Your hip joint is made up of the humeral head and acetabulum. The ends of the bone are covered in a tissue called cartilage and the joints are covered with hyaline or articular cartilage. Healthy cartilage is very smooth and slippery, but wear and tear through the years results in a loss of that cartilage. That loss is called osteoarthritis or “arthritis,” for short. 

People with hip arthritis commonly experience:

• Dull aching pain at night, affecting sleep
• Stiffness and soreness in the hip
• Sharp stabs or pain in the groin with movement of the hip
• Loss of joint mobility 
• Weakness and difficult getting up and down from low surfaces/chairs
• Decrease tolerance to standing and walking

Vita’s team of highly trained and qualified therapists can help diagnose the condition, rule out other causes of hip pain, identify contributing variables and provide hands on treatment as well as individualized exercise programs to help alleviate your pain and get you back to living life. 

Interventions might include the following:

• Soft tissue mobilization
• Dry Needling and/or taping
• Joint mobilization
• Proprioceptive training
• Strengthening
• Iontophoresis
• Ultrasound
• Exercise programs

Physical therapy helps address movement dysfunction and muscle imbalances that contribute to the damage to the cartilage. When physical therapy is started before the arthritis becomes severe, patients can expect to see a reduction or elimination of their joint pain and improved quality of life.