How To Handle Your Hip Joint Pain

Hip joint pain is one of the primary problems of arthritis. For most people a diagnosis of osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis means hip joint pain for years to come. However, finding the right method of treatment and exercise can help to stop your arthritis pain before it starts.

Your First Step

Your first step when you begin to experience hip joint pain is to stop by your doctor's office. While what you have may indeed be some form of arthritis, you need to be sure it is not a more serious condition like bone cancer. You will need to tell your doctor exactly what you are experiencing and when your symptoms began. He may move the joint around in a rotating, flexing, or extending motion to check for pain. He may even have you move around the office to see how your hips work and line up with each other. Moreover, you will probably undergo some x-rays to to see how much space you have in the hip joint as well as to check for bone spurs or other problems.

The Next Step

If you are only in the early stages of this disease, you may be able to handle your hip joint pain through nonsurgical and non-prescription medications. You could start by not overusing the hip joint. If you have small children, try to avoid carrying them as much as possible. If you have a job that requires continual lifting, see if you can find something that is more suitable to dealing with your hip joint pain. You should also try some light physical therapy. Swimming and water aerobics are good choices to dealing with your hip joint pain.

If changing your lifestyle doesn't help, you may need to investigate other ways to deal with your hip joint pain. Look at some of the other articles on this site that discuss natural methods of pain relief.