Arthritis can affect any joint in your body, but it can be especially irritating when it affects your hips. The hips are responsible for bearing a lot of your body weight and powering your legs for walking, running, jumping, bending over or crouching. As arthritis wears down the cartilage in your hips, it becomes more difficult to do any activities involving these movements.

While there is no cure for arthritis, there are treatments that can help reduce the pain and improve your range of motion. Here are a few tips that can help you improve your hip arthritis treatment.

1. Stick to your prescriptions

Has your doctor prescribed any medications to help you manage the symptoms of your hip arthritis? Make sure you stick to your prescription exactly as it is laid out. Do not take more medication than you are supposed to because you think that will help more. If your pain is getting worse, talk to your doctor and let them decide how you should proceed. 

2. Lose weight

Part of the responsibility of your hips is to support your body weight. If you are overweight, you are exerting excessive strain on your hips. This can make the arthritis pain feel worse and make your hips have to work harder for simple movements, like walking.

Simply losing some weight can help you reduce strain on the hips, which can reduce pain and stiffness from arthritis.

3. Improve your diet

Improving your diet not only helps you lose weight, but it also helps you fight inflammation. Reducing inflammation can slow the progress of arthritis and reduce pain and stiffness in your hips. 

Eat more foods that are rich in lean proteins, unsaturated fats, whole grains, and vitamins and nutrients found in colorful fruits and vegetables. Avoid eating foods like red meat or foods with a lot of saturated fat, sugar or processed grains as these are known to make inflammation worse.

4. Do physical therapy

Physical therapists are licensed health care professionals who can examine your hips and provide a personalized treatment routine to help you with your arthritis. Physical therapy cannot cure arthritis, but it helps make your hips stronger and more flexible, which can improve your range of motion and reduce pain in a wide range of activities.

Physical therapy treatments often include a regular routine of:

• Gentle stretches and exercises
• Joint mobilization
• Soft tissue mobilization
• Posture guidance
• Patient education, such as for nutrition or weight loss

Visit Continuum Wellness today for hip arthritis treatment

Is hip arthritis keeping you from enjoying anything that involves being on your feet? Our team at Continuum Wellness is here to help. We can examine your condition and guide you through a treatment to help manage your arthritis. Contact our team today for more information about hip arthritis treatment or to schedule an initial appointment.