises on the thigh side of the region — an adductor strain, a hamstring origin tear, a quadriceps injury, a thigh lump or a haematoma. If your pain sits at the knee or below, that is a different scan and we will tell you which one to book.

You change into shorts or a gown and the clinician takes a short history first, because where the pain sits decides how the scan is performed. Most of a hip ultrasound is done lying on your side, which brings the gluteal tendon insertions and the trochanteric bursae directly under the probe. You then lie on your back for the groin, the iliopsoas tendon and bursa, the hip flexors and the front of the hip joint, and face down or side-lying for the hamstring origin at the sit bone.

Warm gel is applied and a small probe is moved over the skin while the structures are viewed on screen. You will be asked to move the hip, lift the leg or roll it in and out so the tendons can be assessed under load and any snapping reproduced. It is painless, takes about 25 to 35 minutes for one hip, and there are no needles and nothing internal. Only the area being scanned is uncovered, and a female clinician can be requested at booking.

Not directly, and it is important to be clear about that. Hip osteoarthritis and femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) are diagnosed on X-ray and MRI, because they involve the joint surfaces, the cartilage, the labrum and the shape of the bone, all of which sit too deep for ultrasound to assess properly.

Ultrasound can show indirect signs, such as fluid and active synovitis in the anterior joint recess or a paralabral cyst, and it is very good at answering a different and very useful question: whether your pain is actually coming from the tendons, bursae and muscles outside the joint, which is a common and highly treatable cause. If your history points at the joint — deep groin pain, stiffness, loss of rotation, difficulty with socks and shoes — we will say so on the day and advise on the right next step rather than sell you the wrong scan.

It depends on where the pain sits. Ultrasound is the first-line test for pain on the outside of the hip, in the groin muscles and hip flexors, at the buttock and hamstring origin and in the upper thigh, because those structures are superficial and it shows them moving and under load. X-ray is the correct first test for suspected hip arthritis, for the bony shape in impingement, and after significant trauma where a fracture is possible. MRI is best for the labrum and cartilage, avascular necrosis, stress fractures and bone marrow changes, and for surgical planning.

In practice, outer hip pain is an ultrasound question and deep groin pain with stiffness is usually an X-ray question. Call 020 7101 3377 and describe where it hurts, and we will tell you which one you need before you book.

Yes, and it separates the two, which matters more than it sounds. Pain on the bony point of the outer hip was labelled trochanteric bursitis for years, but imaging has shown that in most cases the gluteus medius and minimus tendon insertions are the primary problem, with any bursal swelling secondary. The umbrella term now used is greater trochanteric pain syndrome.

Ultrasound measures the tendon insertions, shows thickening, degeneration, calcification and partial or full-thickness tears, uses Doppler to judge how active the process is, and measures any bursal fluid. The distinction changes the treatment: a tendon problem responds to a progressive loading programme rather than rest, while a genuinely distended bursa is the one most likely to respond to an ultrasound-guided injection. Scanning both hips makes this more reliable, because tendon thickness is judged against your other side.

Yes, and this is one of the clearest advantages ultrasound has over MRI. Snapping hip only happens on movement, so a static scan can miss it entirely. During the ultrasound the clinician asks you to move the hip while watching live, so an internal snap from the iliopsoas tendon flicking over the front of the pelvis, or an external snap from the iliotibial band or gluteus maximus over the greater trochanter, is seen and recorded as it happens.

The same appointment assesses the iliopsoas tendon and bursa for iliopsoas bursitis and tendinopathy, and the hip flexors and rectus femoris origin for strain and tears, which covers most searches for a hip flexor ultrasound. Where iliopsoas bursitis is confirmed, a guided injection into the bursa is a well-established treatment.

Yes, all three are part of the same appointment. The groin covers the adductor origins, the pubic region and the femoral canal, where adductor strains, inguinal and femoral hernias and femoral vessel problems are assessed. The hamstring origin at the sit bone is scanned for proximal hamstring tendinopathy, partial and complete tears and ischiogluteal bursitis, which is a common cause of deep buttock pain that hurts most on sitting or driving. The upper thigh covers the quadriceps and rectus femoris, the adductors and the hamstring muscles, for tears, haematoma, scarring and any lump.

This is why the scan is often advertised elsewhere as a hip and upper thigh ultrasound. It is one region and one price with us: £199 for one side, £299 for both.

A baby hip scan is a different examination from a hip ultrasound in adults. A hip ultrasound in adults looks at the soft tissues around a joint that sits too deep to see; in a baby the hip is close to the surface and still largely cartilage, so ultrasound looks straight at the joint itself and X-ray cannot. It is used to check for developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH), where the socket is shallow or the ball sits partly or completely out of it.

Breech babies are scanned because being in the breech position in late pregnancy is one of the strongest risk factors for DDH, along with a family history of childhood hip problems, being a first-born girl and multiple pregnancy. The NHS newborn examination checks every baby’s hips, and babies with those risk factors or an abnormal examination are referred for an ultrasound, usually at around six weeks of age. The scan is most informative between about six weeks and six months, before the bone hardens enough to block the view.

Baby and child hip scans are arranged by telephone rather than through the online calendar, so please call 020 7101 3377 and our team will confirm suitability, timing and the right clinician. If your baby is already under an NHS paediatric or orthopaedic team, continue with that pathway and bring any reports with you.

Ultrasound is radiation-free, which makes it well suited to children. It is the test of choice for fluid in the hip joint of a limping child, where transient synovitis — sometimes called irritable hip, and often following a viral illness — is the commonest cause. It is also used for sports and growth-plate related hip and groin pain in adolescents, for a soft-tissue lump, and for suspected muscle injury in young athletes and dancers.

A limping child with a fever, severe pain or an inability to weight-bear needs urgent medical assessment the same day rather than a booked scan, because joint infection has to be excluded first. Remember too that hip problems in children are often felt in the knee. Please call us on 020 7101 3377 before booking a child’s hip scan so we can confirm suitability and arrange the right appointment. A parent or guardian stays in the room throughout.

Ultrasound is useful for the soft tissues around a hip replacement, which is exactly where X-ray is weakest. It shows fluid and periprosthetic collections, abductor and gluteal tendon integrity after surgery, haematoma and seroma, iliopsoas irritation against the cup, and soft-tissue masses such as the pseudotumours associated with some metal-on-metal implants. It can also guide aspiration where infection is a concern.

What it cannot assess is the implant itself: loosening, wear and component position are X-ray and CT questions, and metal blocks the sound beam so the deep joint is not seen. A suspected infected joint replacement — increasing pain with fever, a hot joint or a discharging wound — needs urgent orthopaedic review, not a routine scan. Please tell us at booking that you have a replacement so we allow the right appointment time.

Yes, and this is one of the things ultrasound does best. For a lump or cyst on the hip, buttock or thigh, the scan shows how big it is, how deep it sits, which tissue layer it is in, whether it is solid or fluid-filled, and whether it has a blood supply on Doppler. That usually distinguishes the common and harmless findings — a lipoma, a sebaceous or epidermoid cyst, a ganglion, a distended bursa, a seroma or an old haematoma — from something that needs further assessment.

If anything looks indeterminate or concerning, we say so on the day and arrange the right onward step, which may be an MRI or a specialist referral. Any lump that is growing, hard, fixed to deeper tissue, larger than a golf ball or painful should always be assessed.

It is painless and non-invasive. Warm gel is applied to the skin and a small probe is moved over the hip, groin and thigh while the clinician views the structures on screen. There are no needles and nothing internal.

Allow about 25 to 35 minutes for one hip, or a little longer for both, since the examination covers the gluteal tendons and bursae, the groin and hip flexors, the joint recess, the hamstring origin and the upper thigh, and includes a dynamic assessment. Pressing on the tender spot can briefly reproduce your symptoms, which is deliberate and helps match the pain to the picture; tell the clinician if a position is uncomfortable and they will adapt. You can walk, drive and carry on with your day straight afterwards.

The NHS operational standard is that patients should wait no longer than six weeks for a diagnostic test such as an ultrasound, but waits vary widely by area and by scan type, and published NHS diagnostic waiting-time data has shown a substantial proportion of patients waiting beyond that. For musculoskeletal scans there are usually two further delays on top: getting a GP appointment and referral in the first place, often after a period of physiotherapy, and then waiting for the report to be issued and returned.

A private hip scan is for people who want a fast, specialist answer, frequently the same or next day, with the findings explained in the room and a written report they can take straight to their GP, physiotherapist or surgeon. We work alongside the NHS rather than around it: the report is written so an NHS team can act on it, and where something needs urgent orthopaedic attention we write a referral letter the same day.

No, a GP referral is not required. You can self-refer and book directly using the booking calendar on this page, by phone on 020 7101 3377, or on WhatsApp, with same-day and next-day appointments often available at both clinics.

Referrals from physiotherapists, osteopaths, sports therapists, consultants and GPs are equally welcome, and we report back to them on request. If you have previous hip X-ray, ultrasound or MRI reports, bring them so the clinician can read today’s findings in context.

Both hips is the option most patients choose and the one we recommend for most people. It is £299 rather than £398 for two separate single-hip appointments, a £99 saving, and it is done in one visit with one clinician and one report covering both sides.

The clinical reason matters more than the price. Gluteal tendon thickness and bursal fluid vary considerably from person to person, so the most reliable way to judge whether your painful side is genuinely abnormal is to measure it against your other side. Bilateral scanning also catches early change on the quiet hip, which is common in greater trochanteric pain syndrome, and it is the sensible choice for runners and walkers, for anyone being assessed for inflammatory arthritis, and for hip pain with no clear injury. A single hip at £199 is the right choice when one side is clearly symptomatic after a specific injury and you only want that side reported.

Yes. If the scan confirms a treatable problem, an ultrasound-guided hip injection can often be arranged: a trochanteric bursa injection for greater trochanteric pain syndrome, an iliopsoas bursa injection for iliopsoas bursitis, a hip joint injection for synovitis, a high-volume or PRP injection around a gluteal tendon, or aspiration of a bursa or collection.

Placing the needle under live ultrasound means it goes exactly where it is needed, which is more reliable than an unguided injection at the hip because the bursae and tendon insertions sit deep beneath thick soft tissue. Our one-stop orthopaedic and MSK clinic can take you from scan to treatment quickly. Treatment is booked and charged separately from the scan.

Our Central London clinic is at 27 Welbeck Street, W1G 8EN, in the Harley Street Medical District, two minutes from Bond Street and a short walk from Oxford Circus, Marylebone and Baker Street, which covers most searches for a hip scan near me or a private hip ultrasound near me in central London. Because Bond Street is on the Elizabeth line, it is also a direct journey from Slough, Reading and the Thames Valley, and from Stratford and the east.

Our second clinic is at 54–56 Victoria Street, St Albans AL1 3HZ, a short walk from St Albans City station, serving Hertfordshire and North London. Both clinics run the same hip and upper thigh scan, £199 for one hip and £299 for both, seven days a week between 9am and 7pm.