I recall reading that the placebo effect tends to be proportional to the perceived degree of intervention. So getting a shot would have more of an effect than t

I recall reading that the placebo effect tends to be proportional to the perceived degree of intervention. So getting a shot would have more of an effect than taking a pill, and a surgery would have more effect than a shot. Presumably getting something from an authority figure would also do more than whatever you can do yourself, but that doesn't mean the latter would be useless. If you can find some kind of physio exercise that's claimed to potentially help, maybe that would have a decent placebo effect, if nothing else? Of course it's likely there is some kind of physical explanation for your pain, just not a known one (or even knowable, with current medicine). I'm in much the same situation with hip pain.