Osteoarthritis of the hip can be a painful condition that makes walking and other normal daily tasks difficult. This fact is just one reason why you should not wait to get treatment for hip arthritis.
Osteoarthritis occurs when the cartilage and other structures in a joint wear out over time. Typically, the wearing occurs naturally, but it can be sped up by joint injuries or other medical issues. Hip osteoarthritis is also one of the most common types of osteoarthritis. In fact, about 25% of people will develop it in their lifetime.
Physical therapy is one option hip arthritis sufferers should consider to treat their condition. A physical therapist can also help you learn why you shouldn’t wait to get professional care for your hip osteoarthritis.
Three reasons you shouldn’t wait to get hip osteoarthritis treatment
There are many reasons why people with hip osteoarthritis shouldn’t wait to seek physical therapy and other medical treatments. Here are three such reasons:
- Hip osteoarthritis is progressive — After you’re diagnosed with hip osteoarthritis, your condition will continue to get worse over time. There are four stages that medical professionals use to grade osteoarthritis progression. Physical therapy is an option that can help slow your progress through these stages.
- Physical therapy can reduce osteoarthritis pain — Physical therapists can take steps to help you decrease your hip arthritis pain. One way they can help is to build you a program of therapeutic exercises. These exercises will focus on stretching and strengthening muscles around your hip. A medical study reports that a 12-week program of therapeutic exercises helped reduce hip osteoarthritis pain by 30%.
- Physical therapy can improve hip joint function — Reduced hip joint function is a common issue for arthritis sufferers. It can make many normal daily tasks tougher to perform. Such tasks include walking, sitting down in a chair or getting dressed.
Physical therapists can help increase the function in your arthritic hip joint. One study reveals that a type of physical therapy called manual therapy can offer this benefit. The study reports that manual therapy helped improve patients’ Harris hip scores by over 20 points after nine sessions.
SOL Physical Therapy is ready to start treating your hip osteoarthritis
Looking for effective treatment for your hip arthritis? Our SOL PT team is ready and willing to help you begin treating your condition as soon as possible. We can do a comprehensive examination of your hip to learn about how hip arthritis is affecting you. In addition, our physical therapists excel at creating hip arthritis therapy plans that are personalized to your needs. Even better, our virtual therapy service allows patients to get their therapy from home.
Contact our team today for more information about how we can help you with hip arthritis or to schedule an initial appointment.
