Arthritis of the hip is associated with pain both at rest and during weight-bearing. Current recommendations for managing hip osteoarthritis include therapeutic exercises as a first choice of treatment. Hip pain is one of the most common limiting factors when performing hip osteoarthritis exercises. These exercise programs are often provided individually by physical therapists, as there are few if any therapeutic exercise protocols for hip osteoarthritis patients in the literature. While strengthening exercises remain the most common type of exercise prescription for hip osteoarthritis patients, balance exercises are also important because of deficits in proprioception and postural stability in these patients. Thera-Band® Stability Trainers have been successfully used in hip patient exercise programs (Boeers et al. 2010).

Norwegian physical therapists published a case report on a 58 year old woman with hip osteoarthritis. They included strength, flexibility, and balance exercises using foam balance pads. The patient received 19 sessions of physical therapy over 12 weeks and improved in pain, strength and function at a 6 month follow-up. Download the therapeutic exercise program for hip arthritis here. While the hip osteoarthritis physical therapy protocol was successful in this patient, a randomized controlled trial is needed to determine the true effectiveness of the program in other patients. Thera-Band Stability trainers provide progressive instability training for lower extremity rehabilitation exercises.

REFERENCE: Fernandes L, et al. Development of a therapeutic exercise program for patients with osteoarthritis of the hip. Phys Ther. 2010 Apr;90(4):592-601. Epub 2010 Feb 25.

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