What is hip osteoarthritis?
Osteoarthritis is a chronic condition for which there is currently no cure. In healthy joints, cartilage covers the end of each bone, providing a smooth, gliding surface for joint motion. Your cartilage also acts as a cushion between your bones. If you’re affected by OA, your cartilage breaks down.
OA tends to worsen over time and causes several issues, including:
- Spurs: growths caused by your bones breaking down
- Inflammation: due to bits of bone or cartilage chipping off and floating around in your joint.
In the final stages of OA, your cartilage completely wears away, causing your bones to rub against each other.
What are the symptoms of hip osteoarthritis?
The most common symptom associated with hip osteoarthritis is pain around your hip joint. This discomfort usually develops slowly and worsens over time. Pain and stiffness tend to be worse in the morning, or after sitting or resting for an extended period. Additional symptoms include:
- Pain that radiates to your buttocks or your knee, and flares up with vigorous activity and rainy weather, but can also be present at rest or at night
- Stiffness that makes it difficult to walk or bend
- Grinding noise during movement
- Decreased range of motion
How is osteoarthritis of the hip treated?
Dr. Mathews uses several different approaches to treat hip osteoarthritis, including:
Physical Therapy
A physical therapist works with you and helps you create an individualized exercise program to strengthen the muscles around your joint, increase your range of motion, and reduce pain.
Injections
Dr. Mathews can provide an order for the radiologist to place a needle into the space within your joint, and inject corticosteroid medications to help relieve your pain.
Stem Cells
During this procedure, Dr. Mathews takes bone marrow cells from the back of your hip, processes them, and then injects them into your hip.
Hip Replacement
During arthroplasty or joint replacement surgery, Dr. Mathews uses a minimally invasive procedure to remove your damaged hip joint surfaces and replace them with alternative plastic, ceramic and/or metal parts.
Regardless of the treatment you receive, Dr. Mathews provides education and guidance to help you make the right decisions.
For quick, effective relief from your osteoarthritis hip pain, call or make an appointment online today with Orthopedic Surgeon & Knee and Hip Replacement Specialist, Dr. Vasilios Mathews in Houston, Texas.
