Many of our patients come to our offices to seek pain management treatments for arthritis. There are several types of arthritis, but each of them involves inflammation or pain in one or more of the joints. Some of the most common types of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Hip Arthritis is a quite common cause of hip pain. Osteoarthritis usually begins in an isolated joint such as the hip.
Depending on the type of arthritis, there are many kinds of symptoms of hip arthritis. Some of the most common include:
Any kind of trauma from a previous injury may cause arthritis. Other factors such as diabetes have been shown to heighten the symptoms of arthritis.
A common rule our doctors live by is this: If you are unable to perform your daily tasks while working, exercising or “simple” things such as taking out the trash, it is time to consult an orthopedic doctor. We recommend trying to rest the hip joint by limiting your exercise. Other conservative pain management treatments include taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and icing the effected area.
Once those conservative treatments are no longer helping, our orthopedic surgeons will recommend a treatment plan that best suits your injury and needs. They will always try non-invasive procedures (such as physical therapy) before recommending surgery.
Seeing an orthopedic surgeon is the best thing to do. Their expertise in soft tissue work makes them the ideal medical provider for this disease. Having a specialized orthopedic surgeon in the specific body part you are experiencing pain will be even better than not.
Our doctors will perform imaging to determine how aggressive the arthritis has become and for a treatment plan from there. If your arthritis is in the beginning stages, they will start with physical therapy or injections. If your arthritis is wearing down the cartilage (or there is none left) a hip replacement may be the most appropriate option.
A hip replacement will completely rid and cure arthritis in the hip. Once the arthritis is gone, it will not come back, which is great news for your hip pain! Our hip surgeons perform two different kinds of hip replacements: the posterior approach and the anterior approach. You can learn more about those two different surgeries here.
Hip replacements typically take a year to fully recover, however, you can expect to be back to work within 6-8 weeks. This recovery time highly depends on the type of labor performed during work. Other things can affect recovery time as well. It is important to go to physical therapy and perform all the exercises give to you by your physical therapist, including the at home exercises. Taking all medication, icing the joint, resting, and maintain a healthy diet after surgery will help your recovery time. Never hesitate to ask your orthopedic surgeon questions after surgery.
Mark Elliot, Athletic Director at Lipscomb University
Mark Elliot saw Dr. Brian Dierckman for a hip replacement in July 2019. One year later, he hiked 8 miles roundtrip to Observation Point in Zion National Park! Mark had no pain and hiked around that amount every day of his trip. He describes his experience with Dr. Dieckman as professional, compassionate and successful.
If you are experiencing hip arthritis or hip pain, you may need to see a hip doctor. Our hip doctors, Dr. Gregory Raab or Dr. Brian Dierckman, specialize in the hip. You can book an appointment at a location nearest to you by calling us or booking online.
