With the disclaimer that every case is different, I offer the following, in the hope that it may help someone else with similar issues. I am 76 years old and in pretty good health for my age. The only drugs I take are prescription eye drops for glaucoma in one eye and a lo-dose aspirin at bedtime. For the past year or so, I have noticed pains over my right hip, posteriorly, if I walked a quarter mile or more. For the past six months or more, I have noticed difficulty walking, particularly if I have been sitting for any length of time. Upon rising from my easy chair, I would not be able to just walk away. I would have to sort of get my bearings and then would walk away with a sort of side to side waddle. After a bit, walking would become more normal. I could not really pinpoint the problem. Was it my back, was it my hip, which had been giving me some intermittent pain? All I knew was I was thinking, well I guess this is just what happens to old people. I was also experiencing increasing discomfort when getting out of bed in the morning, pain and unsteadiness walking to the bathroom. After analyzing my issue with walking after periods of sitting, I convinced myself it was related to the pains I was getting in my right hip. This was reinforced by a trip my wife and I took a month ago to the mountains about three hours away. During our time there, I actually bought a cane to help with the hip pain, induced by walking around the town. I was thinking I was probably going to be joining the ranks of my friends having hip replacement surgery. Reluctantly, I made an appointment with one of my orthopedic surgeon friends.
So I go in and when asked my problem, I said it was my hip. The nurse practitioner moves my leg back and forth a few times and says, "it's not your hip, it's your back". We get some x-rays and the doc comes in and shows them to me. Yep, it's my back. The hip looks fine. The lower back shows some bone spurs and the typical narrowing between discs on one side with nerve compression. He says the reason I had such a bad time on my trip was that I had been sitting in the car for three hours. He prescribes PT three times a week, gives me a prescription for Diclofenac to take twice daily and says to report back in a month. That was on a Wednesday. We scheduled the PT to begin the following week.
Now we get to what this all about.
Diclofenac, which goes by several other brand names, including Voltaren is an NSAID, similar to Ibuprofen but stronger as it is a prescription drug used for arthritis among other things I had taken 2-3 Advils for the problem with only mild relief. Well after taking Diclofenac for about 48 hours, I was like a new person. I felt twenty years younger. I am now able to get up from my chair and walk across the room without pausing. I also notice that I am much more comfortable getting out of bed in the morning. I have had 4-5 PT sessions but they seem superfluous as by the time I started PT, the pain was virtually gone. As I said, each case is different but if you are having a similar issues, you might want to check in for some x-rays and see if a course of a prescription NSAID might help. Good luck.

Diclofenac is amazing. I use it for spots of arthritis.

Just make sure to take it with food and drink plenty of water. Glad you're moving around better.

I will ask my doctor. I've been on meloxicam for awhile for back pain.

I use Diclofenac off and on for my knee. It works for me. I take supplements continually but when I need a little bump I take Diclofenac.

I've been on it for about 5 months now as an anti-inflammatory on the ankle I sprained a year ago. I think the orthopedic doc is too chicken to try a cortisone shot into the joint as it's a tight squeeze between the nerves and bone into the joint.

It really hasn't done much for the ankle, but if I have a headache, it's gone in about 10 minutes flat after taking the diclofenac.

Glad it's working for you.

Thanks for the replies. As I said, I posted it because there may be someone else out there with a similar issue, who may be putting off going to the doctor. Now if they could just combine it with Viagra, I really would feel twenty years younger.

I take it BID. 75mg. It helps but not like it’s big brother. Zorvolex,, it’s the micro version of diclofenac. Dose is less,, works better.
But Medicare doesn’t cover it. 330$ a month OOP.
If you have commercial ins, go for it. A lot better compound.

I started having trouble with my left hip about two months ago. Got so bad I could hardly walk. I have never had any hip or joint problems so I went to the Doc. He also took xrays and did the exam but, for me, it was my hip. Degeneration of the cartilage (typical as you age) and he prescribed Meloxicam which is also an anti-inflammatory. I saw huge results within a week.