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Such as losing weight if needed and doing more exercise and specific mobility exercises for the affected joint.

This means having physiotherapy and may also involve treatment. It may include using walking aids like sticks or special insoles. Most patients with hip pain, including osteoarthritis, will be referred for a course of physiotherapy as the first step prior to considering surgery.

Physio or occupational therapy usually requires a referral from your practice but in some cases you can self-refer. It is hoped that self-referral will be rolled out across Devon in the future.

Exercise (no matter what type) has been found to be the most effective treatment for arthritis; it is effective at improving pain, mobility, controlling weight as well as helping with other medical conditions such as diabetes and heart disease and psychological disorders such as anxiety and depression.

Includes over the counter tablets from your local pharmacy, tablets prescribed by your GP, injections into the joint by a surgeon or a hospital radiologist and self-help support.

Including acupuncture, and the nutritional supplements

Surgery is usually for people with severe symptoms who have tried other treatments first.

Losing even a small amount of weight, if you are overweight, can lessen your pain. Taking regular exercise can reduce pain for some people with hip arthritis although the effect may be small.

Physical management such as strengthening exercises for your hip can improve your pain.

There are many types of medicine that can reduce the pain of osteoarthritis. However, medication does not work for everyone. Pain medications, such as paracetamol andNonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) such as ibuprofen, can help reduce pain for most people.

The amount of pain relief varies according to the type of medicine and the dose. Steroid injections reduce pain, especially during ‘flare ups’, but the effects can be variable, sometimes lasting months but often only weeks. Self-help support programmes, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) may help you to manage pain better.

We don’t know whether most forms of complementary treatments help with pain. Acupuncture may help some people. Glucosamine Sulphate may also help relieve pain.

Surgery is usually for people who have severe symptoms and have tried other treatments without success. Many people find their pain is much better after hip replacement, but it may not get rid of your symptoms altogether.

You may be able to walk further and faster, climb stairs more easily, and move your joint more freely.

A course of physical management may help you walk further and faster. We know that hip exercises to strengthen the joint.

Some pain medicines, including NSAIDs, reduce inflammation and may make it easier for you to move your hip joint. Self-help support programmes may help you keep more active.

We don’t know if the different types of complementary treatments such as acupuncture and nutritional supplements can help.

Most people find they can get around much better after a hip replacement, once they have recovered from the operation.

If you are overweight, losing some of this weight will help relieve some of the strain on your joints. This can help avoid further damage to the hip. Taking regular exercise may also protect your hip arthritis from getting worse.

Physiotherapy can often help to ease pain and improve mobility but it does not prevent arthritis from getting worse. Exercises that strengthen the muscle around the hip may help protect the joint from damage.

NSAIDs, corticosteroid injections and self-help support also help to ease pain, but will not stop your arthritis getting worse. Effective pain management may stop your pain from getting worse.

Complementary treatments such as acupuncture and nutritional supplements are not likely to slow or stop arthritis from getting worse.

Surgery is generally for people who have severe symptoms and have tried other treatments without success. Hip replacement replaces the damaged joint surface. The new joint replacement may eventually wear out and need to be re-done.

Regular exercise may help you feel better about the overall quality of your life. We don’t know if weight loss helps you feel better about your quality of life.

Physical management such as using a walking stick may help you walk further, but may not improve your overall quality of life.

Medication can be effective at relieving pain. This can have a big impact on quality of life. Self-help support programmes may help improve quality of life.

We don’t know if complementary treatments such as acupuncture and nutritional supplements can improve your quality of life.

Hip replacement can improve quality of life for people with hip osteoarthritis.

Generally, taking enough exercise, and eating a healthy diet is safe.

These are generally safe treatments with few risks. Physiotherapy exercises may hurt at first but this naturally improves over time.

Pain medicines can cause effects. NSAIDs carry a risk of stomach bleeds. Some painkillers can cause constipation. People who take painkillers for a long time can become dependent on them. This means they get withdrawal symptoms when they try to stop taking them and this can be a big problem.

Complementary treatments, such as acupuncture and nutritional supplements can have side effects. Herbal medicines may react badly with other medicines. Acupuncture can cause infections if the needles used arenot sterile.

If you are overweight, or you smoke, you are more likely to develop complications after surgery and your surgery may be less successful. You may want to discuss this with your health professional getting support to lose weight or to stop smoking prior to considering surgery.

Surgery can cause complications including blood clots, infections, bleeding and there is a risk of death, which is higher if you have many serious other medical conditions.

There is a risk of medical complications such as heart attacks and strokes, and some people have a bad reaction to anaesthetics.

The first few months after surgery can be painful and it is likely that you will still need to take pain killers for up to a couple of months after surgery while things settle.

Hip replacements can also wear out with time, especially if you are under 60 years old when you have your surgery.

Your  time spent in hospital can be greatly reduced if you make changes to your lifestyle.

You may need to go to hospital to have physiotherapy and occupational therapy sessions. But you won’t need to stay in hospital. You will need to attend a number of sessions.

You can buy simple painkillers, such as paracetamol, from your pharmacy. Your GP may also prescribe pain medication. You are unlikely to need to go to hospital to get pain medications. You might need to take medicines every day to manage your pain. Self-help support programmes vary in length.

Often, complementary therapists recommend a course of treatment. These can vary in length and be expensive.

If you have a total hip replacement, you will only need to stay in hospital until you have reached your targets for discharge. For some people this may be as soon as the same day, or day after surgery. For the first three to six weeks after the operation you will need a walking aid, such as crutches, to help support you.  Most people are able to return to work by about 3 months after hip replacement surgery.

People with hip osteoarthritis are not all equally affected by their problem. For some it’s a minor inconvenience to getting on with life. For others it has a huge impact as an individual.

How much you are affected will influence what treatment you choose.

Generally the more intensive or invasive the treatment the more severe and frequent the side effects.

Not all arthritis gets worse and many people manage to get by with simple treatment.

People using this type of information say they understand the health problem and treatment choices more clearly, and why one treatment is better for them than another. They also say they can talk more confidently about their reasons for liking or not liking an option with health professionals, friends and family.