Hip Joint Pain

Hip joint pain — the effects of being overweight

Being overweight can cause hip joint pain for at least three reasons. Before we look at these reasons, we need to understand how the hip joint is constructed. The hip is a ball and socket joint, the leg side is the ball, and the pelvis side is the socket. This ball and socket construction allows the hip joint to move in several directions and provides critical flexibility for core movement. Both the end of the ball and the lining of the socket are covered in cartilage and a membrane called a bursa surrounds the whole hip joint; the cartilage and the bursa act as shock absorbers. Both ends of the joint are held in place by ligaments and tendons

So let us look at how weight affects your joint.

1. Excess weight causes pressure on the cartilage. If this excess weight continues, the cartilage will eventually wear out. Once holes have appeared the two ends of the bones will grind together causing intense hip joint pain.
2. The additional weight shows up on your body as additional mass (fat). This additional mass obstructs the natural movement of the hip. So now when you move your hips are forced to move in an unnatural way which can cause pressure on the sites of the pelvic socket and can stretch the ligaments and tendons.
3. When people gain a lot of weight, their activity level tends to be reduced significantly. Specifically they tend to spend more time sitting, as a person starts to lead a more sedentary lifestyle the tendons and ligaments may lose some of their flexibility and can even shorten. If this happens, when a person starts to move this becomes yet another source of hip joint pain.

So, if you find yourself in a situation where you have gained weight and it is causing you hip bone pain the answer may be to lose weight and exercise. Remember to consult your doctor before starting a weight loss program and make sure that your exercise routine starts slowly and includes lots of gentle stretching.

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