10 Signs That It’s Time to Get Help With Hip Arthritis (Arthritis Awareness Month - May)

May is Arthritis Awareness Month in the United States, and while most people have heard of arthritis, they may not realize it’s the leading cause of disability in the country. Rather than a single disease, arthritis includes over 100 inflammatory conditions that affect joints, though osteoarthritis is by far the most common. 

Osteoarthritis is the most common cause of hip arthritis, the largest ball-and-socket joint. The physicians at Bahri Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, are specialists in both arthritis and hip pain and can help when hip arthritis takes a toll on your daily life. 

Osteoarthritis is a chronic, degenerative condition for which there’s no cure. Typically, a patient copes with the symptoms of hip arthritis until pain can no longer be controlled and hip function makes home and work tasks too difficult to complete comfortably. 

For discussion, we’ve prepared a list of 10 signs that it’s time to get help with hip arthritis. When one or more of these symptoms begin to dominate your life and reduce its quality, contact our team at our nearest office. 

Osteoarthritis background

This most common form of arthritis is largely the result of wear and tear from years of living, though sometimes joint injuries can start the deterioration of cartilage that’s characteristic of the disease. 

Other forms of arthritis can produce similar problems with the cartilage covering the joint end of bones, triggering a continuous and expanding degenerative progression. Fortunately, medical treatments and lifestyle adjustments can slow the progress of arthritis. 

10 signs that it’s time to get help with hip arthritis

Tolerance of disability and pain levels vary widely by person, so the ultimate answer for when to seek treatment comes from you. Consider these 10 signs and symptoms when seeking additional treatment for hip arthritis. 

• Pain that elevates from intermittent to persistent, lasting days at a time
• Over-the-counter pain medications no longer sufficiently manage your pain
• You have difficulty with daily activities due to pain and/or stiffness in your hips
• Hip arthritis causes changes to your gait, including limping or changes that affect other parts of your body
• You develop crepitus -- clicks, cracks, and grinding that accompanies hip movement
• Swelling, tenderness, and warmth start to develop along with hip pain
• Hip pain begins to interfere with your sleep cycle
• Pain from the hip radiates into the leg
• Hip pain increases with changes in weather systems, such as cold temperatures or rainy conditions
• Hip pain begins to take a toll on your emotions and mood

Our surgeons will exhaust all conservative treatment options before recommending surgery for hip arthritis. Nonsurgical treatments include pain and inflammation relieving injections, prescription medications, or specific medications for other types of arthritis, such as rheumatoid arthritis. 

When surgery becomes necessary, hip resurfacing and hip replacement surgeries are highly successful at relieving pain and restoring mobility. 

Contact Bahri Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Clinic by phone or online to schedule a hip arthritis consultation at our nearest location today.