Tracking the Symptoms of Hip Arthritis

If you have arthritis pain in your hip, you know how painful it can be. But did you know that there are different types of arthritis and, depending on the type, that the arthritis pain tends to differ? So telling your doctor exactly where it hurts — and when the pain shows up — is key to identifying which type of arthritis you have, or if yourhip painis even caused by arthritis at all.

Another reason your doctor will want to know the specifics of your pain is that the area where you feel pain may not always be where it is actually originating from, or where you might expect it to be, says Scott Zashin, MD, arheumatologistin private practice and clinical associate professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. Also, the intensity of your arthritis pain may change from day to day. Here’s how to tell if your pain is a result of hip arthritis, and how pain intensity may affect your arthritis treatment.

Arthritis Pain: Pinpointing the Type

The most common place you’ll feel pain from hip arthritis is in your groin or buttock area, Dr. Zashin says. “Some people think they have hip arthritis if the pain is on the outside of the hip,” he says. But pain in that area points to a different problem calledb0b体育投注 , which is when the fluid-filled sac that cushions your bones becomes inflamed. The following types of arthritis can affect the hip:

• Inflammatory arthritis(when inflammation leaves your joints swollen and warm) often feels like a dull ache in your groin, buttocks, or thigh that’s more intense in the mornings; it feels better when you're active.

• Osteoarthritis(when the lining of the joint wears away over time or because of an injury) is the more common form of hip arthritis and feels more like stiffness in your groin, buttocks, or thigh. It’s more intense in the morning and when you’re active, but it’s just the opposite of inflammatory arthritis: it improves when you’re resting.

Both types of arthritis can cause you to walk with a limp.

Arthritis Pain: Rating the Intensity

Rheumatologists usually ask their patients torate their arthritis painon a scale of 1 to 10. Ten is considered the worst pain you’ve ever felt, Zashin says, while zero means you have no pain.

How you measure your arthritis pain will probably be different from how someone else might rate theirs. “A 10 or 1 for you may be a 3 for another person,” he says. Your doctor will use your pain rating to make changes in your arthritis treatment. When pain from hip arthritis is so bad that it interferes with your quality of your life, your doctor may talk to you abouthip replacement surgery.

贝科use the intensity of your arthritis pain can change daily, keeping a symptom diary can help you discover what may be affecting your level of pain. You can keep a symptom diary in a small notebook, which you should bring with you to every doctor visit. Here are some factors tonote in the diary.

• Your activity level.尽管炎症性关节炎tends to improve when you’re moving around, vigorous activity will make the pain worse. If you haveosteoarthritis, even moderate activity can make the pain worse. And, if the cartilage (the substance lining the hip joint) wears away completely and your bones rub together, it will be very painful to move. When your arthritis acts up, record what your activity level has been in the days leading up to the flare.

• Barometric pressure.Barometric pressure, which is a measure of the weight of the air in the atmosphere, affects arthritis pain, Zashin says. A higher barometric pressure (usually associated with good weather) typically makes people with arthritis feel better, he says, while low barometric pressure (usually associated with rain or bad weather) can make arthritis pain worse. “If you want to know how barometric pressure is affecting your arthritis, rate your symptoms every day and then look in the newspaper for the barometric pressure,” Zashin says. Record this information in your symptom diary, or simply write down the weather conditions when you are experiencing pain.

• Foods.Some people notice that their arthritis pain increases when theyeat certain foods, Zashin says. Red meat, alcohol, and tomatoes seem to make arthritis pain more intense for some, he says. Writing down the foods you have eaten during arthritis flare-ups can help you recognize if this is an issue for you.

• Your weight.You might notice a change in your symptoms if the scale goes up or down. Gaining weight can make arthritis pain worse, while needed weight loss clearly plays a role in decreasing the symptoms of hip arthritis, Zashin says. Losing just 10 percent of your weight can improve your symptoms and even help to keep arthritis from getting worse over time. Keeping a record of anybig changes in your weight can help youand your doctor figure out if weight gain is making your arthritis worse over time.

Using the information from your physical exam andblood testsplus the notes you’ve written in your symptom diary, you and your doctor can work together to figure out exactly what kind of arthritis you have. And you can help control arthritis pain by keeping watch on your level of activity, your weight, and the foods that you eat.