Hip Arthritis
Your first sign may be a bit of discomfort and stiffness in your groin, buttock, or thigh when you wake up in the morning. The pain flares when you are active and gets better when you rest.
If you do not get treatment for osteoarthritis of the hip, the condition keeps getting worse until resting no longer relieves your pain. The hip joint gets stiff and inflamed. Bone spurs might build up at the edges of the joint.
When the cartilage wears away completely, bones rub directly against each other. Bone-on-bone contact occasionally causes the patient to feel or hear the hip creaking during walking. This makes it very painful for you to move. As the disease progresses, the hip becomes stiff and less movement is possible. You may lose the ability to rotate, flex or extend your hip. If you become less active to avoid the pain the muscles controlling your joint get weak, and you may start to limp.
How is arthritis diagnosed?
You doctor will determine how much the disease has progressed. Describe your symptoms and when they began. Your doctor may rotate, flex, and extend your hips to check for pain. He or she may want you to walk or stand on one leg to see how your hips line up. Both hips will probably be X-rayed to check if hip joint space has changed, and if you have developed bone spurs or other abnormalities.
Types of Arthritis
Osteoarthritis: A degenerative joint disease, osteoarthritis is one of the oldest and most common forms of arthritis. The disease causes cartilage breakdown found in joints. This breakdown removes the buffer between bones and the resulting bone against bone friction causes pain and eventual loss of movement. Symptoms include joint pain or aching (often after exercise or extended periods of pressure on weight-bearing joints) and limited or eventual loss of range of motion.
Rheumatoid: In some types of arthritis, such as rheumatoid arthritis, the synovium becomes inflamed. This inflammation causes chemicals to be released that thicken the synovium and damage the cartilage and bone of the affected joint. This leads to inflammation of the synovium causing pain and swelling.
Traumatic: The culprit here is a serious hip injury or fracture that can lead to a condition called avascular necrosis. In avascular necrosis, the blood supply to the ball portion (the femoral head) of the thighbone is cut off and the bone begins to wither. As a result, the surrounding cartilage begins to deteriorate, producing pain and other symptoms.
Treatment Options (to be listed on the bottom):
- Low impact exercise program: cycling, swimming and elliptical trainer
- Anti-inflammatories: Motrin, Advil, Celebrex or Alieve
- A device, such as the use of a cane or walker
- Hip replacement surgery
- Bracing
- Weight loss
