Hip arthritis is common in people who develop osteoarthritis, and can be caused by the degeneration of joints or from basic wear and tear, but at other times the reasons are not as easily known. The cartilage around your joints wears out and sometimes disappears from around your hip joints.
Usually, people over fifty will get hip arthritis, especially if they are overweight. In fact, losing weight can help reduce any symptoms that you might get with it. If there is a history in the family, that may put you at a higher risk of getting it and if you damaged the hip joint in an accident, that might contribute to it as well.
There are some common things that you can get with this, symptoms that may worsen over time. However, this does not mean that they will be progressive as many people may have good and bad times where the symptoms are affected by changes in the weather. That is why accurate accounts of symptoms vary and may make it hard to make a formal diagnosis. Symptoms include:
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Limping whilst walking
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A stiff hip joint
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Motion issues within the joint
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Pain when doing activities
To properly ascertain whether or not you have hip arthritis, you need to see your doctor for x-rays and a physical exam. These may help determine if you have it and how far it has progressed.
As far as hip arthritis treatments are concerned, your doctor may use many methods and medications to relieve your symptoms and slow down the degenerative process of your hip joint. However, not all treatments result in hip replacement surgery. Each patient is different and your doctor will define what is best for you based on your medical history, current medical conditions and what is best to help fix the hip joint issues. Currently there is no cure for hip arthritis. However, you may have to spend months or even years using anti-inflammatory and pain killing drugs to help give you some relief, and you might have to undergo certain therapies to restrengthen your joint. At the very worst, your doctor may have to put a replacement joint in the place of your hip joint to help you move and you might have to use orthotic types of devices to help you get around.