Worn hip

The hip is a ball-and-socket joint consisting of a femoral head and a hip socket. Both parts are covered with a layer of cartilage. This cartilage provides shock absorption and smooth movement 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 aging process of joints is considered 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 hip conditions. Examples of the latter include a hip fracture or hip dysplasia.

How can you recognize a worn hip?

A worn hip does not occur suddenly but worsens slowly but surely. Characteristic features include 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 primary care physician or physical therapist will perform a physical examination, focusing in particular on the mobility of the hip. If in doubt, imaging may be considered. 

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. Osteophytes may also be present. These are irregular bony growths.

What is the outlook with a worn hip?

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

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

Self-check for worn hips

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