hi all. my mom has started to work out due to my “gentle” persuasion. however, whenever she works out, she experiences quite a bit of joint pain around one of her hips. normally i would think that it had something to do with form since i was not physically there to watch her do it; however, i know that one of her hips is messed up.
In a nutshell usually the part of the femur that connects to the hip is round like a circle. however, my mom’s joint there is shaped like an oval, which limits her mobility. for instance, she cannot physically squat all the way down. im really confused as to how she can go about working out efficiently, and id really like her to start working out too. any comments/suggestions are welcomed.
wow, that sucks. how do you know about the deformity? has a doctor taken x-rays, because that’s the only way i can think of making that diagnosis.
either way, if it is a structural deformity, pretty much the only thing you can do is try different exercises and ranges of motion, and then figure out by trial and error what will work.
you and your mother also have to realize that an untrained idividual that has not been involved in any athletic endeavors will undoubtedly have no idea about the difference between the pain and discomfort associated with a workout, and the pain and discomfort of an actual injury. i have experienced this firsthand while training my parents, girlfriends, and some coworkers. food for thought.
Find the range that she can perform pain free and do leg movements in that range. Over time, try to increase the range but don’t be surprised if this never happens due to her weird femur.
Exercises that work knee flexion such as extensions and curls may be an option… i dunno if you’d want to risk giving her knee problems on top of her hip worry though.
yeah, she went to a doctor which showed her the x-rays of her bad hip, this was a while ago, he implied that as she goes into old age, she might need a hip replacement.
the inability to differentiate between actual physical pain and DOMS is a problem with my mother. She complained about joint pain in her hips, but when i asked her about her upper body, she complained about the same pain, and i know that it was just DOMS.
i dont think leg curls and extensions are an option, the equipment back home is pretty limited.
i guess she’ll just gradually try to improve on these exercises, thanks for your guys’ input.
Wow. Umm… have you considered yet that given your mother’s predisposition for joint injury or potential hip problems that perhaps having her squatting was not the best, second best, or possibly even a good idea? Speak with a doctor (one that knows HER injury) and a physical therapist before attempting to turn her into Dave Tate.
All the ballyhoo about free weight full ROM exercises is good, but only for healthy people.
honestly im not sure exactly what she did, because i am at college for summer school and she told me that she started working out with some supervision from my younger brother. from what i know, she actually only did some upper body compound exercises, some body weight quarter squats, and alot of biking/brisk walking.
and the doctor gave her the go ahead to do physical activity, in fact encouraging it, although im not sure when he said physical activity he meant weights. my mom sits around alot.
Is she able to walk up stairs pain free? If so, have her practice walking up flights of stairs two at a time without holding the rail. Start with a very manageable load! (One flight and nice three minute rest, then repeat twice more). Slowly, slowly increase flights and decrease the rest. Some time (far from now) she could begin to hold weights as she does it. This is an excellent exercise and will do as much or more for her as squats. Use your imagination and try to think of movements which are already within her repetoire (like walking up stairs or bending to pick a small object off the floor–a deadlift). Also, scale back YOUR expectations and let her begin small and progress slowly, both so she doesn’t hurt herself and doesn’t get turned off to the idea of working out. Once she see results and improvements, she’ll naturally get on board to the idea of pushing herself a little more.
Keep in mind your mom may have the beginings of OsteoArthritis, which is quite common in women of middle age and just past middle age. For this there is really no cure. You can decrease the problem by weight loss, but the only problem with that is it takes regular activity to achieve. Most women with this hip pain gradually become less active due to the pain, and put on a lot of excess weight due to inactivity, and deppression/ over eating.
In the end the only sollution becomes a total arthroplasty of the hip, however most surgeons like to delay this procedure as long as possible.
Obviously we can’t diagnose you Mother over the internet, but I think you should be aware, of when middle age woman begins having hip joint pain, that it may infact be OA.
honestly, im more concerned with osteoroposis, that thing where the bones get brittle. my mom is nowhere near fat, shes actually really skinny. im worried about the osteoroposis and thus trying to get her to exercise more because she fits many of the categories of people that usually develop it, specifically, she is asian, below 120 lbs, gets very little exercise, and very little dairy products.