Hip osteoarthritis is a condition that can turn even simple tasks into intimidating challenges. Walking upstairs, rising from your bed in the morning, or standing up from a chair can all become constant sources of pain and frustration. The good news is that you have several effective treatments at your disposal, and your problem doesn’t need to end in surgery. With that in mind, let’s explore the complete range of treatments for hip osteoarthritis to help you make the best decision about your care.
What is hip osteoarthritis?
Hip osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease that affects the cartilage in your hip joint. The cartilage, as our body’s natural shock absorber, allows your hip bones to work like a well-oiled machine. But once osteoarthritis takes root, the cartilage begins to slowly wither away. As a result of this, the friction created between the bones of the joint can cause pain, inflammation, and reduced movement. The condition advances gradually over many months or even years, thereby making early awareness and following a treatment plan essential.
What are the causes and risk factors of hip osteoarthritis?
Multiple interrelated causes can lead to the onset of hip osteoarthritis. For starters, age is the strongest factor. As we get older, the cartilage in our joints naturally weakens, making the hip susceptible to OA. The majority of instances occur among individuals aged 50 and older, but it can also occur among younger patients under certain conditions.
Genetics also play a big role in hip OA after age. If your parents, siblings, or other close relatives suffered from this problem, you might also be at an increased risk of OA. Similarly, childhood ailments like hip dysplasia make individuals prone to it, as such conditions significantly damage the cartilage with uneven use.
Previous injuries to the hips also make it vulnerable to long-term effects. Even jobs involving repetitive motion or lifting can place additional stress upon our joints. Finally, extra body weight places mechanical stress upon hip joints. An extra pound can create several pounds of pressure on our joints with each step.
What are the signs of hip osteoarthritis?
The symptoms of osteoarthritis in the hip vary significantly between patients, but there are a few things that you can try to identify. Pain, for one, always increases gradually instead of suddenly making its presence known. Another early sign is stiffness after resting, mainly experienced when waking up from sleep or standing after prolonged sitting.
It’s worth noting that pain from the hip OA location can be misleading. It is not always painful over the actual hip joint. Instead, most patients feel pain in their groin, inner thigh, or sometimes even in their knee. This pattern of referred pain can cause undue delay in the correct diagnosis.
As the condition progresses, you’ll also notice a reduced range of motion. Additionally, you might also feel a grinding or clicking sensation as the bones of your joint come into contact with each other. The last characteristic symptom to check is activity-related pain. If you notice pain increasing with weight-bearing exercises and then disappearing after rest, it may also be a sign of hip OA.
Conservative treatment methods
Conservative management forms the cornerstone of osteoarthritic hip management. These interventions can provide a marked relief from pain as well as delay or outright eliminate the need for surgery. According to the NHS, the best and most common non-surgical treatment method is physical therapy. With the help of a skilled physiotherapist, you can devise an individualised program to support your joint and strengthen the muscles around it. Next, weight control can help you significantly preserve your joints. Even modest weight loss can substantially reduce pain.
However, pain management encompasses other approaches as well. For instance, when used appropriately, over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medications like ibuprofen can reduce both pain and inflammation. Similarly, heat and cold therapy offer simple yet effective relief from the pain.
Managing hip OA also involves making some significant changes in your lifestyle. This might include using supportive devices like walking sticks or choosing appropriate footwear. Lastly, corticosteroid injections administered directly into the hip joint can also offer significant pain reduction for several months. In the end, though, success in lowering your hip pain will depend upon implementing these strategies concurrently as part of a holistic plan.
When should specialist consultation be considered?
You should consider consulting an expert when conservative management isn’t providing sufficient relief or when your symptoms are increasingly affecting your quality of life. If you’re local to it, a hip specialist in London can offer expert assessment and access to advanced treatment programs that may not always be available through general medical practice.
Is surgery always required for hip osteoarthritis?
Surgery is not always the endgame for patients with hip OA. More often than not, patients with this condition survive with successful conservative management for years and even decades. Surgical treatment should be considered only after adequate conservative management has been attempted.
Before you decide to opt for surgery, consider two factors first. If the presence of persistent pain is disrupting your life despite optimal conservative management, then surgery should indeed be considered. Similarly, if there is a significant impairment in your movement, surgery can offer a viable alternative to conservative care. But if you are not experiencing either of the two situations at present, consider sticking with conservative treatment and exhausting all your options first.
If you do need to undergo surgical treatment, you need not fear what will happen to your body. Hip replacement surgeries boast excellent success rates when performed with experienced surgeons. Let’s not forget that up-to-date technology, advanced materials, and sophisticated rehabilitation processes have made them safer and shorter rehabilitation times than ever.
The Right Path Forward in Hip Osteoarthritis Care
Ultimately, managing hip OA begins by taking action early and thoroughly understanding your options. Conservative treatments can delay the need for surgery, and consulting a specialist ensures you receive the right care at the right time.
Although the condition is progressive, many patients can preserve function and their independence through well-planned strategies. So, whatever stage of OA you’re at, make informed, timely decisions to stand the best chance at maintaining mobility over your body and control over your future.
This post was originally published on Canary.