The dance figure does not need to keep its full range
With hip osteoarthritis, the available range of motion can vary depending on the direction. A long step backward requires the hip to extend behind you; a wide side step needs room to the side. If you tilt your upper body or noticeably shift your pelvis to compensate, the prescribed path may not suit your current range of motion. That is no reason to force the distance you cannot cover with momentum.
Keep the rhythm, but shorten the distance. In a walking sequence, your foot can land closer to your body. The leading partner must also take shorter steps, otherwise tension builds. The step length in Slowfox is an example that helps explain why a long count does not call for a particularly large step. This is a technical explanation, not a recommendation to dance this style with every case of hip osteoarthritis.
There are three adjustments you can make to your version: step length, amount of turning and duration. Try the two walking directions, forward and backward, separately, and change only one adjustment per attempt. This makes it easier to identify what may have triggered a reaction. A smaller figure does not automatically mean you can dance for longer; repetitions also add up to a load. That is why gradually adjusting your dance load remains important. For getting started, figures with fixed dimensions are less suitable than sequences whose paths you can actually shorten.



