Hip Osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis (O.A) is one of the most common causes of hip pain effecting 1 in 9 people over the age of 45 in England. This is a condition where, over a period of time, the cartilage that lines the hip socket or that lines the head of the femur (your thigh bone) starts to degenerate causing a meeting of the two bones. This in turn can lead to pain and lack of mobility through the joint.

When patients complain of hip O.A. they usually describe the symptoms of stiffness in the morning within the hip, pain after exercising, groin pain and swelling. Patients can describe a pain that travels from the groin and around the hip to the buttock region.

There are certain risk factors that could predispose hip Osteoarthritis. Being overweight, obviously the more you weight, the more pressure can be on your joints, and seeing as your hip joint is a load baring joint it is going to take that strain personally. Being older is something that is inevitable, we can’t all be Peter Pan, so the cartilage within out joints will start to degenerate with age. However, most people do not get hip O.A until the age of 60-70.

Women are more prone to hip Osteoarthritis. and at the age of 65 are twice as likely. Symptoms can typically appear in women after the age of 45 and the disparity becomes greater after the age of 55 after entering menopause.

Hip Osteoarthritis is not something you would likely inherit from a family member but unfortunately it can sometimes be the case. Up to half of the cases of hip O.A may be related to hip genetics, this may be a family member with hip O.A. or a genetical factor for poor hip alignment or bone health.

Previous trauma to the hip that has impacted the bone, or the cartilage can then predispose further damage in the future to the hip leading to O.A.

Unfortunately, there is no cure if O.A has already set in. However, there are many things you can do to maintain or reduce the risk of hip O.A:

Exercise to maintain a healthy weight and increase cartilage performance.

Resistance training has been shown to have a positive impact on bone and cartilage formation.

Stretching exercises. Trying to maintain healthy tissue in and around the hip requires movement. Trying to increase the range of motion to the hip joint can help it to reduce the impact of the two bones.

Good nutrition. This is not just to maintain a healthy weight, but to also provide your body with enough nutrients to maintain healthy bone and cartilage metabolism, which can also reduce the inflammation felt from OA.

Reduce the strain on you hip, these might be everyday things like sitting in a deep chair or using a handrail to walk up or down the stairs. This doesn’t mean start compensating on the other hip as that could then lead to cartilage damage to the other hip.

Seeking help from a professional such as an Osteopath who can help explain and carry out manual therapy techniques to maintain healthy joint tissue and reduce the pain.

If the extent of the cartilage and bone damage has got to a point that the above advice has not helped, then consideration of joint replacement surgery should be taken. This is something that a lot of patients fear, but it is a procedure that could dramatically improve your lifestyle and is worth speaking to a consultant about.