Arthritis Hip Pain - What are the Best Natural Cures?

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Arthritis Hip Pain is an all too common result of degeneration or inflammation of your hip joint. Your hip joint is a likely area to suffer from arthritis because your body weight puts so much pressure on your hip.

The two most common forms of arthritis in the hip are Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Causes of Arthritis Hip Pain

Osteoarthritis - Osteoarthritis is a form of arthritis which affects mainly older people, and is caused by chronic degeneration of the cartilage and synovial membrane of the joints. This degeneration leads to pain and stiffness. Osteoarthritis is the most common cause of arthritis hip pain. Other than excess weight, previous injury of the hip is another reason osteoarthritis can develop. Osteoarthritis also tends to run in families.

If you have osteoarthritis in your hip you will have pain in the front or side of your upper thigh. Pain could also be felt in your groin. Arthritis Hip Pain can become constant.

Rheumatoid Arthritis – RA is a chronic and progressive disease in which the immune system attacks the joints. It is characterized by pain, inflammation and swelling or the joints, stiffness, weakness, loss of mobility and deformity. Unlike osteoarthritis which may be affecting just your hips, Rheumatoid Arthritis will be affecting many parts of your body in addition to your hips.

Most common symptoms of hip arthritis

• Pain in the outer or inner thigh, buttock, or groin with hip movement

• Stiffness in the hip – especially in the morning

• Limited range of motion of the hip

• Tendency to walk with a limp

Arthritis is usually a chronic progressive condition so arthritis hip pain usually gets worse over time. Your pain is often affected by changes in weather.

Best Treatments for Arthritis Hip Pain

Treatment of arthritis in your hip will be most effective if your doctor has accurately diagnosed your type of arthritis. X-rays usually need to be taken to show whether there is any thinning or erosion in the bones, any loss of joint space, or any excess fluid in the joint. Blood work will probably be done to show whether a rheumatoid factor or other antibodies are present to ensure accurate diagnosis.

Hip arthritis will probably not be cured, but treatment will help manage your symptoms and slow further degeneration of your hip.

Weight Loss – Extra weight is something an arthritic hip can’t tolerate. Every pound you lose will take pressure off your hip and allow you to feel less pain.

TENS electrical therapy – TENS therapy can be a very effective treatment for hip pain. TENS stimulation is a type of electrical nerve stimulation that you can use at home for pain relief. A portable TENS unit can be worn on your belt and turned on as often and for as long as you like. TENS stimulation blocks pain signals thereby giving you relief. It also causes a release of endorphins, your body's natural pain killers.

Inflammation Reducing Supplements – The following supplements have been found to control arthritis pain and inflammation:

• Primrose or salmon oil

• Calcium and Magnesium in combination

• Garlic tablets

• Vitamin C with Bioflavonoids

• A Complex B vitamin with at least 100mg of B6

• Glucosamine or Chondroitin

Herbs for Arthritis – The following herbs have been helpful with arthritis pain:

• Devil’s Claw

• Feverfew

• Alfalfa leaves

• Valerian root

• Black Cohosh

• Celery seed

• Yucca extract

• Comfrey

• Parsley tea

Activity Modification – It will be necessary for you to stop doing activities that aggravate your pain. You can’t be stubborn and not listen to your body without making your situation worse.

Ice/Cold Therapy – Ice is very beneficial for pain relief and inflammation reduction.

Heat Therapy – Certain types of heat have been found to reduce arthritis hip pain.

Walking Aids – Using a cane or crutch will decrease the stress on your arthritic hip. If both your hips are involved, a walker could be helpful.

Inversion Therapy – Inversion tables allow you to remove the compressive force of gravity which has helped many with hip pain.

Pain Relief Gel – Pain Gel is a natural treatment of pain that can give relief of arthritis hip pain.

Shoes for Back Pain – Many people have foot instability. The most common is over pronation (flattening of the arches and inward tilting of the ankles). This flattening of your foot can stress your ankle, knee, hip, and back. If you have this problem it is worth seeing if proper shoes could help your hip pain.

Best Mattress for Back Pain – If your mattress is sagging and not supporting you properly it could be making your hip pain worse. The mattress you sleep on every night will determine to a great extent, how pain free, energetic, and healthy your life will be.

Stretching - Stretching the muscles and tendons that surround the joint can help with some causes of hip pain.

Exercise – You may think you should become totally sedentary to try to save your hip joint. But the truth is that doing that will not slow down your arthritis. You should remain as active as your pain will allow. Being totally sedentary causes a loss of muscle and bone strength. You might start swimming because water will relieve the stress on your hip. Biking may be an easier exercise than walking because it puts less stress on your hips.

Physical Therapy – PT will work to strengthen the muscles around your hip, which could take some pressure off your hip and help you maintain normal muscle tone and hip function.

Acupuncture – This ancient Chinese medicine has been used successfully for centuries for pain relief. It is not risky and well worth trying if you are having chronic hip pain.

Medication – As usual, I leave this option near the end of the list because every drug has negative side effects. However sometimes Anti-Inflammatory medications are necessary for pain and inflammation that just won’t go away. Nonsteroidal and Steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can be an effective treatment for arthritis hip pain.

Surgery – If conservative treatments do not relieve your hip pain and you continue to worsen, surgery may be your only option. A very common surgery for painful arthritic hips is a Total Hip Replacement. In a replacement, your cartilage is removed and a metal and plastic implant is put in your hip. Other surgeries include Synovectomy, Core Decompression, and Bone grafts. You and your orthopedic surgeon will decide which surgery will work best for your arthritis hip pain based on your age, the condition of the hip joint, the type of inflammatory arthritis you have, and the progression of the disease.

When do you need to call your doctor about your hip pain?

You can try some of the conservative treatments above, but if your pain continues to get worse you should see your doctor. Other signs that need to be evaluated are increasing stiffness, hip pain at night, fever, redness, or warmth over the hip.

To Your Best Health,

Dr. Cliff

Best Treatment for Back Pain

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