I have pain from my hip to my ankle and can’t stand or walk for a long time – what do I do?

Q) I am a 79-year-old man, recently retired, and I have pain from my hip to my ankle.

After the exams, I was told that the wear on my hip is as expected for my age. But I can’t walk a lot or stand for a long time.

It’s been like this for 15 months and it’s discouraging me.

Q) Pain as we age, especially from osteoarthritis, becomes normalized and many people end up believing they just have to live with it.

This is dangerous because it leads to a vicious cycle of people becoming more inactive, which worsens joint pain and can add the complication of weight gain that worsens the problems.

Osteoarthritis is common in older ages and is often thought of as “wear and tear,” but that doesn’t help.

This implies that our gaskets are car tires, which inevitably degrade over time. But we are not and our joints are made up of living, complex tissue that our body can repair.

That’s why I often talk about “wear and repair” and this brings us to the first and most accessible treatment for osteoarthritis, which is physical activity.

I know this may seem unattainable, but with good pain relief and support, there is great evidence to prove that physical activity can improve symptoms.

Programs like ESCAPE-pain educate you about exercises to treat hip or knee arthritis.

There are many other treatments and solutions, such as medications, steroid injections, and surgery for some people.

But we shouldn’t normalize arthritis and we shouldn’t underestimate the importance of movement in preventing and treating this disease.

Email Dr Zoe: Health@thesun.co.uk