Our ball-and-socket hip joints serve us well by bearing our body’s weight, allowing us to move in many ways, from walking and running to playing sports and dancing, as well as providing stability.
Unfortunately, our hip joints are not immune to osteoarthritis, a degenerative condition that causes pain, mobility problems, and other symptoms. Many ultimately suffer from hip arthritis, as it affects 1 in 4 people by the time they reach age 85.
If you fear you may be dealing with hip arthritis, it’s time to get evaluated and find out. May is Arthritis Awareness Month, so it’s a great time to take a closer look at hip arthritis pain.
With treatment, you can find relief from the pain and other life-limiting symptoms of the condition. Dr. Vasilios Mathews is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon and specialist in knee and hip conditions, whose expertise has helped many grateful patients achieve successful treatment for degenerative hip arthritis and other painful conditions.
Wear and tear, as well as time, are not your hips’ friends. The breakdown of cartilage worsens over the years, and hip arthritis risk factors include:
Hip arthritis causes painful spurs, or growths, that are linked to bone breakdown and inflammation. In late-stage hip arthritis, your cartilage is completely gone, and your bones rub against each other, eliminating the joint’s ability to glide smoothly.
You might be trying to “wait out” your hip pain, hoping it’ll just go away. But what if it doesn't? No one deserves to incorporate hip pain and other unpleasant symptoms into their daily life.
We’ve put together a list of indicators for hip arthritis that you should review. If you answer “Yes” to any of them, call Dr. Mathews and get the treatment you need!
It’s important to remember that even if pain isn’t right in your hip, you can still be coping with hip arthritis. If it’s in the vicinity of the hip, you might receive this diagnosis.
Your hip pain can also intensify when you make certain movements. This is because cartilage breakdown isn’t a methodical process. Since it’s uneven, a movement or exercise that stresses an area with less cartilage will cause pain..
We know this seems puzzling, but hip arthritis can have a ripple effect and strike these parts of your body, too.
If your pain is exacerbated by standing for long periods or walking, it may be caused by hip arthritis. Feeling pain upon awakening or while you’re resting is also a sign. Even rainy weather can prompt hip arthritis pain.
Another hip osteoarthritis hallmark is hip stiffness, which manifests by having trouble rotating your leg or moving your hip at all.
This hip arthritis symptom becomes a vicious cycle. When you hurt, you naturally become less active, which in turn weakens your hip joint, and your symptoms worsen.
This word may be unfamiliar to you, but it describes the sounds of hip arthritis you’re probably well-acquainted with. These include cracking, snapping, clicking, and crunching — usually accompanied by an “Ouch!” — that occur as you try to move your hips.
The good news is that if you come to Dr. Mathews with one, some, or all of these symptoms, he has a range of treatments at his disposal that can bring you relief from hip pain and restore your freedom of movement.
He may recommend a course of physical therapy, specially designed to strengthen the muscles surrounding your hip joint. PT also relieves your hip pain and expands your range of motion.
Another therapeutic approach that is successful for many is corticosteroid injections, which are administered directly into the hip joint for pain relief.
Some patients require a surgical solution, such as a hip replacement (arthroplasty). Dr. Mathews is well-versed in providing minimally invasive hip surgery for patients, where he replaces the damaged hip joint surfaces with new, man-made ones made of metal, ceramic, or plastic.
As you can see, you’ve got excellent options for hip arthritis treatments, depending on the severity of your arthritis and other factors.
If you reviewed our list of hip arthritis signs and thought, “That’s me,” don’t delay scheduling an appointment with our Houston office by calling 713-794-3548 or book one online.
