RELATED: 10 Hot and Cold Therapy Tips to Tame Joint Pain While there’s no magic bullet to stop all hip pain, experts say there are some home remedies you can add to your medication regimen to lessen the agony. Of course, if the pain is severe or comes out of the blue, call your physician. And always get a doctor’s clearance for workouts if you haven’t been exercising regularly.
1. Warm or Ice Hip Joints
People living with rheumatoid arthritis frequently use temperature, or hot and cold therapy, to soothe achy joints. Indeed, this is one of the most widespread coping methods, according to a study published online in the Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy in January 2017. Whether people use heat (via baths, saunas, heating pads) or cold (ice, going outside in winter) is largely a personal preference, the study found, although in general, heat was selected for everyday aches while cold was favored for acute flares. One study participant marveled at how he “never walked so many stairs” as he did while visiting a warm, southern location. RELATED: How to Sleep Better With Rheumatoid Arthritis The decision whether to use heat or ice for chronic pain should be based on listening to your body, says Carrie Janiski, DO, a family, sports, and neuromuscular skeletal medicine physician in Turlock, California. “If ice feels good, use it; if heat feels better then stick with that,” she says. Alas, the benefits of either heat or ice do appear to be fleeting. A randomized clinical trial of of 96 people with knee arthritis published in the Journal of Clinical Nursing in September 2017 found mild improvements in pain, functional status, and quality of life in those employing the three-week regimen of twice daily application of either heat or cold, but it was not significantly different from the standard-treatment control group. RELATED: Five Common Causes of Hip Pain in Women
2. Take Long Walks
It sometimes feels like a catch-22; people with hip pain know the benefits that come from movement, but often fear the pain that may result. But unless you feel sharp, stabbing, or radiating pain during or after, or have numbness, tingling, swelling, or redness (in which case you should be checked by your physician), movement should always win out, Dr. Janiski says. “Joints are like door hinges; their whole purpose in life is to move,” she says. Basic movement, like a long evening walk or a stroll across the parking lot when you park far from a store, are sufficient, she says. The ideal is to get to 10,000 steps a day, but any amount of walking will be beneficial, she says. RELATED: Rheumatoid Arthritis Alternative and Complementary Therapies To do her “tai chi plié with hip swing” (shown above), follow these steps:
4. Lie on Your Stomach to Relax Tight Hip Flexors
People with hip pain typically try not to stand much, since it can be an uncomfortable position. But sitting shortens the hip flexor muscles, which can actually increase pain, says Genie Lieberman, the director of the Gloria Drummond Physical Rehabilitation Institute at the Boca Raton Regional Hospital in Florida. To promote the full extension of the hips, Lieberman recommends lying face down for up to 30 minutes, with small pillows placed under your shoulders for comfort. You can do this on your bed; turn your head to either side and rest it on your forearms for comfort. (You should not do this if you have lower-back problems.) In the beginning, it may be too painful to stay this way for more than a few seconds, but as you stretch the muscles it will get easier.
