This blog is for you if you were diagnosed with hip osteoarthritis. It is also for you if you would simply like to keep your hip joints healthy. Although osteoarthritis cannot be reversed, yoga for hip osteoarthritis can ease the pain by reducing stiffness and strengthening the muscles that stabilise and support the hips. Practising daily can help you manage the pain and slow down the progression of hip osteoarthritis. As opposed to other practices, yoga includes breathing and relaxation, which help with the stress that having arthritis can cause.

Osteoarthritis is mainly an ageing problem of joints, in which the cartilage (the protective, well-lubricated covering at the ends of bones) is damaged and wears down. Frequently, the cause of this wear and tear is misalignment and/or repetitive movement patterns. However, osteoarthritis can also develop after an injury, trauma, due to genetic factors or an infection.

The roughening and thinning of the cartilage that starts osteoarthritis, is usually pain-free at first. Gradually, you may start to feel an ache in the groin area and a greater stiffness in one hip. Some activities you took for granted may now start to cause pain, such as walking, climbing stairs, or driving for a long time. As the disease progresses, the pain and stiffness increase, and there may be swelling and a restricted range of movement. The Symptoms are usually worst in the morning or after a long period of sitting or standing.

Exercise for osteoarthritis

Exercise is very important to help you manage osteoarthritis. Not only is it essential for your overall health and optimum weight, but it can reduce the swelling, stiffness and pain. Although exercise can cause some pain in the first minutes, it’s important to persevere with gentle and regular movements. Exercise will keep the muscles around the hip flexible and help maintain the range of movement. It will also strengthen the hips, which is necessary to support and stabilise the joint. Finally, exercise releases endorphins, feel-good hormones that act like natural painkillers, and it can also promote better sleep.

The recommended exercise is low impact, so without adding stress to the joint by running or jumping. It’s best to exercise gently and regularly, and find something you enjoy.

Yoga for Hip Osteoarthritis

Yoga, and yoga therapy in particular, is very helpful when you have osteoarthritis. A targeted yoga practice can keep your hip more mobile, nourished, released and supported. Moreover, yoga has a high chance of easing the stress and anxiety that accompany being in pain.

Yoga therapy can help you to:

• keep the joint mobile, moving it in its entire range of movement, thereby lubricating and nourishing the whole joint.
• gently increase the range of motion of the hip.
• stretch muscles so they will not tighten around the joint and increase pain.
• strengthen muscles to increase joint stability.
• become aware of and improve your alignment and posture.
• do breath work for pain management and stress relief.
• be proactive with exercises that you can do at home.

Apart from physical benefits, yoga provides a tool to calm the mind and help you deal with pain. With the possible result of less pain and a better mood, what is there to lose? Below are some practices to get you started. Even if you don’t have hip osteoarthritis, these movements will be beneficial for general joint health.

There are many more yoga practices that can help. To build your own repertoire, don’t hesitate to contact me for a free consultation zoom call: https://beneyoga.co.uk/book-a-free-consultation-call/.

To ease tightness around the hip:

1/ Hip crircles:

Bring one knee close to the chest and place one hand on the knee. Circle the knee around 5 to 7 times in each direction. Move slowly with the breath.

These are small circles. Keep the back relaxed on the floor.

Repeat with the other knee.

2/ Windshield wipers:

Still lying on the back, start with both legs bent 90 degrees and feet on the floor, shoulder-width apart, arms out to the side. Exhale and bring the knees to one side. Inhale and bring them back to the centre. Exhale to the other side and repeat 5 to 7 times.

3/ Glute Stretch

With the right leg bent and foot on the floor, place the left ankle just above the knee. If it’s comfortable, bring the right leg towards you by holding it with two arms on either side of the upper leg, or use a belt around the leg. Breathe calmly in this stretch. It can be easier to do this stretch with one foot placed against the wall, which means you don’t have to hold the leg. You would lie about shin-length away from the wall.

Hold for 5 to 8 breaths and repeat with the other leg.

4/ Supine Tailor pose

Lie on your back with the soles of the feet together, knees out to the side. Rest for a few minutes like this if comfortable. You may want to support both knees on cushions: supporting the legs will allow them to relax more.

To strengthen the hip joints:

1/ leg raise

Lie on your front with the forehead resting on your hands. Keeping both hips on the mat, exhale and lift one leg. The leg shouldn’t go very high. Feel how that engages your glutes and lower back muscles.

Repeat 4x with each leg.

2/ Bridge

Lie on your back with the feet hip-width apart and not too far from the body. You can experiment with different distances for the feet. Placing the legs shoulder-width apart, for example, will work the hips in a different way.

Your arms are extended alongside the body with the palms up. This places the shoulders in a more open position.

Exhale and put weight on the feet, tilt the pelvis and roll the spine off the floor. Inhale and stay in the position.

Make sure you keep the weight on the feet.

Exhale and roll the spine back down. Inhale while the body remains down.

Repeat a few times, keeping the movement fluid and comfortable.

If comfortable, hold the higher position for 3 to 4 slow breaths.

To finish, hold the knees towards your chest for 6-7 breaths.

To relax deeply: supine rest position

If you want to benefit from your yoga practice, always add a resting position at the end. You could rest on your back with the legs bent and feet shoulder-width apart on the floor. Allow the knees to rest against each other. Keep paying attention to your breath while you rest for 5 to 10 minutes or longer,

These exercises are necessarily quite general and gentle. They are a good start, but if you would like to take it further, the best option is to have individual sessions with a yoga therapist. This would allow you to find the movements and adjustments that are right for you, and to have your alignment checked. This is also possible online, so even if you don’t live in London, you can contact me here for a free consultation call: https://beneyoga.co.uk/book-a-free-consultation-call/.

Have you suffered from arthritis or just been diagnosed? Have you tried yoga for this condition? Please leave a comment below. Finally, if you would like regular yoga therapy tips, do subscribe to get this blog straight to your inbox twice a month!

Namaste