Non-Surgical Treatment Options

There are a number of non-surgical lifestyle modifications that your physician may prescribe to control the symptoms of arthritis.:

Weight reduction is one way to control the symptoms of hip arthritis; simply losing weight reduces the amount of stress on your weight-bearing joints, including hips, knees, spine and feet. Any heavy lifting or excessive standing and walking should be avoided. Also, using assistive devices such as canes, crutches or walkers can help decrease stress on your painful hip.

Exercise and physical therapy

To improve the strength and flexibility of your hip and lower extremity muscles, exercise and physical therapy may be prescribed. Your exercise program can include stretching exercises, stationary biking, walking and light weight training. Aquatic exercises are especially effective for arthritis treatment since they allow mild resistance while removing the weight-bearing stresses.

Medications

Analgesics, such as acetaminophen can provide limited pain relief but they do not reduce inflammation associated with arthritis.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

Temporary pain relief can be achieved by reducing the inflammation of the tissue in the hip.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, NSAIDs, may be recommended to decrease the inflammation associated with arthritis. Aspirin, ibuprofen and ketoprofen are over-the-counter NSAIDs which reduce inflammation and swelling along with prescribed NSAIDs available through your physician.

Nutritional supplements

To improve the joint’s mobility and decrease hip pain from arthritis, the nutritional supplements glucosamine and chondroitin may be used. They can slow the cartilage deterioration in the joint and reduce bone-on-bone pain. Both are naturally occurring substances found in cartilage. Glucosamine is thought to promote the growth of new cartilage and repair the damaged cartilage, while chondroitin is believed to inhibit cartilage-destroying enzymes and to promote water retention, improving the elasticity of cartilage. Talk to your physician before taking these supplements.