Arthritis In Hip
Hip arthritis is a common type of osteoarthritis or degenerative arthritis. It is associated with the degeneration of the cartilage in the hip joint. This kind of arthritis is common in people over the age of 50. Typically, people that are overweight are affected with this kind of arthritis. Moreover, most people experience relief when they lose weight.
It is commonly observed that hip arthritis runs in the families. In other words, it is hereditary.
Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis in hip. Also called wear-and-tear arthritis or degenerative joint disease, in most cases arthritis in hip is characterized by progressive wearing away of the cartilage between the joints and grinding of hip bones due to the loss of cartilage. Wear and tear or aging is the most common reason for this loss of cartilage. As the protective cartilage is worn away by hip arthritis, bare bone is exposed within the joint.
Symptoms of Arthritis in Hip
Common symptoms of hip arthritis include limited range of movement, hip stiffness, and walking with a limp. Symptoms tend to progress as the condition worsens, but not always. Sometimes, symptoms do not progress steadily with time.
Some patients will report good months and bad months, or weather changes will cause symptoms to vary. Symptoms of arthritis in hip may come and go, even at advanced stages. Thus, symptoms of arthritis in hip on any particular day may not accurately represent the overall progression of the condition. The patient should keep this in mind when making appointments to see the doctor.
Patients with stiffness or pain from arthritis in hip may initially use over-the-counter anti-inflammatory or glucosamine and chondroitin sulphate. However, as the disease progresses, they typically fail to provide consistent relief. These medications only alleviate pain and discomfort in the early stages of arthritis, but do nothing to cure the disease or to prevent it from progressing. Arthritis is a disease that usually gets worse over time, so it is critical to seek treatment as early as possible. A physician can take an x-ray of the hip to look for classic arthritic signs of bone spurs and narrowing of the space between the joints.
There are two basic options for treating pain in the hip: 1) surgical treatment and 2) non-surgical treatment.
How to Treat Arthritis in Hip: Surgical Treatment
For patients with hip arthritis who have progressed to advanced stages of the disease, there may be no other option than to have a hip replacement. However, this should only be considered after non-surgical treatments have been exhausted and the decision is made with a physician. Replacement of both the ball and socket of the hip joint should provide complete pain relief from arthritis and give a better quality of life. Generally, physicians will advise that their patients wait until they are over 59 years of age to have a hip replacement, since the prostheses have been shown to last an average of 20 years.
How to Treat Arthritis in Hip: Non-Surgical Treatment
As previously discussed, the most common method for treating pain from arthritis in hip is to take anti-inflammatory drugs. Medicines immediately help relieve the pains and swelling of joints, but this relief is only temporary. The symptoms keep returning and will worsen over time.
Consider taking glucosamine and chondroitin supplements. Most stores with a pharmacy with have them over the counter. Glucosamine and chondroitin are the building blocks of cartilage. Although there are no definitive studies saying they actually rebuild cartilage, a significant number of people have said they received pain relief from taking them. Also consider omega-3 fatty acids. You can get these by eating cold-water fish, such as salmon, or by taking fish oil capsule supplements. These healthy fats have been shown to reduce joint pain and inflammation in people with arthritis. The most effective non-surgical treatments would include lifestyle changes such as diet and exercise. Weight is often a big factor in older people with arthritis. The excess weight causes undo strain on joints and causes them to wear out more quickly. Losing weight will help to extend the life of the cartilage and prevent narrow joint space and bones spurs.
Consider therapy with a physical therapist and natural remedies. One of the best natural treatments a patient can do for arthritis in hip is exercise. Years ago, arthritis was treated with rest and immobilization.
Scientists have since learned that using the joints is far more effective, and that not using them actually makes the condition worse. Of course, it’s not as simple as hopping on the treadmill or hitting the weight room. Patients with osteoarthritis in the hip are usually over 50 years of age and may have limitations.
Which Arthritis Exercises Are Good? Which to Avoid?
So, which exercises can a patient with arthritis in hip do to make the most of their mobility without increasing pain or risking injury?
Exercises to Avoid With Osteoarthritis in the Hip
The high-impact exercises include the following:
- Running and jogging
- Jumping rope
- High-impact aerobics
The three key areas a patient with arthritis in hip or knee needs to focus on are:
- weight-bearing cardiovascular activity (to keep your bones strong and your heart healthy)
- Muscle strengthening activity (to relieve strain on the joints), and
- flexibility and range of motion (to help prevent falls and keep your joints mobile).
There have also been studies done on the benefits of strengthening muscles around joints. The muscles can help compensate for week joints, helping to reduce pain and encourage movement of joints.
When all is said and done, the best treatment for a patient with arthritis in hip who is not in advanced stages of the condition is to take some anti-inflammatory before exercising, get out there and move and get the weight off.
How To Treat Hip Arthritis?
Here are some steps that can really help:
1. Weight Loss
This is one of the most important steps that you can take. It is reduce load on your hip joints and this can make activities less painful.
2. Walking Aids
Use of a cane of single crutch can help.
3. Physical Therapy
Certain exercises and physical therapy can help strengthen muscles around the hip joint. This can be effective in reducing burden on the joint.
4. Anti Inflammatory Medications
There are some medications that help reduce inflammation and swelling but again, continued use of such medications can lead to unwanted side effects.
5. Natural Supplements
A natural supplement such as Provailen can be a great help. It is made with 100% natural ingredients such as reishi mushroom, tongat ali, capsaicin etc.
Reishi mushroom helps reduce inflammation while tongat ali can be a great help in building muscle around the joints. This is because it is proven to enhance production of hormones that are related to muscle growth in your body.
Provailen is completely natural and the side effects are minimal. It is made in a FDA approved facility in the US and is growing in popularity with each passing day. It can also make you sleep better without the nagging pain.
Hip Arthritis Affects Persons That Are Fifty Years Of Age Or Older
Though anyone can suffer from hip arthritis, it is normally associated with persons that are fifty years of age or older, and the problem is also more commonly seen in patients that are overweight, and also that when the same person begins to lose weight there is a gradual improvement in the condition and symptoms of hip arthritis start to fade away.
Doctors also believe that hip arthritis can be caused due to genetics and so if you belong to a family in which someone has this form of arthritis, then you could also be at risk of suffering from the same.
There are certain other factors too that can cause a person to suffer from hip arthritis and these include having trauma with the hip and even because of fracturing of bones that are located close to joints. There are certain symptoms that you will notice if you are suffering from hip arthritis and these symptoms tend to get worse as the condition deteriorates further.
However, it is also not the case that the symptoms will become worse with the passage of time and it can occur that a patient has some months that are good as far as their condition is concerned, while other months may turn out to be bad, and symptoms may also are affected because of changes in the weather conditions. Thus, hip arthritis symptoms noticed on a particular day may not appear on other days, and they may also not be an accurate representation of the way in which the condition is progressing.
Common symptoms of hip arthritis include pain when performing activities, limitation to how much a person can move about, hips becoming stiff and needing to limp while walking.
It is also recommended to get treated as soon as the symptoms appear, and the treatments can either are very basic in some instances, while other instances may even warrant surgery to be performed. In any case, you will need to get expert medical advice to know what the best treatments for your particular case of hip arthritis warrants.
Degenerative Arthritis
One of the most prevalent forms of arthritis is known as degenerative arthritis. Also known as osteoarthritis, degenerative arthritis is a slowly progressive arthritis of unknown cause which affects several joints, and tends to occur in elderly people. Aging is the number one contributor to the development of this disease. Other factors include: previous joint injuries.
Juvenile Arthritis
Juvenile arthritis, also known as juvenile idiopathic arthritis, is the most common form of arthritis in children. Juvenile arthritis can occur in both boys and girls at any age, but symptoms most commonly begin during the toddler or early teen years. The cause of juvenile arthritis is still unknown, although theories suspect that it can.
Our childhood should be one of the most joyful periods of our lives. Everything from a bright fluttering butterfly to learning how to ride a bicycle, to watching our father repair a car engine, seems new and exciting. We have no sense of the future, and believe that every day will be like today.
Hip Arthritis – Relieve Your Arthritis
What are the major causes of hip pain? They are Arthritis, Avascular Necrosis, Hip Pain Strain, and Back Pain. There are stretches and hip pain exercises that you can do every day to decrease your hip pain and strengthen your hip muscles.
First thing in the morning before starting your daily routine, you should stretch your hips, upper and lower back, and legs. It will take time for you to get into the habit to do these stretches, but after a short period of time it will become part of your daily morning routine. Some of the recommended stretches would be single knee to chest, hip and glute stretch, and spinal twist.
Stretching decreases your hip pain by increasing your blood flow to your hip joints and muscles. This results in decrease in hip joint inflammation and increases your hip joint motion. When your hip joints are not inflamed and muscles are loosened up, you move more easily and do not get that painful grinding feeling. Hip Pain Exercises decreases your hip pain and also strengthens your hip joints and muscles. 3 highly recommended exercises are walking, swimming, and biking.
First, start out doing these exercises for about 10 to 15 minutes a day and then increasing the time at your own rate. Another reason why these exercises are highly recommended is because it does not put high impact pounding affect on the joints like running does. When you feel that your hip muscles and joints are getting stronger, you can start doing more advanced hip exercises.
A few advanced exercises are: squats, pile squats, and assisted lunge. You may even start to lift light weights to tone and increase strength of your overall body.
One of the most important steps you can take to decrease your hip pain is sitting down or lying down. This is especially important if you have been on your feet a lot or you just finished doing hip exercises. Giving your body a chance to recover and rebuild is just important as doing hip pain exercises.
When you choose to sit down to recover from being on your feet or when your hip pain just becomes little too much, you can apply heat to loosen up your hip joints and muscles.
Heat is applied to your hip by taking a hot bath, applying heat wrap, or using an electric heating pad. After applying heat, you can then apply an over-the-counter pain reliever cream called Arnica. Don’t worry it does not smell bad; it absorbs into the skin instantly, and does not feel sticky.
If the pain becomes unbearable, contact your Orthopaedic Medical Doctor. He or she is trained in pain management. An over the counter pain reliever or prescription may be suggested. Make sure you tell your Doctor all the medications you are taking plus any allergic reactions you have to medications.