7 Most Common Early Signs Of Hip Arthritis

Arthritis is one of the trickiest conditions in the world – it can come under a hundred shapes.

But there’s one type that can go unnoticed – hip arthritis. Why? 

• it doesn’t have any clear symptom
• most of the times, it can go unnoticed

For this reason, here are the most common 7 early signs of hip arthritis. 

If you have at least 2 of them – maybe you should consider seeing a doctor. The cause of your problems may be more severe than you think. 

 

PS: See My Top 6 Remedies For Hip Pain Here

 

 

#1 – Stiffness In The Morning – And Not Only

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This is probably the very first sign that there’s something wrong with your hip.

Sometimes morning stiffness appears long before the real pain – so there’s no warning sign.

But there is one problem with this symptom:

• it’s pretty normal after 70 (even without arthritis)

So how can you tell if your stiffness is caused by arthritis – or simply by age? Well, there are a few ways:

• If it’s just your hip feeling stiff, it’s probably arthritis

Age stiffness usually appears in hands or legs first. The cases when it only appears in the hips are pretty rare.

• If your hips feel stiff every time you get out of bed (during the day) or after any rest, it’s probably arthritis

 Leisure stiffness is a common sign of this disease.

• If your stiffness goes away by itself after less than 15 minutes, it’s probably just because of your age

The stiffness from arthritis only goes away after 30 minutes or more.

 

 

#2 – Tenderness On Pressure

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• Have you noticed that your hip is more sensitive to anything?
• Are you getting bruises in that area much easier than before?
• Or is it painful after any simple movement?

If the answer is yes, there is surely something wrong. And one of the possible causes may be arthritis.

You can see this symptom best if you apply some light pressure on your hip:

• You can do that either with your hand
• Or you can do it with a very light object

If you feel any small pain (and you shouldn’t, considering you’re pressing very light) – your hip is surely more sensitive.

And this usually happens when there’s some damage inside or when your hip is suffering.

There can be hundreds of reason for this. However, arthritis is among the most common ones – whether is osteoarthritis or an auto-immune form.

 

 

#3 – Pain…But Not The Common Pain

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Pain isn’t the top symptom in hip arthritis – because it doesn’t always come up first.

In fact, more than half of the arthritis patients experience stiffness before the actual pain.

Unfortunately, they don’t take that as a symptom and think it’s normal.

What’s interesting about the pain is that usually it’s not your hip hurting. Most of the times, the pain is felt in other parts:

• groin
• thigh
• or even back

Sometimes hip arthritis can be confused with SI joint dysfunction, but fortunately there are a few differences.

The worse part is that most people have no idea that the problem is inside their hip. And the even worse part is that they rarely see a doctor.

Instead, they prefer to use local creams and lotions that are almost useless in this situation. They don’t treat the cause – so the relief is very short.

Therefore, if you ever experience pain near your hip, try to find out the cause as soon as possible. The problem may be in a place you never thought about.

 

 

#4 – Inability To Bent Down

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Loss of flexibility is probably the most clear symptom of hip arthritis.

Once you can’t bend down properly, it’s clear that there’s something wrong.

But what’s causing it? It’s simple – the damage inside the joints. This symptom is more frequent in osteoarthritis, where the joints involved in movement are affected the most.

However, it can also appear in auto-immune arthritis, especially in more severe forms.

Stiffness is usually associated with this symptoms, and it makes sense.

Once your hips and back feel extremely stiff, you can’t control them properly. However, stiffness usually appears earlier.

When you lose your back flexibility and you can’t perform regular movements, your condition is already progress.

It may happen that you wake up one day with a very stiff back. It’s usually because of your sleeping position from the previous night, so it’s normal, it can happen to any of us.

But if this thing continues for more than 3 days, it’s pretty clear that it’s not the sleeping position.

 

 

#5 – Difficulty Walking

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This isn’t necessarily a very early sign of hip arthritis.

Once your walking pattern is changed – we’re already talking about a progress of the disease.

Why does the walking become difficult? Well, it’s much more simple than you think – because of pain.

• The person can’t stand for a very long time
• So walking is even more difficult

If you have a severe form of this condition, you will start walking:

• slower
• with smaller steps
• you will probably need a walking stick

Stiffness could also play a role in this symptom. The stiffer your back, the more difficult your walking will be.

Obviously, your walking pattern won’t change overnight.

At first you will only get tired, then walk slower than you used to, and so on. Nothing will change suddenly, but if you don’t do anything, things could go out of control.

 

 

#6 – Weakness

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This symptom also appears very early in patients with hip arthritis. But unfortunately, most of the times it goes unnoticed.

Once you have a very mild form of hip arthritis, your body will start getting tired easier.

This usually happens in rheumatoid arthritis – which is a condition that involves the whole body, not just the joints.

In this case, the fatigue you feel is general, not just local.

On the other hand, if you have osteoarthritis, you may not even have this symptoms.

At most, you could feel your lower back much weaker, but that is pretty hard to tell. If we were talking about hand or legs, it would be different, but in hips it’s pretty hard.

Now – don’t think about arthritis if you’re simply feeling a bit more tired and weaker. There are 99% chances that it’s another cause.

However, if you also have one or more of these symptoms, a medical consult could help you out.

 

 

#7 – Swelling

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Here’s another sign that doesn’t appear in every type of arthritis.

In fact, swelling only appears when the joints are inflamed – so in auto-immune forms. You will almost never find inflammation in osteoarthritis.

When the joints around your hip are swollen, you may see it from the outside.

It’s not always possible – but if the inflammation is massive, your skin can get warm and red. It doesn’t always hurt, but it can feel very unpleasant.

However, if you notice this symptom once, don’t panic. You may have hit your hip unconsciously, though that’s pretty unlikely.

The real problems appear once your inflammation lasts for a few days and it doesn’t seem to go away by itself.

Or if it does, but it comes back after a while, there’s still a warning sign.

 

 

My Verdict – You Can Tell If You Have Hip Arthritis

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No matter what form of arthritis you had, you will surely develop at least 2 of these symptoms.

They are earlier signs of hip arthritis, so they usually mean that your condition is still at the beginning.

It’s usually pain and stiffness, but it also depends of the kind of arthritis. Rheumatoid form comes with:

• swelling
• general fatigue
• you can also develop fever

On the other hand, the sign of osteoarthritis are a bit milder and more local.

But not matter what symptoms you have, it’s better to seek a doctor as soon as you can.

Don’t wait until your walking patterns starts to change, because that means your disease is making progresses. So the sooner you get a diagnosis, the better for your health.

Do you have any of these 7 early signs of hip arthritis? Let me know your answer in a comment and I will reach out to you with advice.