Worn hip

The hip is a ball-and-socket joint that consists of a femoral head and a hip socket. Both parts are covered with a layer of cartilage. This cartilage provides shock absorption and smooth movements of the hip joint. When this cartilage layer disappears, the joint can become stiff and painful.

This is often called a worn hip. A better term is hip osteoarthritis.

What causes a worn hip?

The ageing process of joints is seen as the main cause of a worn hip. The condition is therefore most commonly seen in people over 60 years of age.

But there are more risk factors that cause the quality and thickness of the cartilage to decrease more quickly. Examples include being overweight, heavy physical loading of the joint through work or sport, poor blood flow, or previous conditions of the hip. Examples of the latter include a hip fracture or hip dysplasia.

How can you recognise a worn hip?

A worn hip does not occur suddenly but worsens slowly but surely. Characteristic of a worn hip are, among other things, hip pain, morning stiffness, reduced mobility of the hip, start-up pain, a crackling sound, and reduced strength and load capacity of the hip.

If a worn hip is suspected, the GP or physiotherapist will carry out a physical examination, focusing in particular on the mobility of the hip. In case of doubt, it may be considered to have imaging performed.

In most cases, an X-ray is sufficient to map the wear of the hip. On the X-ray, abnormalities such as a narrowed joint space are visible because the thickness of the cartilage has decreased. There may also be osteophytes. These are irregular bony growths.

What is the outlook with a worn hip?

Initially, a conservative (non-surgical) treatment will almost always be chosen. It is important to train the muscles around the hip properly. For this, exercise therapy is very important. The physiotherapist is ideally suited to guide this.

When physiotherapy does not help sufficiently, the hip can be (partially) replaced with a new one during an operation. The orthopaedic surgeon then places a hip prosthesis (artificial hip). Even after this operation, it is highly advisable to follow exercise therapy under the guidance of a physiotherapist.

Self-check for worn hips

The online self-check gives you a first impression of whether your hip complaints have the typical characteristics of a worn hip. Do the self-check, view the result, and find out what might be causing your hip pain.