Osteoarthritis is both hips

The next thing to TRY and convince your physio of is that it's no use just working on the sore hip. 

If you have twisting of the entire spine and sacrum/pelvis (and I would bet a lot of money that you do) then it makes it impossible for the muscles around the hip to work correctly. You can work on the hips until the cows come home and make very little progress.

They key is to get the core muscles balanced out. This allows you to correctly control the position of spine and sacrum/pelvis, which in turn allows hip muscles to work correctly.

Failure to accept this is why physical therapy (in my opinion) typically fails to get good results, which in turn is why they fall back on the 'incurable disease' option.

That said, any strengthening of weak muscles around the hip will help so keep it up!!!

Just keep faith that you can either fix this or massively improve symptoms. It's all too easy to give up when you get a couple of failures or setbacks, but the key to success is to keep fighting! 

Susan,

​Thank you for your reply. ​I will try and get the Physio to look at the spine, sacrum and pelvis too.

​I am still here fighting and intend to keep doing that :-)

Point out to him that if the pelvis is rotated at rest, then one hip will be held in internal rotation and the other in external rotation. The internally rotated side will have glutes and ext rotators all in a lengthened position - mechanical disadvantage. Typically, it's the internally rotated side that's symptomatic. 

Make the point that if you try and strengthen those weak, lengthened muscles in order to pull the pelvis back into alignment then chances are you won't succeed. Chances are you'll end up with more pain as those weak muscles try to support your weight AND fight the pull of much stronger muscles elsewhere in your body. You need to reset the resting length of the muscles in the core and the non-symptomatic hip first. That puts the skeleton into better alignment and you'll have much more success at strengthening up those weak hip muscles on the symptomatic side. 

Hi Susan,

Thank you for your sound advice. I understand what you are saying. I have noticed some symptoms on the right side too although my troublesome side is the left hip. I will keep you posted on how I get on. Glad you are on this forum to point us all in the right direction. Your input is most appreciated.

I have read that taking half a tea spoon of turmeric powder and honey in warm water first thing in the morning can help with arthritis pain.

Anyone on here tried it?

I tried the turmeric with honey over about 3 or 4 months and it made no difference whatsoever I'm afraid.  I was also told to take the squeezed juice of half a lemon every morning.  I tried this for about 3 months too, but it made no difference.  I currently take glucosamine 1000mg and cod liver oil 1000mg daily.  I take Naproxen 500mg on days when I have to do something physical like my pilates class or drive a long distance etc.  

Hi ... thanks for your reply.

​I am on Naproxen 500mg too. I am already taking cod liver oil but will have to check the mg. I have heard good things about glucosamine. Will have to give that a try too. How long you been taking glucosamine?

I've just checked and my glucosamine is actually 1,500mg daily.  I've been taking it almost two years now.  It's hard to judge whether it has helped or not as I don't know how much worse I'd be if I hadn't taken it.  

http://www.boots.com/health-pharmacy/vitaminsandsupplements/vitamins-supplements-shop-by-ingredient/boots-max-strength-glucosamine-sulphate-1500mg-180-tablets-10239660

Thanks for the link. I will order some and see how I get on.

Hi Susan,

?I am a little better but still have pain and tightness in various muscles. The Physio has helped but doesn't look like it's going to "cure" me. I guess it's all very complex and although he recognises a muscle imbalance I don't think he really knows how to treat it. I have been told that my gait is not good when walking and I have weak glutes, core and lower back and this is affecting my hamstrings and adductors. I am still on the Naproxen but have decreased to 250mg twice a day as it seems to be affecting my blood pressure. I have a test next week to see if the Naproxen is having any detrimental effect on my kidneys. I today purchased a copy of your book hoping it will shed some light and assist me in my quest to overcome the OA.

It's WAY too soon to assume you're not going to be cured! 

In my case, I can look back and realise that my 'twisted pelvis' (which perhaps best describes what's wrong in ALL cases of hip OA that I've come across) was developing for around 3 decades before I first had problems with my hip. In the 8 or so years leading up to my first twinges in my hip I can in retrospect think of umpteen symptoms that developed that I dismissed as trivial. Big toe OA was first, occasional spells of Achilles tendinitis, my front kick (I did karate) suddenly took on a crescent path that I couldn't for the life of me correct, I suddenly switched overnight from being a right leg kicker to a left leg kicker, when I did situps my right leg would lift off the ground, instructors noticed my shoulders tracking abnormally.....the list goes on. These were ALL down to the muscle imbalance that ultimately led to hip pain and a hip OA diagnosis. Further down the line it took out shoulders, neck and back too! 

The point being, it takes years to develop so you can't expect to correct it overnight. 

The book should help guide you - really you need to primarily think of it as a core problem. Some people report huge improvements in 2 or 3 weeks, but I think the norm is likely to be that it takes many months - in my case it took years, but I didn't have the book to give me a head start! 

I can't remember if I've said this to you, but exploring trigger point treatment can yield the best results when it comes to getting pain under control. HOWEVER, don't make the mistake of getting so caught up with that that you don't do the corrective exercise. All too many people get fantastic results with trigger point treatment so they keep focusing on that ...then, several months later when they've stopped making progress they incorrectly conclude that they won't get any better. Trigger point treatment gives SYMPTOMATIC relief; use it to manage symptoms and keep things freed up, but it's the activation exercises that will lead to the best results. 

I'll warn you now - it FEELS like you can't do the exercises. When you try to work those lazy glutes everything feels locked down tight and rather than a normal muscle contraction you get pain. However, that's normal when you have badly atrophied muscle. It's made more complicated by the fact that you have multiple muscles that act on the hip - all pulling in different directions. When they're all atrophied and in a shortened state they prevent each other from working correctly. It can feel hopeless at times. You just need to be patient and keep working at it. Even just squeezing the muscle - tiny movements - will in time start to work. I can guarantee that if you get those muscles to make the slightest twitch then slowly but surely they'll start to strengthen and lengthen. Persistence is the key, and regardless of the root cause of your symptoms it WILL help. In the early stages I found it easiest to work the muscles in bed last thing at night and first thing in the morning and also whenever I was in the bath. This is when you're most relaxed and your body is supported. Tiny muscle contractions is all you need in the beginning - it IS working, even though it doesn't feel like it. 

Good luck, and drop me a line if you need any help. By email via my website is best as I don't seem to get notified when I get private messages  on here. 

Thank you for your message Susan. I have sent you an email via your website.

Hi,

​Thank you for your words of encouragement. I am slowly seeing the benefits of physiotherapy and exercise. ​I am waiting for my order of glucosamine to arrive and have been taking turmeric with honey in warm water every morning. I too want to try and get back to normal and enjoy the activities I used to do. For me the pain varies some days it is bad others it is ok. One of the side effects of Naproxen is weight gain and I have put on around 5lbs in weight which I am not happy about. Once the inflammation is down I am going to stop taking the Naproxen and see what happens. ​Good luck I hope all goes well for you too.