Osteoarthritis of the hip joint is the general name of a group of diseases, which includes all diseases of the degenerative system of the hip joint that destroy cartilage tissue, and is progressive in nature. This disease has another name - coxarthrosis. The disease is characterized by pain in the upper part, difficult to treat and diagnose.
Causes and mechanism of development of hip arthrosis
Osteoarthritis of the hip joint is divided into primary and secondary. It is the primary disease that developed independently of other factors, for example, as a side effect of the natural aging process. Secondary arthrosis is the result of complications of diseases of various natures.
With a healthy pelvis, the distance between the head of the femur and the acetabulum is clearly visible on the X-ray. This indicates the optimal condition of the cartilage that covers the thigh, and at the same time it is a sign of the absence of arthrosis. If the distance is not visible, the cartilage is damaged, which means that there are all reasons to assume the presence of the disease described above. This form of osteoarthritis is not genetic, that is, it is not usually hereditary. However, factors such as cartilage weakness, bone fragility, metabolic disorders can be passed from generation to generation and can cause the development of osteoarthritis.
However, the main causes of this disease are various diseases of infectious, traumatic nature. For example:
- Hip dislocation, hip dysplasia are congenital diseases that are most often diagnosed in early childhood by ultrasound diagnostics. It is very important to identify this pathology as early as possible, which is present in ten percent of newborns, because the 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 sometimes helps to detect tuberculosis only at an advanced stage, when complete recovery is no longer possible. All this is complicated by the fact that the country lacks narrower specialists who can properly diagnose and treat this disease.
- Metabolic and thyroid disorders, such as diabetes mellitus.
- Perthes' disease, which most commonly affects boys. In this disease, the head of the femur suffers, its blood circulation is disturbed, due to which the cartilaginous tissue suffers.
- Various mechanical injuries, such as injuries and sprains of the hip joint.
Symptoms
Osteoarthritis is an extremely dangerous disease, because it can be completely asymptomatic at the very beginning. Often, just by chance, an X-ray reveals the presence of this disease in a patient who has not found any signs of it.
Osteoarthritis of the hip joint can be of the 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, walking, and pain only in the joint itself. On the X-ray, the distance between the femoral head and the cavity is approximately half the normal distance. In diseases of the second degree, the pain intensifies, radiates to the groin and may be present even at rest, lameness may occur. The third degree is the most difficult, when the patient cannot move independently without aids, the pain is permanent. The person is forced to lean to one side while walking due to shortening of the leg.
Diagnosis
When making a diagnosis, it is important to make a correct history. In this case, first of all, attention is drawn to the nature and duration of pain, the location of painful points, atrophy of muscles and nerve endings, the characteristics of the patient's gait and the state of blood circulation in the extremities.
In addition to all that, X-ray examination is decisive in the diagnosis of osteoarthritis of the hip joint, however, additional examinations may be needed, such as: magnetic resonance imaging of the upper leg, taking a puncture from the painful area, limb tomography, ultrasound examination.
Treatment of diseases
First of all, in the treatment of osteoarthritis, it is necessary to remove the pain, or at least reduce it to a level that the patient can tolerate. NSAIDs are used for that, which not only fight pain, but also alleviate inflammation.
Then drugs are prescribed that nourish the cartilage tissue, which are able to restore it, but only in the early stages of the disease. Hormone injections are also prescribed if necessary. However, only a doctor can prescribe all the listed medications!
There is a 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 take a lot of time, but also the patient's resources, and are not a decisive method of treatment.
However, in grade 3 osteoarthritis, doctors usually insist on surgery, while the destroyed joint is replaced with a prosthesis.
Folk methods of treating osteoarthritis
Traditional medicine also does not stand aside from treating a serious illness. For this purpose, various ointments and coatings of birch leaves, burdock, cabbage are used. They are beaten into a porridge and then tied to the site of pain.
A mixture of honey, alcohol, iodine and glycerin is used as a coating. Traditional medicine confirms the effectiveness of baths with nettle decoction. Also, bee sting treatment has become very popular in tackling the disease. Tincture of honey, carrots, beets, radishes and aloe juice must be poured over vodka and infused for a week, after which the tincture can be drunk once a day, 20 grams.
Prevention of coxarthrosis
Preventive measures usually include strict control of body weight (because excess weight puts a heavy strain on the hip joints), proper distribution of physical activity to avoid overloading the joints and timely, at the slightest suspicion, contact a specialist. .
Osteoarthritis of the hip joint is an extremely unpleasant and serious disease that threatens serious complications, but timely consultation with a qualified doctor will help to avoid the terrible consequences of the disease.