Osteoarthritis of the hip joint is the general name for a group of diseases that includes all diseases of the degenerative system of the hip joint that destroy cartilage tissue and are progressive in nature. This disease has another name - coxarthrosis. The disease is characterized by pain in the above area, which is difficult to treat and diagnose.
Causes and mechanism of development of hip arthrosis
Osteoarthritis of the hip joint is divided into primary and secondary. Primary is a disease that has developed independently of other factors, for example as a side effect of the natural aging process. Secondary osteoarthritis is the result of a complication of a disease of a different nature.
In a healthy pelvis, the distance between the femoral head and the acetabulum is clearly visible on the x-ray. This indicates the optimal condition of the cartilage covering the thigh and is also a sign of the absence of osteoarthritis. If the distance is imperceptible, the cartilage is damaged and there is every reason to assume the presence of the disease described above. This form of arthrosis is not genetic, ie it is not usually inherited. However, factors such as cartilage weakness, brittle bones and metabolic disorders can be passed on from generation to generation and trigger the development of arthrosis.
However, the main causes of this disease are various diseases of an infectious, traumatological nature. For example:
- Hip dislocation, hip dysplasia are congenital diseases that are most often diagnosed in early childhood using ultrasound diagnostics. It is very important to detect this pathology, which occurs in ten percent of newborns, as early as possible, since correction of dysplasia is possible only in the first two years of a child's life.
- Infectious and chronic inflammatory diseases such as tuberculosis of the hip joint. This disease is especially dangerous due to the very difficult diagnosis. Often the symptoms are so mild that they are mistaken for another disease. Even an X-ray image sometimes only helps to detect tuberculosis at an advanced stage, when full recovery is no longer possible. All this is aggravated by the fact that the country lacks narrow specialists who can properly diagnose and treat this disease.
- Metabolic and thyroid diseases such as diabetes mellitus.
- Perthes disease, which most commonly affects boys. With this disease, the femoral head suffers, its blood flow is disturbed, as a result of which the cartilage tissue suffers.
- Various mechanical injuries, such as injuries and dislocations of the hip joint.
symptoms
Osteoarthritis is an extremely dangerous disease, since at the beginning it can be completely asymptomatic. Often, only by a happy coincidence, an X-ray examination reveals the presence of this disease in a patient who did not find a single sign in himself.
Osteoarthritis of the hip joint can be first, second or third degree, depending on the severity of the disease. Osteoarthritis of the first degree is characterized by pain only during physical exertion, for example, when walking, and only the joint itself hurts. On the x-ray, the femoral head-to-cavity distance is about half the normal distance. In second degree disease, the pain intensifies, radiates to the groin and may be present at rest, and lameness may occur. The third degree is most severe when the patient is unable to move unaided and the pain is permanent. A person is forced to lean to one side when walking, as the leg shortens.
diagnosis
When making a diagnosis, it is important to take a correct medical history. In this case, first of all, attention is drawn to the nature and duration of the pain, the localization of the pain points, the atrophy of muscles and nerve endings, the features of the patient's gait and the state of blood circulation in the extremities.
With all of this, x-ray is crucial to diagnosing osteoarthritis of the hip joint, but additional investigations may be needed, such as: B. : MRI of the thigh, puncture from the painful area, tomography of the extremities, ultrasound examination.
treatment of the disease
When treating arthrosis, it is first of all necessary to eliminate pain or at least reduce it to a level that the patient can bear. For this purpose, NSAIDs are used, which not only fight pain, but also reduce inflammation.
Then drugs are prescribed that provide the cartilage tissue with nutrients that can restore it, but only in the early stages of the disease. If necessary, hormone injections are also prescribed. However, only a doctor can prescribe all of the above drugs!
There is the use of physiotherapy (although many experts consider such treatment a waste of time). This is a special massage, laser treatment, manual therapy, physiotherapy exercises. However, these procedures consume a lot of time and money of the patient, although they are not the defining method of treatment.
However, in the case of stage 3 osteoarthritis, doctors usually insist on surgery and replace the destroyed joint with a prosthesis.
Folk methods of dealing with arthrosis
Conventional medicine is also not apart from the treatment of a serious illness. For this purpose, various ointments and compresses made from birch leaves, burdock and cabbage are used. They are pounded into a pulp and then tied to the pain site.
A mixture of honey, alcohol, iodine and glycerin is used as compresses. Traditional medicine confirms the effectiveness of baths with nettle decoction. Also, treatment with bee stings has become very popular to get rid of the disease. Tincture of honey, carrots, beets, radishes and aloe juice must be poured with vodka and infused for a week, after which the tincture can be drunk once a day, 20 grams each.
Prevention of coxarthrosis
As a rule, preventive measures include strict weight control (because excess weight puts a lot of stress on the hip joints), the correct distribution of physical activity so as not to overload the joints, and timely consulting a specialist at the slightest suspicion .
Osteoarthritis of the hip joint is an extremely unpleasant and serious disease that threatens with serious complications. However, timely consultation with a qualified doctor will help to avoid the terrible consequences of the disease.