Hip arthritis is evaluated and then treated according to the needs of the patient. They may combine treatments to aid with alleviating symptoms, pain and damage done by the arthritis. In some cases, some people may have completely immobile hips and have to have the joint removed and replaced with an orthotic device to help them get around. However, hip replacement surgery is usually only done as a last resort.
One of the first things that helps with treating hip arthritis is to keep your weight in check. Doctors will get you to lose weight if you are overweight or obese because the pressure on your joints will help to aggravate the condition and realistically, the less your joint has to cope with, the less pain you will experience during regular and daily activities. Then, you may have to adjust the activities that you do. You may need to find alternative exercises and give up those that just are too difficult to handle anymore. If you are still able to walk somewhat, you might have to use a crutch or cane, held on the opposite side to the hip that is affected to decrease any additional pressure on the joint. Another factor is to strengthen the muscles around the affected joint to help lower the burden that it has to cope with and thus enable you to use muscle strength in preference to joint support. In fact, if your hip is so badly damaged or degenerated, keeping your muscles healthy is vital or they will start suffering from atrophy and gradually reduce in size and waste away.
Other things that you can do are to take any non-prescriptive and prescriptive anti-inflammatory drugs that your doctor suggests as these will stop the swelling and reduce the tenderness around your joints. Supplements to keep your hips mobile have not yet been proven as being one hundred percent effective, but with some people have been helpful, so taking supplements such as glucosamine may be an option. If at the worst you have a hip joint that is so badly damaged, you might need to have surgery. However, this is not the end of the world and will not necessarily cripple you for life. The whole purpose of hip replacement surgery is to remove unneeded and damaged cartilage and then replace the joint with an implant made of plastic and metal. It can rotate and perform all of the things that your former hip joint did and usually is easy for a patient’s body to accept.