Arthrosis 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, which destroy cartilage tissue, is progressive in nature. This disease has another name - coxarthrosis. The disease is characterized by pain in the area above, which is difficult to treat and diagnose.
Causes and mechanism of development of arthrosis of the hip
Arthrosis of the hip joint is divided into primary and secondary. Primary is a disease that developed independently, independent 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.
With a healthy pelvis, the distance between the femoral head and the acetabulum is clearly visible on the x-ray. This indicates the optimal state of the cartilage that covers the thigh, being at the same time a sign of the absence of arthrosis. If the distance is not noticeable, the cartilage has been damaged, which means that there is every reason to assume the presence of the disease described above. This form of osteoarthritis is not genetic, that is to say that it is generally not hereditary. However, factors such as weak cartilage, bone fragility, metabolic disorders can be passed down from generation to generation and can trigger the development of osteoarthritis.
However, the main causes of this disease are various diseases of an infectious and traumatological nature. For example:
- Hip dislocation, hip dysplasia are congenital diseases most often diagnosed in early childhood through ultrasound diagnosis. It is very important to identify this pathology, which occurs in ten percent of newborns, as early as possible, since 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 can sometimes identify tuberculosis only at an advanced stage, when a complete cure is no longer possible. All this is compounded by the fact that there is a shortage of narrow specialists in the country who can correctly diagnose and treat this disease.
- Metabolic and thyroid disorders, such as diabetes mellitus.
- Perthes disease, which most often affects boys. With this disease, the femoral head suffers, its blood circulation is disturbed, as a result of which the cartilage tissue suffers.
- Various mechanical injuries, such as hip joint injuries and dislocations.
Symptoms
Arthrosis is an extremely dangerous disease, because at the very beginning it can be completely asymptomatic. Often, only by chance, an X-ray examination reveals the presence of this disease in a patient who did not find any signs in himself.
Osteoarthritis of the hip joint can be of the first, second or third degree, depending on the severity of the disease. Arthrosis of the first degree is characterized by pain only during physical exertion, for example, walking, and only the joint itself hurts. On x-ray, the distance between the femoral head and the socket is about half the normal distance. With a disease of the second degree, the pain intensifies, radiates to the groin and may be present even at rest, lameness may appear. The third degree is the most severe, when the patient cannot move independently without aids, the pain is permanent. A person is forced to lean to one side when walking due to the shortening of the leg.
Diagnostic
When making the 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 pain, localization of sore spots, atrophy of muscles and nerve endings, features of the patient's gait and thestate of blood circulation in the extremities.
With all this, the X-ray examination is decisive for diagnosing osteoarthritis of the hip joint, however, additional examinations may be necessary, such as: MRI of the thigh, taking a puncture of the areapainful, tomography of the extremities, ultrasound examination.
Disease treatment
First of all, in the treatment of arthrosis, it is necessary to suppress pain, or at least reduce it to a level that the patient can tolerate. For this, NSAIDs are used, which not only fight pain, but also relieve inflammation.
Then drugs are prescribed to nourish the cartilage tissue, which are able to restore it, but only in the early stages of the disease. Hormonal injections are also prescribed if necessary. 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 take a lot of time, as well as the funds of the patient, while not being the determining method of treatment.
However, with 3rd degree osteoarthritis, doctors usually insist on surgery, while replacing the destroyed joint with a prosthesis.
Folk methods of treating arthrosis
Traditional medicine also does not deviate from the treatment of a serious illness. Various ointments and compresses prepared from the leaves of birch, burdock and cabbage are used for these purposes. They are reduced to a mush and then attached to the site of pain.
A mixture of honey, alcohol, iodine and glycerin is used as compresses. Traditional medicine confirms the effectiveness of baths with nettle decoction. Also, bee sting treatment has become very popular to get rid of the disease. Tincture of honey, carrots, beets, radishes and aloe juice should 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 (since excess weight exerts a strong pressure on the hip joints), the correct distribution of physical activity so as not to overload the joints and in timetimely, at the slightest suspicion, contact a specialist .
Arthrosis of the hip is an extremely unpleasant and serious disease that threatens with serious complications, but timely consultation with a qualified doctor will help to avoid the terrible consequences of the disease.