Osteoarthritis in both hips

ScaryMary

I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis in both hips early last year. At first I only had pain and stiffness in the right hip.

Now i have much less pain but intermittently in both.

My main problem at present is that both hips are very stiff especially the last and I am finding walking far really difficult even using walking poles. Last summer I was walking up to 3 miles. Now half a mile is a struggle and I end up dragging my left foot at snails pace.

I just find this so frustrating as my husband and I used to go for walks together but this is now impossible.

Lilymary

Hi @ScaryMary , welcome to this lovely forum. They certainly kept me afloat when my hips rebelled. I’m sorry to hear your hips are affecting you so much.

I was a fit walker too, and my husband and I spent a lot of time in the hills and on trekking holidays, which was quietly wearing away my hips which suddenly went rogue after a fall in early 2020. The damage found by that stage was so bad I was put straight on the list for hip replacement in my left hip (done in April 2021], with the right hip still functional at present. I was on handfuls of cocodamol and naproxen but it only just kept me mobile and the pain was unrelenting. By the time I went for surgery I did a walk round the village, leaning heavily on my stick and in considerable pain, which took over an hour to do a mile. So I do understand your frustration.

My new hip hasn’t been a roaring success (although I gather this is unusual) but I am walking up to 5 gentle miles on a good day. It’s a huge improvement on pre-op, so I take small mercies where I can find them.

Try to stay as active as you can. Good muscle tone is what will have been supporting your hips for so long, and will certainly help your recovery post op, whenever that comes. It will also maintain some mobility meanwhile, which is also important. If you can, find a gentle yoga or pilates class - I really noticed the difference when these stopped during lockdown. Swimming and cycling can also be good for hips.

To keep my contact with being outdoors, I dialled back what I was doing, so short low level gentle walks or just pottering in the garden help mentally and physically. But for everything you find you need to give up, find something new that you enjoy to replace it - adjusting to reduced mobility can be a struggle mentally. Arthritis can also be physically exhausting, so allow yourself time to recharge. If you’ve had a day on your feet, programme in a few rest days to let your joints and your energy recover.

It may be worth n appointment with a good physio who can recommend exercises to help you maintain muscle strength and mobility in your hip. You do need to persevere with the exercises, most people give up after a few weeks, but it will take several months to see a difference, but it’s worth it if you can do it, (it’s worked very well for my sister in law, who is in a similar position and has been very focussed in her daily exercises).

I hope this helps, but do keep coming on here for tips or a moan, we all know how rubbish this can get, and there is lots of experience from other four members. There’s also advice specific to osteoarthritis in hips and suitable exercises.

Mickey

I was diagnosed with oa in spine arthritus in neck osteopenia in hip but told to take 2 dcal tablets a day .But bones just rub and bad pelvic pain and neck pain

chrisb

Hi @Mickey

Welcome to the versus arthritis forum.

You have been diagnosed with arthritis in your spine and neck as well as osteopenia in your hip. Medication advised to date is dcal tablets. You continue to suffer from the associated pain. I’m guessing that your reason for joining the forum is to meet other people with similar symptoms and perhaps to see if anyone can offer you some advice as to how manage your condition.

These links to our website may be helpful to you:

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/osteoarthritis/

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

I see that you have already joined in with this discussion which has some great input from Lilymary.

I hope you find joining the forum beneficial. 

Best Wishes

ChrisB (Moderator)

Lilymary

@ScaryMary , you may find the tips in this link helpful.

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

ScaryMary

Hi Lillymary

Thanks for your encouragement and advise.

I will heed your advise to have a restful day today having spent too long on my feet in the kitchen yesterday.

I have been doing pilates for more years than I can remember! I have a very good teacher who caters for those of us in the class with problems.

I spotted the exercises you mention and have started doing them. Thanks.

ScaryMary

I am finding standing for long really hard, it feels like my whole legs are aching. Does anyone else experience this with hip osteoarthritis?

Whiskey26

Hi @ScaryMary

I have severe OA in both hips (worse in my right side). I was diagnosed in October 2020 and walk with a stick. I sympathise with you regarding legs aching, as I too suffer with this. I cannot weight bear on my right side at all and both of my legs ache if I stand for too long. When I attempt to bend over, my legs creak and crunch like they are about to snap and if I stand in the same position for a while, for example when washing the pots, as soon as I move, I get a stinging pain in my hips. The only thing I've learnt, is to try and move about more. If you're sat down, get up after 15/20 minutes and walk around. If you're stood, make sure you sit down after 15/20 minutes. The more you stay in one position the worse it becomes. I take co codamol and amitriptyline, which makes the pain more bearable.

Lilymary

With damaged joints, your muscles are having to work extra hard to keep you supported. My whole body ached if I'd been on my feet too long before I had surgery. As @Whiskey26 says, allow yourself breaks when on your feet, and avoid sitting down and seizing up too long. Keep up with your pilates, I miss my classes, my body is still being a drama queen post surgery, so don't know when I will be up to starting again. 😥

Whiskey26

Hi @Lilymary so sorry to hear you're still not 100% following your op. I've not even been to see a surgeon yet, regarding getting on the waiting list, but if or when I do, I would be interested to find out how quickly I will see any improvement post op. I know everyone is different and we all heal at different rates, but are you pleased you had it done and is your pain greatly reduced? Mine is sometimes bearable, other times I break down and cry, because it's no quality of life and simple tasks are so difficult. I feel such a hindrance to my daughter's, especially having been so independent pre OA. Only those who have been or are going through this type of pain, understand it.

Lilymary

Hi @Whiskey26, I don't regret the surgery at all, it's just that the outcome for me hasn't been the leaping and dancing success I'd hoped for, and which I've seen some others achieve. That awful pain you describe, which I remember all too well, has gone. I totally understand how it reduces you to tears. Sometimes when I'm out shopping etc, I have flashbacks to being in the same place before I had surgery. One shop I can remember going up the stairs leaning at an angle on the handrail, in terrible pain. I remember parking the car as close to possible to supermarket doors, as that extra 10 feet less to walk made all the difference. I remember getting round supermarkets using the trolley as a walking aid, with my stick in the trolley, and only doing the aisles I absolutely had to rather than browsing, as the pain was so bad. Sometimes I left without items as I couldn't face going right to the end of the shop. People could see how much pain I was in as I walked around leaning on my stick and were very kind, but I couldn't go anywhere without it, and it was still bloomin' agony, even on handfuls of pain killers.

All that has gone now. I can do low level walks up to around 6 miles, including on uneven ground, at almost normal speed, and don't need any pain relief at all. The sideways wobble I developed ("trendeleburg gait") is another rare side effect I acquired, and took about 9 months to go - I still lurch a bit when I'm tired. But it's lifting my leg that's the problem - i get awful pain in my groin due to a worn out tendon that the surgery has irritated, and won't settle down. I have to lift my leg with my hands in and out of the car, in and out of bed, even to put trousers and shoes on. I can just about go up stairs ok, but I can feel it complaining. My job needs me to be up ladders, and I can only "lift and lower" with my good leg. The other leg's just there as a prop. If I move my leg suddenly I get jarring pain in my groin, so no running, and I have to be careful not to stumble. This has resulted in muscle weakness, so I can't trust my balance either. I'm working on some of this with my physio, and it is very slowly getting better, but I have to say it's been disappointing compared to the progress of some people.

I'd say the worst of the recovery for me was over in around 7 weeks - I just use a stick on uneven ground now, and didn't need pain relief after about 2-3 weeks. But it is a big op and it takes your body a good while to recover and for muscles to rebuild themselves etc. My body's response is far from typical - I just acquired many of the "rare side effects" they warn you about pre-op, and a few of my own, which we all assume only happen to other people. There was no reason to suspect that I'd be the one who got them this time - youngish, relatively fit, no other significant health issues etc. Hey ho. Some people on this forum who are older than me made stellar recoveries, but I have heard of a few others who had worse complications. But even they haven't regretted the surgery - their mobility and pain levels are much better now than pre-op.

Do tell your daughters how this affects you, let them see how you have to adapt what you do because of the pain and immobility, and let them help you. But don't hesitate to go for the surgery when offered. Yes, there are risks, but for the vast majority you will get at the very least a lot of your mobility back and a huge reduction in pain. And you might be one of the lucky ones who is back to salsa dancing a few months later!