Three stretches physical therapists use for hip arthritis

Arthritis can make your hips feel tight and difficult to move, and this can make you feel like you don’t want to move around as much. In turn, not moving around enough can actually increase your hip arthritis pain. 

There are many people who experience this chain of circumstances. In fact, medical studies report that 18.5% of men and 28.6% of women develop hip osteoarthritis in their lifetime. Fortunately, physical therapists can help you find effective stretches and other treatment techniques for hip arthritis. Some stretches that your physical therapist may recommend to ease your hip arthritis symptoms include the: 

1.  Inner leg stretch
Purpose: The inner leg muscles are also called the hip adductors, and stretching these muscles can help reduce hip arthritis pain. 

How to do the inner leg stretch:

• Sit down on the floor. 
• Bend your knees so that the soles of your feet are touching. 
• Keep your feet on the floor, and place your hands on top of your knees.
• Apply light downward pressure on your knees until you feel a stretch in your inner thighs. 
• Hold this stretch for 10 to 15 seconds. 
• Release the pressure on your knees and rest for a few seconds. 
• Repeat the stretch until you’ve done it five to 10 times. 

2.  Knees-to-chest stretch

Purpose: Tightness in the glutes and lower back muscles can lead to greater hip arthritis pain. The knees-to-chest stretch can help reduce the tightness in these muscles and decrease your pain.

How to do the knees-to-chest stretch:

• Lie down on your back with your legs straight out. 
• Slowly lift both knees up toward your chest. 
• Place your hands on your legs just below your knees.
• Gently pull your knees toward your chest until you feel a stretch in your butt and lower back. 
• Hold this stretch for 20 to 30 seconds. 
• Repeat this stretch as necessary throughout the day.

3.  Double hip rotation stretch

Purpose: This stretch is designed to reduce tension in the hip abductors, glutes and lower back, which can help reduce hip arthritis discomfort. 

How to do the double hip rotation stretch:

• Lie down flat on your back with your legs straight. 
• Bend your knees until both of your feet are flat on the floor. 
• Slowly rotate your knees to the right while rotating your head to the left at the same time. Your goal should be to touch your right knee to the floor. Be sure to keep your knees together throughout the movement. 
• Hold this position for 20 to 30 seconds. 
• Return your knees and head to the neutral position. 
• Slowly rotate your knees to the left and your head to the right to stretch your other side. 
• Hold this position for 20 to 30 seconds. 

Want to find more stretches and physical therapy methods for hip arthritis? Armor PT can help

Stretches aren’t the only useful technique that physical therapists can use for hip arthritis. Our team at Armor Physical Therapy can show you all the other treatment options we offer for your arthritis. We can start by doing a free screening of your affected hip. This is intended to help us learn how your arthritis is affecting you. 

In addition, our physical therapists excel at building personalized therapy plans designed to reduce your arthritis pain and improve your joint mobility. We can even help you treat your symptoms from home using our virtual therapy or at-home care services. 

Contact us today for more information about how we can help treat your hip arthritis or to schedule your initial appointment.