Hip Arthritis Stretches & Exercises - Ask Doctor Jo

These hip arthritis stretches and exercises are easy to do in the comfort of your home and should provide some pain relief. See Doctor Jo's blog post about this at http://www.askdoctorjo.com/content/hip-arthritis-stretches-exercises

The first exercise will be sitting down. Make sure your back is against the chair, and your knees and hips are at about a 90 degree angle. Then you will bring your knee straight up towards the ceiling, and this is called a hip flexion exercise. Make sure you do slow and controlled movements. Start off with 10 and work your way up to 20-25. If those become easy, then you can add ankle weights.

The next exercise will be a sit to stand. Again, you want this to be controlled movements. Try not to just pop up and plop down. Put your feet about shoulder width apart and lean forward as you stand up, then stick your bottom back and have your chest forward while you sit back down. Try to also keep your feet flat and your knees behind your toes when doing this. If that is easy, you can just tap your bottom on the chair and not sit all the way back down. Start off with 10 of these, and then work your way up to 20-25.

So now get down on the ground, and you will stretch out those hip flexor muscles. Keep the knee of the leg you want to stretch on the ground, and then bring the other leg up into a lunge like position. Try to keep your back upright and straight. If you lean forward with your upper body, you won’t get a good stretch. Shift your hips forward until you feel a stretch in front of the thigh. Hold this for 30 seconds and do three of them.

Lying down on the ground in supine or on your back, you will do a hip abduction exercise. With your legs straight out, try to keep your toes pointing up toward the ceiling through the whole movement. Then slowly slide your leg out to the side, and then slide it back in. Start off with 10 of these. If you get to 20-25 and they are easy, then you don’t need to do them in this position anymore.

Now roll onto your side for the clamshell exercise. This one is harder than it looks. You want to keep your hips straight up and down, perpendicular to the floor. Your hips will want to roll back, but keep them up as much as you can. Then keeping your knees together with one on top of the other, bend your knees slightly towards your body. Then lift the top leg up slightly, like a clamshell opening up. It doesn’t have to be a big movement because you want to keep your hips from moving. Start off with 10 of these, and then work your way up to 20-25. If they become easy, you can add a weight or use a resistive band.

The last exercise is a bridge. Even though this is a simple movement, it really works the hamstrings and glut muscles. Lie on your back with your knees propped up. Slowly lift your butt off the ground until your hips are in a straight line with your chest and knees. You can go one segment of the spine at a time to really loosen up your back. Start off with 10 of these, and then work your way up to 20-25.

Related Videos:

Hip Bursitis Stretches & Exercises:
https://youtu.be/cPDZb5YPn4U?list=PLPS8D21t0eO9IAk7n1m87qrL9emA7bpxE

Hip Pain Relief Exercises (4-Way Hip):
https://youtu.be/n1YEEhJI2IU?list=PLPS8D21t0eO9IAk7n1m87qrL9emA7bpxE

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Doctor Jo is a licensed Physical Therapist and Doctor of Physical Therapy.
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Hip Arthritis Stretches & Exercises:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQNk6mpFsww

DISCLAIMER: This video and any related comments are not medical advice. Doctor Jo is a licensed Physical Therapist and Doctor of Physical Therapy; however, she is not YOUR Physical Therapist and can't possibly diagnose you through the Internet. So don't use this information to avoid going to your own healthcare professional or to replace the advice they have given you. This information should not be used to self-diagnose or self-treat any medical condition. If you are not properly diagnosed, this information won't help, and it could make things worse. If you experience any pain, stop immediately and see your healthcare professional.