Hip arthritis is a type of degenerative joint disease that affects the hips. Over time, due to aging, trauma, “wear and tear” or other factors, the cartilage that cushions your hip joint starts to break down. Without cartilage, your hip joint bones rub together when you move. The bone-on-bone action creates pain, stiffness, and can limit your mobility.
The most common type of hip arthritis is Osteoarthritis or “wear and tear” arthritis. A number of factors can increase your risk for hip arthritis including increasing age, smoking, and obesity. Prior injury to the hip from sports or work injuries can result in the early onset of arthritic symptoms.
The typical pain from hip arthritis is located in the groin thigh or buttock. The pain is generally worse with weight bearing activities such as walking, standing or even twisting. Some patients report "start-up" pain which is an especially bad discomfort upon standing after being seated for a prolonged period of time. This sometimes works itself out after a few steps. Symptoms of hip arthritis develop slowly, beginning with stiffness or soreness in one or both hip bones and eventually becoming painful enough to make it difficult to or even impossible for you to comfortably carry on normal activities, such as walking or climbing stairs. For those participating in sports, hip arthritis can really affect performance, endurance and ultimately the ability to simply participate.
