Hip Osteoarthritis: Causes of Pain and How Kinesiotherapy Helps Maintain Mobility
Hip osteoarthritis, or coxarthrosis, is a chronic condition involving changes to the cartilage, bone, and other structures of the joint. Key symptoms include pain in the groin, thigh, or buttock, as well as stiffness and a gradual restriction of movement.
While kinesiotherapy cannot restore joint cartilage that has already been destroyed, properly selected exercises help strengthen the muscles surrounding the joint, improve its function, and help maintain independence in daily life for longer.
What Is Coxarthrosis?
The hip joint connects the femur (thigh bone) to the pelvis and bears significant loads during activities such as walking, climbing stairs, rising from a chair, and other movements.
In coxarthrosis, changes occur not only in the joint cartilage; the condition can also affect the bone, joint capsule, ligaments, and surrounding muscles. Consequently, the modern approach views osteoarthritis as a disease of the entire joint rather than simply "cartilage wear and tear."
Radiographic findings do not always correlate with a patient's actual symptoms. One patient might have advanced osteoarthritis without experiencing severe pain for a long time, while another might experience significant activity limitations despite only minor changes.
Treatment should focus on the patient—considering their symptoms, mobility, muscle strength, and daily physical demands—rather than just the X-ray image.
Where Does It Hurt with Hip Osteoarthritis?
Pain is most commonly felt in the following areas:
• the groin;
• the front or side of the thigh;
• the buttock;
• the knee area.
Knee pain does not always indicate a problem within the knee joint itself; sometimes, the pain is referred from the hip joint. In the early stages, discomfort usually appears after prolonged walking or physical exertion and subsides with rest. As the disease progresses, pain may occur during routine movements and sometimes persist while at rest or at night.
Symptoms characteristic of coxarthrosis
In addition to pain, a person may notice:
• stiffness after resting;
• reduced hip mobility;
• difficulty putting on socks and shoes;
• inability to freely move the leg out to the side;
• discomfort when rising from a chair;
• difficulty climbing stairs;
• changes in gait;
• limping;
• reduced physical activity levels.
Morning stiffness associated with osteoarthritis is usually brief. If it persists for a long time, or if the joint is severely swollen or shows signs of inflammation, other conditions must be ruled out.
Causes of coxarthrosis
It is usually impossible to pinpoint a single cause for the disease. Factors that may influence the risk of developing coxarthrosis include:
• age;
• past injuries and surgeries;
• congenital structural features of the hip joint;
• joint dysplasia;
• excess body weight;
• certain joint diseases;
• hereditary predisposition;
• prolonged excessive load;
• insufficient muscle strength and low physical activity.
Age increases the risk of osteoarthritis, but coxarthrosis is not an inevitable part of aging. The condition also affects relatively young people, particularly following injuries or due to specific joint structural characteristics.
Why movement becomes difficult with coxarthrosis
When pain develops, a person begins to favor the affected leg: walking less, avoiding stairs, squatting less frequently, and trying to avoid movements that cause discomfort.
Gradually, the muscles of the buttocks, thighs, and trunk weaken. The joint becomes less mobile, gait is impaired, and routine activities require increasing effort.
A vicious cycle develops:
pain → reduced activity → muscle weakening → impaired joint function → further restriction of movement.
To change this situation, it is not enough to treat only the painful joint. It is necessary to restore the function of the muscles involved in movement and in stabilizing the pelvis and hip.
Is an X-ray or MRI necessary?
Diagnosis begins with a consultation and physical examination. The specialist assesses the location of the pain, gait, range of motion, muscle strength, and the ability to perform daily activities.
An X-ray of the hip joints is most commonly used to confirm the diagnosis. It reveals joint space narrowing, bone spurs, and other changes.
Not every patient requires an MRI. It may be ordered if it is necessary to clarify the cause of pain, evaluate soft tissues, or rule out other conditions.
It is important to correlate examination results with symptoms. The severity of changes seen on an image does not, in itself, determine how active a person can remain.
Can you exercise with hip osteoarthritis?
Yes. Controlled exercise is a key part of managing osteoarthritis. Properly selected movements do not "wear down" the joint or accelerate the progression of the disease.
During exercise, it is important to consider:
• the stage of osteoarthritis;
• pain intensity;
• range of motion;
• muscle strength;
• co-existing medical conditions;
• overall physical fitness;
• the joint's reaction to previous loads.
Mild discomfort while learning a movement is possible, but...
Hip osteoarthritis, or coxarthrosis, is a chronic condition involving changes to the cartilage, bone, and other structures of the joint. Key symptoms include pain in the groin, thigh, or buttock, as well as stiffness and a gradual restriction of movement.
While kinesiotherapy cannot restore joint cartilage that has already been destroyed, properly selected exercises help strengthen the muscles surrounding the joint, improve its function, and help maintain independence in daily life for longer.
What Is Coxarthrosis?
The hip joint connects the femur (thigh bone) to the pelvis and bears significant loads during activities such as walking, climbing stairs, rising from a chair, and other movements.
In coxarthrosis, changes occur not only in the joint cartilage; the condition can also affect the bone, joint capsule, ligaments, and surrounding muscles. Consequently, the modern approach views osteoarthritis as a disease of the entire joint rather than simply "cartilage wear and tear."
Radiographic findings do not always correlate with a patient's actual symptoms. One patient might have advanced osteoarthritis without experiencing severe pain for a long time, while another might experience significant activity limitations despite only minor changes.
Treatment should focus on the patient—considering their symptoms, mobility, muscle strength, and daily physical demands—rather than just the X-ray image.
Where Does It Hurt with Hip Osteoarthritis?
Pain is most commonly felt in the following areas:
• the groin;
• the front or side of the thigh;
• the buttock;
• the knee area.
Knee pain does not always indicate a problem within the knee joint itself; sometimes, the pain is referred from the hip joint. In the early stages, discomfort usually appears after prolonged walking or physical exertion and subsides with rest. As the disease progresses, pain may occur during routine movements and sometimes persist while at rest or at night.
Symptoms characteristic of coxarthrosis
In addition to pain, a person may notice:
• stiffness after resting;
• reduced hip mobility;
• difficulty putting on socks and shoes;
• inability to freely move the leg out to the side;
• discomfort when rising from a chair;
• difficulty climbing stairs;
• changes in gait;
• limping;
• reduced physical activity levels.
Morning stiffness associated with osteoarthritis is usually brief. If it persists for a long time, or if the joint is severely swollen or shows signs of inflammation, other conditions must be ruled out.
Causes of coxarthrosis
It is usually impossible to pinpoint a single cause for the disease. Factors that may influence the risk of developing coxarthrosis include:
• age;
• past injuries and surgeries;
• congenital structural features of the hip joint;
• joint dysplasia;
• excess body weight;
• certain joint diseases;
• hereditary predisposition;
• prolonged excessive load;
• insufficient muscle strength and low physical activity.
Age increases the risk of osteoarthritis, but coxarthrosis is not an inevitable part of aging. The condition also affects relatively young people, particularly following injuries or due to specific joint structural characteristics.
Why movement becomes difficult with coxarthrosis
When pain develops, a person begins to favor the affected leg: walking less, avoiding stairs, squatting less frequently, and trying to avoid movements that cause discomfort.
Gradually, the muscles of the buttocks, thighs, and trunk weaken. The joint becomes less mobile, gait is impaired, and routine activities require increasing effort.
A vicious cycle develops:
pain → reduced activity → muscle weakening → impaired joint function → further restriction of movement.
To change this situation, it is not enough to treat only the painful joint. It is necessary to restore the function of the muscles involved in movement and in stabilizing the pelvis and hip.
Is an X-ray or MRI necessary?
Diagnosis begins with a consultation and physical examination. The specialist assesses the location of the pain, gait, range of motion, muscle strength, and the ability to perform daily activities.
An X-ray of the hip joints is most commonly used to confirm the diagnosis. It reveals joint space narrowing, bone spurs, and other changes.
Not every patient requires an MRI. It may be ordered if it is necessary to clarify the cause of pain, evaluate soft tissues, or rule out other conditions.
It is important to correlate examination results with symptoms. The severity of changes seen on an image does not, in itself, determine how active a person can remain.
Can you exercise with hip osteoarthritis?
Yes. Controlled exercise is a key part of managing osteoarthritis. Properly selected movements do not "wear down" the joint or accelerate the progression of the disease.
During exercise, it is important to consider:
• the stage of osteoarthritis;
• pain intensity;
• range of motion;
• muscle strength;
• co-existing medical conditions;
• overall physical fitness;
• the joint's reaction to previous loads.
Mild discomfort while learning a movement is possible, but...
