First symptoms of a worn-out hip
A worn-out hip can cause various complaints. The first symptoms of a worn-out hip are often stiffness, especially when getting up from a bed or chair, and pain when climbing stairs, especially in the morning. Other complaints of a worn-out hip include:
- Pain when climbing stairs, especially in the morning
- Cracking of the hip joint
- Difficulty and pain when bending and squatting, for example, to tie shoelaces
- Pain in the groin and/or buttocks, which can radiate to the upper thigh and knee
As the wear and tear worsens, more complaints can arise, such as:
- Difficulty moving the hip
- Loss of muscle strength, especially in the thigh
- Decreased weight-bearing capacity; sinking through the leg
- Nighttime pain, which disrupts sleep
- Warm feeling in the hip, for example due to inflammation
How is a worn-out hip treated?
The big question is, of course, what can be done about it? In treatment, the doctor will initially prescribe painkillers and recommend weight loss in case of overweight. Furthermore, the doctor will likely refer you to a physiotherapist to learn to move in the correct way. Movement is very important in a worn-out hip: this limits stiffness. In addition, the physiotherapist can help increase the strength and stability of the hip, which often reduces pain.
In case of severe pain or a severely limited ability to move due to the symptoms of a worn-out hip, sometimes surgery is necessary in which the worn-out hip joint is replaced by an artificial hip. Although this sounds like an intensive operation, the operation is successful in 95 percent of cases and you can then move on for about ten to fifteen years.