Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWalking and ArthitisExercise ChallengesOther ExercisesDevices and Support ToolsFrequently Asked Questions
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Walking and Arthitis
Exercise Challenges
Other Exercises
Devices and Support Tools
Frequently Asked Questions
Hip arthritisresults from the breakdown of cartilage within your hip joints, causing hip stiffness and pain that can increase with inactivity, standing, andwalking. Although walking can be uncomfortable and difficult with hip arthritis, walking is also incredibly important for maintaining the mobility and strength of your hips.
This article will review the benefits of walking, how to get up and moving when you have pain from hip arthritis, and the types of assistive devices you can use to help you walk.
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8 Best Walking Shoes for Arthritis
Walking Is Good for Arthritis
Walking is a beneficial form of exercise, including for those witharthritis.Walking is a gentle, low-impact exercise that can help ease joint pain and stiffness, improve strength and mobility, and boost energy and endurance.
Starting slowly and limiting the duration of your walks is important as your body needs time to adjust to increased physical activity.Too much activity too soon can overwork your joints and can lead to increased pain.
Walking for five to 10 minutes at a time is a good starting point, as you gradually increase the length of time that you walk as time goes on.
Before starting any walking routine or exercise program, consult your healthcare provider to ensure you are healthy enough to increase your physical activity demands.
Contact your healthcare provider if you experience:
Benefits vs. RisksBenefits of walking include:Increased mobilityIncreased strengthIncreased enduranceImproved balanceImproved cardiovascular healthMaintenance of a healthy weightPotential risks of walking if performed too much or for too long without adequate risk include:Increased joint painIncreased joint stiffnessMuscle soreness
Benefits vs. Risks
Benefits of walking include:Increased mobilityIncreased strengthIncreased enduranceImproved balanceImproved cardiovascular healthMaintenance of a healthy weightPotential risks of walking if performed too much or for too long without adequate risk include:Increased joint painIncreased joint stiffnessMuscle soreness
Benefits of walking include:
Potential risks of walking if performed too much or for too long without adequate risk include:
Warm-Up Stretches for Arthritic Hips
Hip arthritis can cause your hip joints to become stiff and your muscles to become tight, which can have a noticeable impact on your hip range of motion and ability to move your legs. Warming up your hip joints through stretching and range of motion exercises can help decrease hip pain and stiffness to make walking more comfortable.
Stretches and range of motion exercises you can perform to warm up your hip joints include:
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Exercise Challenges With Hip Arthritis
Hip arthritis can makeweight-bearing activities—those that involve standing on your feet—more challenging due to increased pressure within your hip joints as they support your body weight. Because of this, many types of exercises can be uncomfortable, painful, and sometimes even harmful for your hips depending on the extent of your hip arthritis.
Hip Exercises to Avoid
High-impact activities like running and jumping can cause increased stress on your leg joints, especially arthritic joints, when surrounding muscles cannot adequately support and stabilize your joints. With hip arthritis, avoid these types of activities to reduce stress to your hip joints.
Other Types of Exercise to Ease Into
To take the pressure off of your hips, it is best to start with non-weight-bearing exercises to help strengthen your surrounding hip muscles. These exercises include leg-strengthening exercises that involve having you sit in a chair or lie down to ease pressure off of your hip joints.Over time, your muscles will increase in strength and will be able to better support your hip joints.
Other types oflow-impact exercisesthat are easy on your joints and can help improve your mobility, strength, and range of motion include:
Walking Devices and Support Tools for Hip Arthritis
This is particularly important as hip arthritis often leads to weakness in the surrounding glute muscles that provide stability to your hip and help you maintain your balance when you stand, walk, and change directions.
Summary
Having hip arthritis can make walking difficult and painful, but walking is important in maintaining your hip mobility and strength. Gentle stretching and strengthening exercises for your hips and using an assistive device like a walker or cane can help provide more support to your hips to make walking easier and more comfortable.
Whenever beginning a new walking program, check with your healthcare provider and start off slowly to prevent overworking your joints.
Medications that can be used to help manage symptoms of hip arthritis include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), other anti-inflammatory medications, and cortisone injections.Learn MorePain Medication for Arthritis
Medications that can be used to help manage symptoms of hip arthritis include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), other anti-inflammatory medications, and cortisone injections.
Learn MorePain Medication for Arthritis
Triggers for hip arthritis include overuse, high-impact activities, weight gain, and prolonged standing, sitting, or lying down.Learn MoreWhat Causes Arthritis Flare-Ups & How to Treat Them
Triggers for hip arthritis include overuse, high-impact activities, weight gain, and prolonged standing, sitting, or lying down.
Learn MoreWhat Causes Arthritis Flare-Ups & How to Treat Them
7 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Arthritis Foundation.12 benefits of walking.Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center.The role of exercise in arthritis managment.Kaiser Permanente.Hip arthritis tips and exercises.Arthritis Foundation.7 dynamic warm-ups.Arthritis Foundation.Treatment guidelines for osteoarthritis.Cibulka MT, Bloom NJ, Enseki KR, Macdonald CW, Woehrle J, McDonough CM.Hip pain and mobility deficits-hip osteoarthritis: revision 2017.J Orthop Sports Phys Ther.2017;47(6):A1-A37. doi:10.2519/jospt.2017.0301Johns Hopkins Medicine.Hip arthritis.
7 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Arthritis Foundation.12 benefits of walking.Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center.The role of exercise in arthritis managment.Kaiser Permanente.Hip arthritis tips and exercises.Arthritis Foundation.7 dynamic warm-ups.Arthritis Foundation.Treatment guidelines for osteoarthritis.Cibulka MT, Bloom NJ, Enseki KR, Macdonald CW, Woehrle J, McDonough CM.Hip pain and mobility deficits-hip osteoarthritis: revision 2017.J Orthop Sports Phys Ther.2017;47(6):A1-A37. doi:10.2519/jospt.2017.0301Johns Hopkins Medicine.Hip arthritis.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Arthritis Foundation.12 benefits of walking.Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center.The role of exercise in arthritis managment.Kaiser Permanente.Hip arthritis tips and exercises.Arthritis Foundation.7 dynamic warm-ups.Arthritis Foundation.Treatment guidelines for osteoarthritis.Cibulka MT, Bloom NJ, Enseki KR, Macdonald CW, Woehrle J, McDonough CM.Hip pain and mobility deficits-hip osteoarthritis: revision 2017.J Orthop Sports Phys Ther.2017;47(6):A1-A37. doi:10.2519/jospt.2017.0301Johns Hopkins Medicine.Hip arthritis.
Arthritis Foundation.12 benefits of walking.
Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center.The role of exercise in arthritis managment.
Kaiser Permanente.Hip arthritis tips and exercises.
Arthritis Foundation.7 dynamic warm-ups.
Arthritis Foundation.Treatment guidelines for osteoarthritis.
Cibulka MT, Bloom NJ, Enseki KR, Macdonald CW, Woehrle J, McDonough CM.Hip pain and mobility deficits-hip osteoarthritis: revision 2017.J Orthop Sports Phys Ther.2017;47(6):A1-A37. doi:10.2519/jospt.2017.0301
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Hip arthritis.
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