Exercise for osteoarthritis of the hip

Fransen M, McConnell S, Hernandez-Molina G, Reichenbach S

Summary

Exercise for osteoarthritis of the hip

This summary of a Cochrane review presents what we know from research about the effect of exercise for people with osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip.

The review shows that in people with hip OA, exercise

-May reduce pain slightly

-May not improve physical function.

What is OA of the hip and what is exercise?

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a disease of the joints, such as your hip. When the joint loses cartilage, the bone grows to try and repair the damage. Instead of making things better, however, the bone grows abnormally and makes things worse. For example, the bone can become misshapen and make the joint painful and unstable.  Doctors used to think that osteoarthritis simply resulted in thinning of the cartilage. However, it's now known that osteoarthritis is a disease of the whole joint.

OA is one of the most common forms of arthritis and affects men and women equally. OA is one of the main causes of disability as people grow older.

Exercise can be any activity that enhances or maintains muscle strength, physical fitness and overall health. People exercise for many different reasons including weight loss, strengthening muscles and to relieve the symptoms of OA.