Clinical inquiries. How should you treat trochanteric bursitis?

Conservative measures--followed by corticosteroid injection, if necessary--are best. Conservative therapy includes rest, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and stretching exercises focused on the lower back and sacroiliac joints. Patients whose symptoms persist despite conservative therapy are likely to benefit from an injection of 24 mg betamethasone and 1% lidocaine (or equivalent) into the inflamed bursa. In rare cases of intractable symptoms, surgical procedures such as iliotibial band release, subgluteal bursectomy, and trochanteric reduction osteotomy are options.