Can Knee Arthritis Cause Hip Pain?

The hip, knee, and ankle joints form a kinematic chain that is involved in walking or running. It is common to find that when there is pain in one of the joints, the other joints are also affected. This is exactly what happens with knee osteoarthritis.

Can Bad Knees Affect Your Hips?

Knee osteoarthritis causes pain, stiffness, and inflammation of the joint. Pain in the knee is enough to make walking difficult. Howbeit, in more ways than one, a bad knee will also affect the hip joints.

Research has shown that Knee OA affects the hip range of motion, the coronal motion arc, and joint moment of the hip joint. A bad knee will also cause problems with hip joint function pain. When the hip is thus affected, the bad knee also becomes worse and a vicious pain cycle starts.

How to Tell if Your Arthritic Knees Are Causing Your Hip Pain

Hip pain due to arthritic knees can mimic pain due to hip arthritis or any other hip apology. To differentiate the cause of the pain, evaluation by an orthopedic specialist is important. The doctor will help you pinpoint the origin of the pain.

Conclusion: How to Prevent Knee and Hip Pain From Getting Worse

While it is important to stay active, getting off your feet (rest) is the first line of treatment for hip and knee pain in one leg. Per a doctor’s prescription, you can also use non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for the pain. Unlike running which can aggravate knee pain, walking is a good way to stay active while treating the pain symptoms.