As people age, they may be more likely to feel stiff in the morning and suffer from arthritis. Arthritis is a serious medical condition, so it is important to talk to a doctor if you feel you may be suffering from it. Along with the treatment prescribed by a doctor, there are certain lifestyle choices you can make to ease joint pain.
Exercise
Exercise can be a major boon when it comes to reducing joint pain. If you are suffering from joint pain, it is recommended to concentrate on low-impact exercises that do not stress the joints. For relieving hip joint pain, you should focus on exercises that loosen your hips and strengthen your joints. Try and do these exercises in the morning so you get maximum benefit out of them during the day. Doing water aerobics and exercising in a pool are often some of the best forms of exercise to do.
Hot and Cold
Hot and cold compresses are excellent in the fight against joint pain, especially in the hip area. Alternate between the two, applying a hot compress first, or ease yourself into a hot bath before applying an ice pack to the painful hip joint. This way, the heat will relax the joint, and then the coolness of the ice pack will fight the inflammation.
Omega-3
Making sure that you are eating a healthy diet will help with hip joint pain as well as with overall health. Special care should be taken to ensure you are eating enough omega-3 fatty acids, which can be found in foods such as almonds, walnuts, and cold-water fish like tuna, salmon, swordfish, or mackerel. Omega-3 works to reduce inflammation and therefore pain in your hip joints. However, a commonly confused fatty acid is omega-6. You should try to avoid omega-6 because it has pro-inflammatory properties, and thus may worsen your symptoms. Omega-6 is found in many processed and fried foods.
Physical Therapy
If joint pain is reducing your ability to work, function around the house, cook, and go out, it is a good idea to see a physical therapist. A therapist can do exercises with you to help reduce joint pain. They can also offer tips to help make living with joint pain easier.
Hip joint pain can be a painful condition to deal with. However, this may not just be a symptom of menopause, but the symptom of an underlying condition such as arthritis. Do not let a medical condition go untreated - see a doctor if you have concerns. Click on the following link for further information on how to manage joint pain and symptoms of menopause.
Sources
- National Institutes of Health. (2014). Joint pain: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. Retrieved December 1, 2015, from https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003261.htm
- University of Maryland Medical Center. (2015). Omega-3 fatty acids. Retrieved December 1, 2015, from http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/omega3-fatty-acids