Hip joints get a lot of wear and tear over the years. The hip joint is one of the biggest joints in the body and every time your senior takes a step, extra strain gets added onto that joint. As she ages, your elderly family member may be dealing with painful arthritis in one or both hips.
Consider Some Lifestyle Changes
Lifestyle changes are often incredibly helpful with all sorts of health issues, including arthritis pain in your senior’s hips. These can be difficult changes to embrace, though, because often if your senior wanted to do these things, she would have. Losing a little bit of weight can help to take some of the strain off of her hip joints. Exercise, particularly exercise that stretches and strengthens the muscles and tendons around her hips can be helpful, too. Water exercises may also be easier to do.
Use Assistive Devices if Necessary
There’s no shame in using walking aids, particularly if your senior is having an especially pain-filled day. Crutches, canes, and walkers all help to ease the strain on the joint while ensuring that your senior is able to keep her balance. She may only need these tools every once in a while, but she should definitely use them when they’re necessary.
Talk to Her Doctor about Medication or Surgical Options
There may be more that your senior can do for her arthritic hips. Topical medications like NSAID creams and capsaicin creams can offer a bit of relief. If those don’t work, then oral NSAIDs may be more effective. Depending on the damage, your senior may benefit from surgical options, too. Trying the solutions that feel right for her is key.
Encourage Her to Rest When She Needs It
The most important thing that your senior needs to remember about dealing with arthritis pain in her hips is that resting when she needs to is not selfish. That time that she spends resting can help her to recover, especially if she is doing things like exercising when she’s able to do so. Having a caregiver who can help during those bad days is also important.
Dealing with arthritis pain in her hips is not a one size fits all situation. Your elderly family member may need to try several different solutions at different times to find a combination that helps her consistently. Over time, she may need to try more complicated solutions to feel relief.