Does Your Knee or Hip Hurt? Orthopedic Doctors in Wentzville, MO, Have Four Tips

Hip or knee pain doesn’t just hurt – it can cause you to lose sleep or avoid activities you used to enjoy. Ultimately, it can limit your life and even affect your overall health. Would you like to feel and act like yourself again? Read our doctors’top four tips to help you deal with knee and hip pain.

1. Stay as Active as Possible

Avoid aggravating the condition that is causing your hip or knee pain, but do not be sedentary either. Pick light aerobic exercise which has minimal impact on your weight-bearing joints. Walking, biking, and swimming are great ways for you to strengthen muscles and supporting tissues and increase cardiovascular endurance.

Exercise also increases your endorphins, or naturally occurring chemicals in the body that reduce feelings of pain and elevate feelings of happiness. Be sure to warm up ahead of your routine. Ask your orthopedic doctor or physical therapist for the hip and knee stretches that can work best for you and your condition.

2. Stop Smoking and Lose Weight

Cigarettes deprive the joints of much-needed oxygen and natural lubricants. Consult with your primary care physician about a monitored way to quit the habit for good. Healthier joints experience far less pain and stiffness.

Additionally, work toward your ideal weight range and BMI. The hips and knees bear your full body weight and execute rapid and complex movements. If you are too heavy, the grinding forces on those joints rapidly deteriorate the ends of the bones and surrounding joints.

3. Rest and Apply Heat and Cold

Sounds too simple, doesn’t it? But hips and knees can recover if you just cut back on activity a bit. Rest when you hurt and apply ice packs to reduce swelling. A heating pad for your painful areas just before you stretch or go for physical therapy prepares ligaments, tendons, and muscles, making them more pliable, looser, and less prone to injury and discomfort.

4. See Your Orthopedic Doctor for a Diagnostic Work-up

This is particularly important if pain persists and worsens over time. Conditions such as arthritis and osteoporosis; or a repetitive motion injury, such as bursitis; need the attention and care of an experienced and astute orthopedic specialist.

Your orthopedist will discuss your symptoms, do a physical exam and imaging, and recommend treatment options that reduce pain and improve function. That may mean surgery, but in most cases, less invasive interventions such as physical therapy, bracing, durable medical equipment, pain medications, and anti-inflammatory injections provide much-needed relief for hip and knee symptoms.

Don’t do it alone. Your orthopedic doctor can help.

Hip And Knee Pain Treatments in Wentzville, Missouri

Dr. Zachary P. Fallon is an expert pain management specialist at Advanced Bone & Joint. He helps hundreds of people deal with hip and knee pain each year. We also have sports medicine and joint surgery experts on staff to deal with specialized orthopedic conditions and injuries.

If you’re interested in treatment for your hip or knee pain, call us today at (636) 229-4222 to arrange your in-office consultation. You can also request an appointment using our convenient online form. We have three locations: Wentzville, O’Fallon, and St. Peters. Understand why you have hip or knee pain and what you can do about it.