Osteoarthritis in my hip--moderate to severe

swright

I have just received this diagnosis, my doctor has just told me to manage it.

What do I do please?

[Deleted User]

Hello @swright,

Welcome to the Online Community, I'm glad you've found us!

I see that you have been recently diagnosed with osteoarthritis of the hip and that you have been asked to manage it by yourself. It's totally understandable for you to feel a bit lost at the moment.

Fortunately there are things you can do to help to manage your condition, this webpage includes some useful tips:

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/osteoarthritis-oa-of-the-hip/

You don't have to deal with this alone and there are resources available to help. I hope you will continue to make use of the Online Community as it has many lovely people with similar experiences willing to provide advice and support. You can also call the Versus Arthritis helpline on 0800 5200 520 on weekdays from 9 to 6.

Best wishes, Sarah (moderator)

Lilymary

Hi @swright , welcome to this lovely forum. There’s lots of experience of living with arthritis among the members, so ask questions as much as you need, or just have a moan if you want, we all know how rubbish this feels. The first diagnosis can be a shock and take some adjustment, give yourself time to work through that, it’s ok not to feel ok about this. Has your GP offered you any pain relieve medication?

I was diagnosed with severe OA in my hips in March 2020, worst in my left hip (it had been lurking undetected for years till a fall triggered a rapid decline). It was an awful year - constant, increasing pain and reducing mobility. I had hip replacement in April this year, and am still recovering.

Everyone’s experience of pain is individual, but I found many of the tips on this link really helpful

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/managing-symptoms/managing-your-pain/

A few things that really helped me included distraction, ie lose yourself in something you really enjoy to take your focus away from the pain. Meditation and mindfulness can also help - if your body is tense, it can make the pain worse. There will also be some things you feel you have to give up as it causes too much pain or exhaustion, but for everything you give up make sure you replace it with something else you will enjoy, possibly something new. Try to focus on the things you can do, rather than the things you can’t. And find new ways to do your day to day activities, using sticks, crutches and aids around the house will also keep you going.

try to exercise to build up the muscles that support the hip, but don’t overdo it - it’s not like building up general fitness, pushing through the pain is likely to make the inflammation and pain in your hips worse.

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/exercising-with-arthritis/exercises-for-healthy-joints/exercises-for-the-hips/

the “Let’s Move with Leon” programme on this site is also helpful to keep the rest of your body moving, it can be as gentle as you need it to be, and is quite good fun.

I hope these are helpful, but keep posting on here if it helps, and read experience of other people. There’s a lot of other useful info on this site too, so have a trawl around.

helpline_team

Hi @swright

Thank you for posting on the helpline forum about your recent diagnosis of moderate to severe osteoarthritis of the hip.

Thanks to SarahGF and Lilymary for their advice and the links they shared. As SarahGF says, it would be understandable to feel a bit lost at the moment, so I’m pleased you’ve reached out via the forum. I hope you’ve found the information and links helpful.

You may also like to check out ESCAPE-pain for knees and hips, a rehabilitation programme which was developed in partnership with Versus Arthritis. It helps with understanding the condition, teaches you simple things you can help yourself with, and takes you through a progressive exercise programme so you can learn how to cope with pain better. Until the face-to-face programme starts up again in your area, you can find out more about the ESCAPE-pain digital support tools which are free to use, here:

https://escape-pain.org/patient-overview

You are very welcome to call us on our freephone helpline: 0800 5200 520 so you can talk things through with one of our helpline team. We can provide a listening ear and more tailored support to ensure you have the right information to help you to manage the condition. I do hope you will consider calling if you haven’t already done so.

I hope this is helpful.

Best wishes

Mags

Helpline Team

Mike1

Also ask your GP for a referral to your local Pain Clinic, they have experience of OA and RA and will be able to try different meds and other therapies which may help you.