ShareThisAccording to Dr. Ron James, an orthopedic surgeon for Mercy Medical Group in Sacramento, Calif., people with healthy hips can prevent the degenerative disease that calls for replacement or resurfacing.
"Some of us are born with our hips and knees somewhat out of alignment," James says, "so all our lives we're just walking on one part of the hip or knee. And that part wears out. It's a mechanical thing. And once you're bone-on-bone, there's nothing you can do." However, James said, if caught early, you can alter your hip alignment through strengthening exercises and gait analysis.
Other tips:
Watch your weight. Obesity puts stress on all joints, especially the hips. A new Mayo Clinic study reports that 56.5 percent of patients categorized as "super-obese" (a body mass index of 50 or higher) had complications after replacement surgery.
Choose low-impact sports to meet your fitness goals, such as cycling, swimming or lightweight training.
Maintain your range of motion through stretching and proper body mechanics.
Seek help from a trainer or coach before starting a high-impact activity.
"If you're going to run, get a coach," James says. "But no one does that. People just go out and run on the side of the road without knowing the proper way to run."
Consider hip arthroscopy at early stages of pain.
"Smoothing out the cartilage can slow down the progression of arthritis to either delay your chances of it or prevent (hip replacement)."
(Sam McManis can be reached at smcmanis(at)sacbee.com)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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