Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips)

This is a plain X-ray of both hips, usually taken together with a view of the pelvis they sit in, from two angles. It is the first look when a hip hurts, gives way, or has been injured, because the two sides can be compared against each other on the same image. It takes only a few minutes and nothing needs to be done to prepare.

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What it is

A hip is a ball-and-socket joint, and the socket is part of the pelvis — so a film of one without the other rarely answers much. This study images both hips, along with the pelvis when the radiologist needs it, from two directions. Bone blocks X-rays and shows up white, so the outline of the ball, the socket, the joint space between them and the top of the thigh bone all read clearly. Having both sides on the same picture matters: a narrowed joint space or a subtly displaced bone is far easier to call when the other hip is sitting next to it for comparison.

Why it is done

To look for a fracture of the hip or pelvis after a fall or a collision
To assess arthritis and other wear-related change in the joint, where the cushioning space between ball and socket is what the radiologist measures
To check the shape and seating of the joint when a hip is painful, clicking, or catching without an obvious injury
To look at bone in and around the hip for tumors or other lesions
To check the position of a hip replacement or of hardware placed during earlier surgery

What to expect

There is no preparation. Metal — belts, zippers, jewelry around the waist and legs — comes off, and most people change into a gown so clothing fasteners do not land on top of the joint. You lie on the X-ray table, and the technologist positions your legs for each view; one of them commonly asks you to rotate your feet inward, which opens up the view of the femoral neck. Changing position can hurt if the hip is already injured, and it is worth saying so — the technologist can work around a painful leg. The exposures themselves take a moment each and the whole visit is usually under fifteen minutes. A radiologist reads the images later and sends a report to whoever ordered them.

Questions worth asking

Is this being billed as a bilateral study, or as two separate single-hip X-rays? The codes and the prices differ.
Does the price quoted include the radiologist's reading, or does that arrive as a second bill from a separate practice?
If a fracture is suspected but not seen, will a CT or MRI follow, and what would that cost on top of this?
Is there an outpatient imaging center attached to this hospital where the same films are taken without a hospital facility fee?

What Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) costs by state

Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in Texas — 109 hospitals, median $491.70
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in California — 90 hospitals, median $455.13
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in Florida — 72 hospitals, median $1,119.45
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in Ohio — 68 hospitals, median $391.80
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in Illinois — 51 hospitals, median $420.00
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in Virginia — 42 hospitals, median $352.00
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in Tennessee — 38 hospitals, median $156.66
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in Wisconsin — 33 hospitals, median $391.38
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in Washington — 32 hospitals, median $309.40
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in Iowa — 31 hospitals, median $312.65
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in Pennsylvania — 31 hospitals, median $405.00
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in Michigan — 27 hospitals, median $393.00
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in Indiana — 26 hospitals, median $274.80
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in Georgia — 25 hospitals, median $271.05
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in Arizona — 24 hospitals, median $101.06
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in New York — 23 hospitals, median $125.84
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in Kentucky — 22 hospitals, median $581.40
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in New Jersey — 22 hospitals, median $116.23
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in Minnesota — 19 hospitals, median $431.03
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in Missouri — 19 hospitals, median $303.05
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in Oklahoma — 18 hospitals, median $350.35
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in Colorado — 17 hospitals, median $427.25
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in West Virginia — 17 hospitals, median $219.50
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in North Carolina — 15 hospitals, median $459.35
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in Nebraska — 13 hospitals, median $190.68
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in Oregon — 13 hospitals, median $485.25
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in Arkansas — 11 hospitals, median $215.15
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in Kansas — 11 hospitals, median $993.42
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in Mississippi — 11 hospitals, median $124.50
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in South Carolina — 10 hospitals, median $246.00
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in Maine — 7 hospitals, median $473.75
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in South Dakota — 6 hospitals, median $508.80
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in Alaska — 5 hospitals, median $629.46
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in North Dakota — 4 hospitals, median $423.20
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in Wyoming — 4 hospitals, median $192.19
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in Nevada — 3 hospitals, median $559.11
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in Hawaii — 2 hospitals, median $111.36
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in Maryland — 2 hospitals, median $142.80
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in Montana — 2 hospitals, median $230.40
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in New Mexico — 2 hospitals, median $634.62
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in Louisiana — 1 hospitals, median $219.18
Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost in New Hampshire — 1 hospitals, median $497.05

Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) prices at hospitals

See every published price for Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips): the full national range, the state and hospital breakdowns, and which hospitals charge the least.

Hip and Pelvis X-ray (2 views, both hips) cost — see all prices →

Sources

MedlinePlus: Pelvis x-ray (opens in a new tab, leaves healthcosts.net)
RadiologyInfo (RSNA/ACR): X-ray (Radiography) - Bone (opens in a new tab, leaves healthcosts.net)

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