Strength training may help ease the pain and immobility caused by hip arthritis, a new study suggests.
Researchers in The Netherlands found that a supervised exercise program brought some relief to older adults hobbled by hip osteoarthritis, the wear-and-tear form of arthritis in which the cartilage cushioning the ends of bones breaks down over time.
This joint deterioration leads to pain, stiffness and limited mobility, and the goal of exercise therapy is to improve stability and range of motion in the joints while strengthening the surrounding muscles.
But while the hip is one of the most common sites for arthritis to arise, it’s unclear how well exercise therapy works for the condition. In contrast to arthritis of the knee, for which there is good evidence, little research has gone toward using exercise for hip arthritis.
One reason may be that, compared with the knee, exercises that target the hip are “less easily developed” and may require special equipment, according to Erwin Tak, a researcher with TNO Quality of Life in Leiden and the lead author of the new study.
For people whose hip arthritis is already causing troublesome symptoms, supervised exercise therapy is necessary, according to Tak.