Hip Arthritis Treatments - Pursuit Physical Therapy
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Best Orlando Treatment for a

ARTHRITIS IN THE HIP

Are you not able to continue your cherished hobbies or everyday activities because of sharp pain in your hip when you move? With our expert doctors’ help, you can get to the root of your symptoms and get back to doing what you love quicker and easier.

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Best Orlando Treatment for a

ARTHRITIS IN THE HIP

Are you not able to continue your cherished hobbies or everyday activities because of sharp pain in your hip when you move? With our expert doctors’ help, you can get to the root of your symptoms and get back to doing what you love quicker and easier.

Read More Ask A Question

Here Is Everything You Need To Know About Arthritis in the Hip, What Causes It, and The Best Way to Treat It

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What is hip arthritis?

Hip osteoarthritis is inflammation of the hip joint. It can develop at any age, although it is more commonly diagnosed in older adults. Hip osteoarthritis can make everyday activities such as walking or climbing stairs difficult.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 25% of all people may develop painful hip osteoarthritis by age 85. There is no known specific cause of the condition; everyone is at equal risk of developing it. Recent research found no difference in the rate of occurrence of hip osteoarthritis in the general public based on race, gender, weight, or educational level.

More severe cases may require hip joint replacement surgery. Whether or not patients have surgery, however, physical therapists design specific exercise and treatment programs to get people with hip osteoarthritis moving again.

What are common causes of hip arthritis?

Hip osteoarthritis is inflammation of the hip joint, a condition that is more likely to develop as people age. Osteoarthritis results when injury or inflammation in a joint causes the soft, shock-absorbing cartilage that lines and cushions the joint surfaces to break down. When the cartilage is damaged, the joint can become painful and swollen. Over time, this condition can cause stiffness and more pain.

Where does it hurt?

In most cases of hip arthritis, the patient will report groin pain. To be specific they will point directly to the front of the hip and groin for their pain. Less commonly, patients will report anterior, lateral, and even posterior hip joint pain. But, even your low back can cause lateral and posterior hip pain. Because of this, it’s possible to feel the pain in other parts of your body. This is called referred pain. Understanding the root cause of your pain is fundamental to treating your pain in the long run & will decrease your dependence on painkillers or treatment that only addresses the symptoms.

What are common symptoms of hip arthritis?

Hip osteoarthritis may cause:

  • Sharp, shooting pain or dull, achy pain in the hip, groin, thigh, knee, or buttocks
  • Stiffness in the hip joint, which is worse after sleeping or sitting
  • A “crunching”; sound when the hip joint is moved, caused by bone rubbing on bone
  • Difficulty and pain when getting out of bed, standing up from a sitting position, walking, or climbing stairs
  • Difficulty performing normal daily activities, such as putting on socks and shoes

To Get A "Insider's Look" At Our Treatment Approach And How We Get Results...

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To Get A Insider's Look
  • Learn The Essential First Step... So You Can Get Pain Free Again
  • See Why Treatment Needs To Be Individualized, Not Standardized...So You Get Faster Results!
  • Learn How You Can Save Money...So You Don't Have To Waste $1000's On Unnecessary Treatments

To Get A "Insider's Look" At Our Treatment Approach And How We Get Results...

Click Below To Watch Our Exclusive Webinar!  It's Simple, Short, And It's Free!

Yes! I Want Access To The Free Webinar

To Get A Insider's Look
  • Learn The Essential First Step...So You Can Get Pain Free Again
  • See Why Treatment Needs To Be Individualized, Not Standardized...So You Get Faster Results
  • Learn How You Can Save Money...So You Don't Have To Waste $1000's On Unnecessary Treatments

Can hip arthritis be treated?

Yes, arthritis hip pain can be treated and with great results. Even better, many times it can be treated conservatively without needing injections, pain medications, or surgeries if you can address it early enough. The key to treatment is to solve the root cause of your pain so you can get the best results and a long-term outcome.

Some root causes of hip arthritis pain can be:

  • Decreased hip range of motion
  • Poor posture in sitting
  • Hip impingement
  • Weak hip and glute muscles
  • Poor lifting biomechanics
  • Leg length discrepancy
  • Previous leg or hip injury
  • Tight low back and hip joints
  • Poor biomechanics at work
  • Too much sitting

If you have failed multiple treatment approaches already, your clinician missed the real root cause of your pain and was just chasing the symptoms. The pain or symptom is the effect, not the cause. What do I mean by this? Say your fire alarm goes off in your house. Its purpose is to protect you and make you aware that something is wrong, i.e., that there is a fire in your house. The “alarm” is like your pain (your body’s way of telling you something is wrong) and the “fire” is the root cause. When the fire alarm goes off, you don’t run upstairs and just turn it off, right? You run through the house with the fire extinguisher, trying to find the room where the fire is at. You try to find out what caused the alarm to go off so you can put it out. Once the fire is out, then the fire alarm can go off. Solve the “root” cause of your pain, and then the pain (“the effect”) eventually goes away.

Additionally, there is a common root cause which many clinicians misdiagnose. They treat the hip pain with a cookie cutter approach, hoping it will work and treat it as a simple muscle problem. They tend to rely on stretching, ultrasound, massage, and focus treatment directly on the hip area. However, often the root cause is missed and the symptoms return. If you have failed multiple low back treatments and still have hip pain, then maybe it’s not just a hip problem? There is probably something else adjacent to the hips that are overloading or stressing the hip to cause your pain. So many healthcare clinicians treat pain like this and thus show poor treatment outcomes which results in the pain coming back. Why? They missed the root cause of your hip arthritis pain. This is also the case when patients turn to injections, nerve blocks and other surgeries which are still not effective because the actual problem still is not solved, their treatment was just chasing the pain.

The first step in treatment is to identify the root cause of your pain. A specific and individualized treatment approach for your type of pain can lead to a successful outcome for you and resolve your symptoms for the long term. This is why you can’t rely on a standard cookie cutter approach; you need a customized and individualized treatment approach specifically for your type of hip arthritis pain.

“I went to Pursuit as a last ditch effort to see if there was anything I could do to regain functionality in my right hip. I received treatment from both Ron and Cathy with the end result that I regained the functionality of my hip. I would highly recommend everyone to visit with either Ron or Cathy to discuss if they can help with your problems!

What happens if it goes untreated?

Minor case – If it is a minor case of hip arthritis, research shows that many acute cases of pain may spontaneously go away in 4-8 weeks. Arthritis may be a false positive finding? Meaning it is not the cause of the hip pain and you had this before you started having the pain? You still need to solve the root cause of your specific low back pain. But who wants to wait 8 weeks to get pain free? Let’s try to solve the root cause of your pain in 2-3 weeks and address all of the risk factors present (so it never returns!) and get you back to your favorite activities faster! We still recommend that you get it checked out by one of our board-certified physical therapists to ensure that it is just a minor case, to solve all risk factors, and to get the optimal outcome in the fewest visits needed. Most minor cases resolve on their own in time or get better with some stretching and strengthening. But, the sooner you take action, the sooner you are pain-free. (And research supports this!)

Severe case – If it’s more of a severe and chronic case of hip arthritis, your pain will probably start to worsen and increase because the root cause and underlying risk factors of the pain are not being treated. Many people turn to pain medication and injections at this time but this only blocks the pain for short term. You may not feel the pain when taking pain medications, but the underlying problem is still there. Many people say after the pain medication is stopped, then usually the pain returns and sometimes it returns even worse. This is when you may experience hip popping, groin pain, lateral hip pain, or buttock pain. Sitting, bending forward, lifting, and driving all increase your pain now. If the hip pain continues to worsen, you may start experiencing difficulty walking, be unable to run or golf, and you may get sitting groin pain now. A sharp front hip pain may be experienced when you move from sitting to standing. Once the root cause is addressed, then we can start decreasing your pain, regardless of how chronic and severe the pain is. This is the crucial first step. It just may take more time to recover from a chronic case. Usually with chronic and severe cases, the longer you have your pain and injury, the longer it takes to resolve.

What outcome can you expect from treatment?

As we’ve discussed, the first step is to solve the root cause of your hip arthritis pain. This is the most essential step to plan a treatment specialized for you and your unique type of pain. Your root cause will guide your treatment and dictate what is the best way to treat your pain. This, along with identifying risk factors that may be predisposing you to have your pain and injury, will allow you to start getting pain free again. The next step is to start decreasing pain, modifying activities, and start addressing all of the impairments causing your pain which we discovered during your evaluation. With each session, pain should start to decrease and you should start to regain range of motion with less pain and symptoms. Any radicular and referred pain should resolve fast as well. At this point, we begin light and basic strengthening only if it does not increase pain. Treatment will consist of a lot of manual therapy and light exercises.

The next step is to achieve full range of motion, (which should correlate to being pain-free) and now we can start progressive strengthening. Strengthening the muscles is crucial and research shows that this gives you the best long-term outcome! As you start to get stronger and maintain your mobility, your pain will continue to decrease if it is not already gone. Your increased strength will allow you to perform more activities and prevent flare-ups. This usually does take up to 4 weeks. As you clear our goals, then we can start easing you back into sport, golf, running, and whatever your favorite activities are. This is when we start winding down treatments and getting you back into functional strengthening, sport specific training, return to run programs, golfing, and whatever your goals are. In the end, we reassess everything, making sure we achieved all of our goals, your goals, that all risk factors are gone, and finalize your long-term home exercise program. There are many factors which can influence your outcome, but 85-90% of our patients respond well to our treatment approach and achieve a successful outcome when completing their plan of care.

To Get A "Insider's Look" At Our Treatment Approach And How We Get Results...

Click Below To Watch Our Exclusive Webinar! It's Simple, Short, and It's Free!

Yes! I Want Access To The Free Webinar

To Get A Insider's Look
  • Learn The Essential First Step... So You Can Get Pain Free Again
  • See Why Treatment Needs To Be Individualized, Not Standardized...So You Get Faster Results!
  • Learn How You Can Save Money...So You Don't Have To Waste $1000's On Unnecessary Treatments

To Get A "Insider's Look" At Our Treatment Approach And How We Get Results...

Click Below To Watch Our Exclusive Webinar!  It's Simple, Short, And It's Free!

Yes! I Want Access To The Free Webinar

To Get A Insider's Look
  • Learn The Essential First Step...So You Can Get Pain Free Again
  • See Why Treatment Needs To Be Individualized, Not Standardized...So You Get Faster Results
  • Learn How You Can Save Money...So You Don't Have To Waste $1000's On Unnecessary Treatments

How is it diagnosed?

If you see your physical therapist first, the therapist will conduct a full evaluation that includes your medical history, and will ask you questions such as:

  • When and how frequently do you feel pain and/or stiffness?
  • What activities in your life are made difficult by this pain and stiffness?

He or she will perform special tests to help determine whether you have hip osteoarthritis, such as:

  • Gently moving your leg in all directions (range of motion test)
  • Asking you to resist against her hand as she tries to gently push your leg and hip in different directions (muscle strength test)
  • Watching you walk to check for limping
  • Asking you to balance while standing (balance test)

Your physical therapist may use additional tests to look for problems in other parts of your body, such as your lower back. He or she may recommend that you consult with an orthopedist, who can order diagnostic testing such as an x-ray or MRI, to confirm the diagnosis.

Do you need an X-ray and MRI imaging for hip arthritis pain?

For most common orthopedic cases, imaging is not needed and the diagnosis can be made with a simple physical therapy evaluation. No need to waste thousands of dollars on unwarranted diagnostic imaging. We also have clinical tests which we can perform to help rule in and rule out pathologies that correlate to MRI findings (which is WAY cheaper than an MRI!). An expensive MRI may just tell us what we already know. Also, often times the positive findings found on x-rays, MRIs, and EMGs may not actually be the root cause of your pain. What does that mean? Many positive findings on an MRI are also found in asymptomatic (pain-free) individuals, so diagnostic imaging may not be able to tell us what is actually causing your pain. For example: many people have a herniated disc in their low back but do not have any low back pain. So if herniated discs can cause no pain, just because someone with low back pain has a herniated disc does not mean that is what’s causing their pain. The key is to find out if your clinical evaluation findings during your evaluation at Pursuit match the MRI findings. If so, then we can decide what is the best way to treat it.

How can a Physical Therapist treat it?

Your physical therapist will explain what hip osteoarthritis is, how it is treated, the benefits of exercise, the importance of increasing overall daily physical activity, and how to protect the hip joint while walking, sitting, stair climbing, standing, load carrying, and lying in bed.Testing will reveal any specific physical problems you have that are related to hip osteoarthritis, such as loss of motion, muscle weakness, or balance problems.The pain of hip osteoarthritis can be reduced through simple, safe, and effective physical activities such as walking, riding a bike, or swimming.Although physical activity can delay the onset of disability from osteoarthritis, people may avoid being physically active because of their pain and stiffness, confusion about how much and what to do, and not knowing when they will see benefits. Your physical therapist will be able to guide you in learning a personal exercise program that will help reduce your pain and stiffness.Your physical therapist will work with you to:

  • Reduce your pain
  • Improve your leg, hip, and back motion
  • Improve your strength, standing balance, and walking ability
  • Speed healing and your return to activity and sport

Reduce Pain
Your physical therapist can use different types of treatments and technologies to control and reduce your pain, including ice, heat, ultrasound, electrical stimulation, taping, exercises, and hands-on (manual) therapy techniques, such as massage.
Improve Motion

Your physical therapist will choose specific activities and treatments to help restore normal movement in the leg and hip. These might begin with “passive” motions that the therapist performs for you to gently move your leg and hip joint, and progress to active exercises and stretches that you perform yourself. The physical therapist may use sustained stretches and manual therapy techniques that gently move the joint and stretch the muscles around the joint.

Improve Strength
Certain exercises will benefit healing at each stage of recovery; your physical therapist will choose and teach you the appropriate exercises to steadily restore your strength and agility. These may include using cuff weights, stretchy resistance bands, weight-lifting equipment, and cardio exercise equipment such as treadmills or stationary bicycles.

Speed Recovery Time
Your physical therapist will design a specific treatment program to speed your recovery. He or she is trained and experienced in choosing the right treatments and exercises to help you heal, return to your normal lifestyle, and reach your goals faster than you are likely to do on your own.

Return to Activities
Your physical therapist will design your treatment program to help you return to work or sport in the safest, fastest, and most effective way possible. You may engage in work retraining activities, or learn sport-specific techniques and drills to help you achieve your goals.

If Surgery Is Necessary
In severe cases of hip osteoarthritis, the hip joint degenerates until bone is rubbing on bone. This condition can require hip joint replacement surgery. Physical therapy is an essential part of postsurgical recovery, which can take several months.

If you undergo hip joint replacement surgery, your physical therapist will visit you in your hospital room to help you get out of bed and walk, and will explain any movements that you must avoid to protect the healing hip area.

He or she will work with you daily in the hospital and then in the clinic once you are discharged. He or she will be an integral part of your treatment and recoveries – helping you minimize pain, restore motion and strength, and return to normal activities in the speediest yet safest manner possible after surgery.

“After at least three years of doctor-hopping […] looking for someone to alleviate my constant dizziness and neck pain, I finally found Dr. Miller. I have more energy and less pain, and have halved my dependence on painkillers. He shouldn’t be the last stop on your road to recovery, he should be the first.”

How long does it take for recovery?

Recovery time for hip arthritis pain depends on multiple factors:

  • The severity and chronicity of your pain
  • Whether your pain is an easy or complex case
  • If the root cause of your pain was solved or if it was missed (this is the key to getting a great recovery!)
  • How long you have been in pain for and when you need to be pain-free by
  • Other therapies and treatments you have tried
  • Which medical professional(s) you saw prior to seeing us
  • How active you are in trying to resolve your pain
  • Which treatment approach is chosen and if it is proven to work for your pain

There are many factors that influence your recovery time and every patient’s recovery time is different. If you do nothing and don’t pursue treatment, it could gradually get better on its own, you could continue to have the same pain persist, or it could continue to get worse. As stated earlier, most acute cases may or may not resolve in 4-8 weeks. If you get expert treatment that solves the root cause of your pain, some cases resolve in 1-3 weeks! Then you can get back to sports, exercise, and your favorite activities without flare-ups and recurrences. Some of our patients are pain-free in 1-3 visits and back to 100% in 2 weeks!

If it is a complex case with chronic pain, your recovery may take longer, but you can still get a good outcome. Some chronic cases can resolve as fast as 2 months but can take as long as 4-6 months. It varies with every patient because every case of hip arthritis pain is different. Every patient’s recovery varies depending on the factors listed above. After a thorough evaluation here at Pursuit Physical Therapy, you will know your exact timeline of recovery, your prognosis, and when you should reach your goals.

How much does it cost?

The average cost of care for a case of spine pain in the US is $1800-$6600. This high price is due to many factors: the over-inflated cost of healthcare, the over expensive cost of unwarranted imaging (x-rays, CT scans, and MRIs) that is not needed, over-utilization of care (which increases the number of visits needed to be treated, requiring multiple visits to different doctors and physical therapists for the same diagnosis), and getting billed for unnecessary and unproven treatments that you don’t even need. All of these factors increase cost and this is why healthcare is so expensive. We strive to end that unnecessary, expensive cycle. In fact, we are currently publishing our first-year data with the University of Central Florida that shows the cost-effectiveness of our treatment approach.

This year, the average cost of our care was shown to be $814-$1141. Some of our patients get even as low as $315 for the full treatment! So if you have a deductible of $3,000-$10,000 and you have to pay out of pocket for your treatment, we can save you lots of money.

Remember, every case of pain is different and not all hip arthritis pain is the same. It is hard to predict exactly how much your treatment is going to cost you. But after a thorough evaluation, we can tell you exactly what is causing your pain, how long it is going to take, what the best way to treat it will be, and exactly how much it is going to cost. We have no hidden fees, no co-pays, and no miscellaneous bills that you will be surprised by 3 months after you receive treatment. Your pain, your diagnosis, your goals, and what is best for you dictate your treatment and how much it will cost, and while it varies for every patient, treatment at Pursuit is still much more affordable than standard healthcare.

How long are sessions?

Our evaluations are always one-on-one with one of our board-certified specialists and 60-90 minutes long. We like to perform thorough evaluations so we can solve the root cause of your pain, identify all risk factors, and make sure that we do it right. After the evaluation, you will know your diagnosis, the root cause of why you have your pain and symptoms, your prognosis, an expected timeline of when you should see results, what the best way to treat your pain is, how much it will cost, and your expected recovery outcome. We want you to fully understand everything about your pain and injury. What is best for you and will get you the best outcome is what will dictate your care and treatment. There will be plenty of time for you to ask questions so we can make sure you fully understand why you have your pain and what the best way to treat it will be. After the evaluation is completed, all treatment sessions are 60 minutes going forward and still one-on-one with your physical therapist. You and your physical therapist will design a customized treatment plan that works for you and that will achieve your goals.

How can it be prevented?

Hip osteoarthritis may be prevented or limited by keeping the hip and leg muscles strong and flexible, maintaining a healthy body weight, and using proper balance skills. Research shows that strengthening and stretching exercises for the hip, core and leg can minimize and reduce osteoarthritis pain and stiffness, so it is reasonable to conclude that keeping those muscles strong and limber will help prevent painful osteoarthritis symptoms and problems.When you seek help once hip osteoarthritis develops, your physical therapist can recommend a home exercise program to strengthen and stretch the muscles around your hip, upper leg, and abdomen to help prevent future hip pain and problems. These may include strength and flexibility exercises.

What are the next steps?

Getting started is simple. The first step, and the key to getting you pain-free again is to solve the root cause or your case of pain. Remember, not all pain is the same. Your pain is different than someone else’s pain, even though it may be in the same area. If you’re ready to get pain free, give us a call at (407) 494-8835 or fill out the form below. The next step is to schedule your evaluation so we can solve the root cause for you. We’re happy to answer any questions you may have and we would love the opportunity to help you.

Solve the root cause of your pain

How Our Treatment is Different

We believe that working with a specific specialist for your care is the best way to solve the root cause of your pain. Work one-on-one with a Doctor of Physical Therapy every time your visit our office.

Book your evaluation

Exclusive one-on-one patient care

While most clinics will give you a limited amount of time with your Doctor, we believe that true results come from consistent one-on-one therapy.

Work with your specialist every visit

Stop being handed off to trainees or non-Doctors for your Physical Therapy. At Pursuit, you'll work exclusively with your Doctor of Physical Therapy that specializes in your specific needs.

24/7 messaging access to your specialist

Ever have an issue or questions? We're here to help. Get 24/7 access to your specialist while you're under our care. Physical Therapy doesn't just happen when you're in our clinic, so we're here for you when you need us.

No waiting periods

Get off that waiting list and get the treatment you need. We're always ready to accept new patients, so you can get better faster and get back to a pain-free life that you deserve.

Not limited by insurance

Don't let the insurance companies tell you how much treatment you need. Avoid the limitations of short sessions that insurance provides and work with our Doctors when you need it and for as long as you need it.

No painful injections, no expensive medications, no surgery

In order to truly solve your pain, we use a holistic approach to Physical Therapy, not relying on injections, medications, or surgery. Instead, we'll strengthen your body's weak points that are causing your pain.

MEET THE TEAM

Ron Miller

RON MILLER, DPT, OCS, Cert DN


Doctor of Physical Therapy | Board Certified Orthopaedic Physical Therapy Clinical Specialist | Post-Doctoral Orthopaedic Residency Trained | Certified in Dry Needling | Titleist Performance Institute Certified

Dr. Ron Miller is the owner and founder of Pursuit Physical Therapy. His core belief is that it is not about the physician, the physical therapist, or the insurance company: it is about what is truly best for the patient. Dr. Miller started...

Carey Rothschild

CAREY ROTHSCHILD, DPT, OCS, SCS, CSCS, CKTP


Doctor of Physical Therapy and Assistant Professor at the University of Central Florida | Board Certified Orthopaedic Clinical Specialist
| Board Certified Sport Clinical Specialist

Dr. Carey Rothschild is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at the University of Central Florida.  Dr. Rothschild earned a Bachelor of Health Science in Physical Therapy in 1999 from the University of Florida and a Doctor of Physical Therapy from Boston University in 2005...

Carey Rothschild
Michael Fabrick

MICHAEL FABRICK, DPT, Cert. DN


Doctor of Physical Therapy | Certified in Dry Needling | Pursuit Sports Performance Specialist | Professional Tennis Tour Physical Therapist

Dr. Michael Fabrick was born and raised in Hanover, Pennsylvania and attended Slippery Rock University where he received his Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science. He then went on to receive his Doctorate Degree in Physical Therapy in May of 2020. During his final tenure as a Doctoral intern, he trained underneath Todd Ellenbecker, who is one of the world’s leading experts on shoulder rehabilitation and is the Vice President of Medical Services for the ATP World Tour...

MARYANN DANIELS, PT, MCMT, IDN


Physical Therapist | Dry Needling Certified | Mastery Certified In Manual Therapy | Pelvic Floor And Post Partum Specialist

Maryann was originally born in Connecticut but moved to Florida with her family at the age of 9 and she grew up in Jupiter, Florida. She then went to college at the University of Central Florida...

Kayla Cook, DPT, HSP, CSCS


Doctor of Physical Therapy | Hesch Sacroiliac Practitioner | Certified Strength And Conditioning Specialist | Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Specialist | Volleyball Specialist

Dr. Kayla Cook was born and raised in Northern California and received her undergraduate degree in Kinesiology from California State University in Sacramento.  She then received her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from The University of St Augustine for Health Sciences...

BECOMING PAINFREE  IS EASIER THAN YOU THINK

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Step 1:

Call our expert team.
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Step 2:

We’ll work with you to find and treat the root of your pain.
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Step 3:

Get back to doing what you love.

Call us to schedule your appointment

(407) 494-8835
(407) 494-8835

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