Osteoarthritis of the Hip

What is Osteoarthritis?
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a condition that affects the joints causing pain and stiffness. The hip is one of the most commonly affected joints. Osteoarthritis is sometimes called ‘degenerative joint disease’ or ‘wear and tear’.

What happens in Osteoarthritis?
Normal joints are constantly undergoing repair because of changes brought on by age. However, in some people, it seems that this repair process becomes faulty and osteoarthritis can develop. It is normal to expect some degree of osteoarthritis as we get older.

What causes Osteoarthritis?
There are different factors that may cause OA:

Age:

Osteoarthritis becomes more common with increasing age. By the age of 65 at least half of the people will have osteoarthritis in some of their joint(s).

Overweight:

Hip osteoarthritis is more likely if you are overweight as increased load on the joints increases wear.

Gender:

Women are more likely to develop osteoarthritis than men.

Genetics:

Osteoarthritis is more likely if there is a history of joint problems in your family.

Previous Joint Damage or Deformity:

This may be from injury around the hip joint that has caused damage to the joint surfaces. There are some childhood hip conditions that can lead to OA in the future.

In many cases however, we do not know the exact cause of why osteoarthritis has developed and can be from a range of the factors discussed above.

What are the symptoms of hip Osteoarthritis?
Pain, stiffness and difficulty with movements of the joint is typical. The stiffness tends to be worse first thing in the morning but tends to loosen up after an hour or so.
Pain, stiffness and weakness around the hips can lead to problems walking, putting on shoes and socks and activities such as getting in or out of the car. Eventually, pain can disturb your sleep.
A locking or cracking sensation around your hip is fairly common.
You may experience all or some of these symptoms. Your symptoms may vary for no apparent reason with bad spells lasting a few weeks or months broken up by better periods with minimal pain or loss of function.

Is my pain coming from my hip joint?
Usually you feel osteoarthritis of the hip in the groin but it can also affect the front of your thigh and travel towards your knee.

Any pain in your buttock, side of your thigh or below the knee is unlikely to be coming from the hip joint itself.

Osteoarthritis of the hip does not cause altered sensation, pins and needles or cramping. If you have these symptoms then discuss with your Doctor or physical therapist.

How do you diagnose Osteoarthritis of the hip?
We usually diagnose Osteoarthritis based on your symptoms and the physical signs we find when your Hip is examined.

X-rays can be used to confirm the diagnosis. However, in some cases this is not required.

What can I do to help myself?
There is no cure for arthritis , however there are many things you can do to manage your symptoms allowing you to maintain an active lifestyle. This will then help to reduce your pain and improve your function.

Reduce stress on the joint.

Keep to your ideal weight. Extra weight on your joint can make symptoms worse. 
Wear footwear with cushioned soles or insoles.
Try not to overstress your joint by doing too much all in the one day e.g. spread household chores throughout the week.
Avoid being in one position for too long when possible to help prevent stiffness.
Use a walking stick or walking poles if you find this useful.

Exercise

It is important to find the right balance between rest and exercise. Exercise in moderation can help to reduce pain, maintain function and possibly delay the need for a hip replacement. 

The goal is to find the correct balance between not doing enough exercise (which can lead to hip stiffness) and doing too much exercise (which might aggravate the symptoms). It is safe to continue high impact exercises if you are already able to do so. If you are struggling with weight bearing exercises you might try low impact exercise such as swimming, cycling, walking and aqua-aerobics.

Our Physical therapists will create an exercise program for you to help manage your symptoms.

References

Physiopedia. Hip Anatomy. Physiopedia.com. Accessed Jan 26, 2023. https://www.physio-pedia.com/Hip_Anatomy

Schnell S, Friedman SM, Mendelson DA, Bingham KW, Kates SL. The 1-year mortality of patients treated in a hip fracture program for elders. Geriatr Orthop Surg Rehabil.

Mayo Clinic. Muscle strains (IT band, groin, hip flexor). Mayoclinic.com Accessed Jan 21, 2023. https://sportsmedicine.mayoclinic.org/condition/muscle-strains/

Groh MM, Herrera J. A comprehensive review of hip labral tears. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med. 2009;2(2):105-117. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2697339/

Walker P, Ellis E, Scofield J, Kongchum T, Sherman WF, Kaye AD. Snapping Hip Syndrome: A Comprehensive Update. Orthop Rev (Pavia). 2021;13(2):25088. Published 2021 Jun 22. doi:10.52965/001c.25088

Aaron, Daniel L. MD; Patel, Amar MD; Kayiaros, Stephen MD; Calfee, Ryan MD Four Common Types of Bursitis: Diagnosis and Management, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeon: June 2011 – Volume 19 – Issue 6 – p 359-367

Wang Y. Current concepts in developmental dysplasia of the hip and Total hip arthroplasty. Arthroplasty. 2019;1(1):2. Published 2019 Aug 1. doi:10.1186/s42836-019-0004-6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8787940/

Franklin, Remy. Are doctors spending less time with patients? Mobius MD. Published October 9, 2021. Accessed Jan 21, 2023. https://mobius.md/2021/10/09/how-much-time-do-physicians-spend-with-patients/

Vaidya, D.V., Iqbal, R., Bhatnagar, A. (2021). Footwear: Purchase and Impact on Health. In: Muzammil, M., Khan, A.A., Hasan, F. (eds) Ergonomics for Improved Productivity. Design Science and Innovation. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9054-2_81

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🙏✌At Bodyset Physical Therapy we provide orthopedic rehabilitation, sports injury recovery, and pain management treatment to adults using manual therapy and exercises. Therapeutic exercises focus on improving mobility, strength training, pain relief, conditioning and injury prevention. We love helping people overcome back pain, knee pain, stiffness, sprains, strains, tendinitis, bursitis, hip pain, shoulder pain, osteoarthritis, neck pain, ankle injuries and more. Highest quality physical therapist care at a privately owned clinic serving Georgia. If you are searching for “physical therapy near me”, look no further. We pride ourselves in providing Evidence-Based physical therapy treatment.