Hip Arthritis

What is the hip joint?

The hip joint is where the thigh bone intersects with the pelvis to create a ball-and-socket joint. Each ball and socket are connected by a band of tissue called ligaments that help protect the joint.

Several significant muscles surround your hip, enabling smooth movement. These muscles include:

• Hamstrings
• Quadriceps
• Gluteals
• Adductor muscles
• Iliopsoas muscles

The hip is the largest weight-bearing joint.

What is hip arthritis?

Several kinds of arthritis can affect your hips. The most common is osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis is degenerative and is often called wear-and-tear arthritis. It causes the cartilage in the hip joint to gradually wear away, exposing the ends of the bones. This form of arthritis is found mainly in people over 50, although it can affect you at any age.

Common symptoms of hip arthritis include:

• Chronic pain
• Stiffness
• Swelling
• Walking with a limp
• Increased pain during rainy weather
• Weakness of the hip
• Limited mobility
• Limited range of motion

Arthritis in the hip can restrict your everyday activities like walking, climbing stairs, and sitting comfortably.

How is hip arthritis treated?

After Dr. Crutcher assesses your hip arthritis, he provides you with a treatment plan that’s appropriate to your needs. Dr. Crutcher provides personalized plans for everyone, created in collaboration with each patient.

Nonsurgical treatments of hip arthritis include:

• Minimizing the activities that cause the symptoms
• Adjusting to a specialized diet
• Weight loss
• Targeted medications
• Physical therapy
• Assistive devices
• Applying heat or ice to affected areas
• Cortisone shots
• Acupuncture

If nonsurgical treatment proves ineffective for you, Dr. Crutcher will then consider surgery. Surgeries that Dr. Crutcher offers at his practice for hip arthritis include:

• Total hip replacement
• Partial hip replacement
• Revision hip surgery

Dr. Crutcher is highly experienced and does an estimated 400 joint replacements each year.

To schedule a hip consultation with Dr. Crutcher and begin your personalized health care journey, call the office.