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Sidelined by Hip Pain? Here's How You Can Still Get Exercise

Spine and Orthopedic Center of New Mexico Blog Sidelined by Hip Pain? Here's How You Can Still Get Exercise
Sidelined by Hip Pain? Here's How You Can Still Get Exercise

Your hip is a large joint in your body that’s prone to breakdown and injury. A number of injuries and conditions can cause hip pain, but fortunately, there are a number of treatments that can resolve it so you can get back to your busy life.

At the Spine and Orthopedic Center of New Mexico, located in Roswell, our experts treat many types of orthopedic problems, including hip pain. Dr. Omar Osmani, our orthopedic specialist, offers many different treatments for hip pain, including physical therapy, medication, and hip surgery.

What causes hip pain?

Your hip is a ball-and-socket joint that connects your pelvis and your femur, or thighbone. It’s the largest of this type of joint in your body — meaning it can withstand a lot of movement and wear over time. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t have problems in your hip.

Your hip allows your leg to move with ease in your pelvis due to a thick layer of protective cartilage that cushions the bones in your joint. But, over time, this cartilage can suffer injury or deterioration from chronic use or trauma, leading to pain in one or both of your hips.

There are several reasons you may be experiencing hip pain, including:

Arthritis is one of the largest contributors to pain in your hip. There are many forms of arthritis, but osteoarthritis often affects large joints like your hip. This condition leads to the breakdown of the protective layer of cartilage that protects the bones in your joint.

Any of these conditions can make it very hard to move around, meaning you can forget about exercising, right? Not necessarily. The right exercises can actually improve your pain and mobility when your hips are bothering you.

How you can still workout despite hip pain

Hip pain doesn’t need to keep you from staying in shape or getting a workout in. However, you do need to be smart about how you get your exercise, so you’re not making your hip condition, or pain, worse.

Low-impact types of exercises are the best way to keep your body in shape while not aggravating the pain in your hip. You should focus on exercises or workouts that you can do either lying down or sitting to reduce pressure on your hips.

Any type of exercise in water is great for hip pain because it keeps the weight and pressure off of your painful hip. You could do water aerobics or just simply swim laps to workout your entire body.

A recumbent bike is another great option to keep your body in shape. Unlike a normal upright bike, a recumbent bike has a seat that’s wider, and at the same level as the pedals. This allows you to bike comfortably without adding unnecessary pressure on your hips.

You want to avoid adding excess weights to your workouts, as it leads to added pressure on your body and painful hips. 

It’s also important to add in stretches to your workout to avoid stiffness in your joints. Stretching may help improve your pain by helping add flexibility and motion.

Exercises can help your hips

Movement is important to the overall health of your joints, and the same is true when you’re having pain. However, exercise too soon can make your condition worse. In conditions like a hip fracture, you don’t want to do any activity that will strain your injury. While exercise does help in some cases, it can also hinder in others. 

Once Dr. Osmani approves exercise, it’s important to start slowly and listen to your body. While rest is good in the acute phase of your condition, too much rest can actually exacerbate stiffness and pain. 

There are specific exercises that aren’t too hard on your body, and actually help stretch and strengthen your hip joint. Some of these important exercises include:

Only perform these exercises when you’re in the rehabilitation phase of your treatment. It’s important to understand that if your pain gets worse at any time during these activities, you should stop and contact Dr. Osmani before continuing with exercise. 

Don’t let hip pain get in the way of your life — call our team at the Spine and Orthopedic Center of New Mexico team at 575-623-9101 or book an appointment online today.

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