🦴 Oxford Hip Score (OHS) is a patient-reported questionnaire used to assess hip pain and function, especially in patients with hip osteoarthritis and before or after total hip replacement.

✅ What It Is Used For

Assessing the severity of hip symptoms.
Measuring how hip pain affects daily activities.
Monitoring response to treatment over time.
Assessing outcomes before and after hip replacement surgery.
Supporting shared decision-making, but not replacing clinical judgement.

📋 What It Assesses

Hip pain severity.
Pain at night.
Walking ability.
Use of transport.
Ability to dress, wash and perform daily activities.
Limping and functional restriction.
Overall impact of hip symptoms on quality of life.

🔢 Scoring

The Oxford Hip Score has 12 patient-completed questions.
Each question is scored from 0 to 4.
The usual modern total score ranges from 0 to 48.
0 = worst hip symptoms / most severe functional limitation.
48 = best hip function / least symptoms.

⚠️ Some older versions used a different scoring direction, so always check which version is being used before comparing results.

📊 Interpreting the Score

0–19: severe hip arthritis / major symptoms.
20–29: moderate to severe symptoms.
30–39: mild to moderate symptoms.
40–48: satisfactory joint function.

These bands are a helpful guide, but the score should be interpreted alongside the patient’s pain, walking distance, sleep, independence, X-ray findings and treatment goals.

🦴 Link with Hip Osteoarthritis

Hip osteoarthritis commonly causes groin pain, stiffness and reduced mobility.
Pain may radiate to the thigh, buttock or knee.
Reduced internal rotation is a classic examination finding.
The Oxford Hip Score helps quantify how much the hip problem affects everyday life.

🏥 Use Before Hip Replacement

OHS is commonly recorded before total hip replacement.
It provides a baseline measure of symptoms and function.
It can help assess improvement after surgery.
It should not be used alone to decide whether someone is suitable for surgery.

⚠️ Limitations

It is not a diagnostic test for osteoarthritis.
It does not replace clinical assessment or imaging when needed.
Scores may be affected by other problems, such as back pain, knee pain, frailty or neurological disease.
Different scoring systems can cause confusion if not clearly documented.

🚩 Red Flags Not to Miss

Acute inability to weight-bear.
Fever or suspected septic arthritis.
Recent trauma or suspected fracture.
Severe night pain or unexplained weight loss.
Known cancer with new hip pain.
Rapidly worsening pain or suspected avascular necrosis.

🧠 Clinical Pearl

The Oxford Hip Score is useful because it captures the patient’s own view of pain and disability. A radiograph may look severe while the patient functions well, or look only moderate while the patient is very limited. The best decisions combine symptoms, function, examination, imaging and patient preference.

📚 Exam Pearl

🦴 Oxford Hip Score = 12-item patient-reported measure of hip pain and function. Modern scoring is usually 0–48, where 48 is best and 0 is worst.

The content on this website is provided for educational and informational purposes only to support exam preparation (e.g., MLA, MRCP, USMLE) and learning. This is NOT medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or professional guidance. It does not replace consultation with a qualified healthcare professional, official guidelines (e.g., NICE, GMC, BNF), or supervised clinical practice. Always verify information with current, authoritative sources. Makindo and its contributors accept no liability for any reliance on this content, including errors, omissions, or any resulting harm, loss, or consequences. By using this site, you agree to these terms.

Oxford Hip Score ✅