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When a disease is associated with wear and tear, it’s a good bet that it’s very common, especially among older demographics. This is certainly the case with osteoarthritis (OA), which affects 528 million people around the world. While knees account for a large chunk of the OA burden, hips aren’t far behind and rank second on the list.
As with any progressive condition, recognizing the early signs of OA can make a big difference in your outcome, for the better. The sooner that we diagnose your hip OA, the sooner we can take steps to preserve your joint.
Joint preservation is a core part of our practice here at Western Orthopaedics, and it’s certainly a top priority for our hip expert, Dr. Brian White. One of the best ways to practice good hip preservation is to act quickly when you first notice that something is amiss in the joint.
To help with this, we’ve pulled together 4 early warning signs of hip OA below.
When you have hip OA, it means that the cartilage is breaking down inside the joint. Cartilage is a viscous material that covers your bones, allowing them to glide together smoothly. With OA, this tissue breaks down, leaving your bones unprotected so they rub together. As the OA progresses, this friction between the bones can lead to bone spurs that further exacerbate the problem.
No matter where the cartilage deterioration is located, you can count on hip pain being one of the first symptoms to develop. This pain might start out as periodic — your hip might ache after you’ve been active, but the pain subsides with rest. As the OA progresses, the pain can become more constant and nagging.
You can feel the pain directly in your hip, but it often radiates into your groin and thigh and can even travel down to your knee.
The hallmarks of hip OA are joint pain and inflammation, and it’s this second side effect that can also grab your attention. When there’s inflammation in your hip joint(s), you’ll likely encounter some degree of stiffness.
Most people with hip OA experience stiffness after long periods of inactivity, which is when inflammation sets in. This explains why the first steps in the morning can be challenging as you work your hips out.
We described what happens when you have OA and how cartilage and bone breaks down. This breakdown leads to loose fragments inside your hip joint, which can get in the way of function.
As a result of these loose fragments, people with hip OA often experience:
Each of these issues stems from the loose fragments getting in the way of the gliding motion inside these large ball-and-socket joints.
People with hip OA find certain movements to be more difficult and painful, such as bending over, getting in and out of chairs, and climbing stairs.
If any of these symptoms sound familiar, it’s a good idea to come see Dr. White for an evaluation. As we mentioned earlier, there’s much that we can do to slow the progression of OA in your hips as well as prevent other problems from developing, such as a hip labral tear.
Ultimately, our goal is to intervene early so we can preserve your important hip joint and save you from joining the more than a half million people in the United States who undergo hip replacement each year.
For expert diagnosis and treatment of hip OA, we invite you to contact one of our offices in Arvada or Denver, Colorado, to set up a consultation with Dr. White.
