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, which destroy cartilage tissue, is of a progressive nature. This disease has another name - coxarthrosis. The disease is characterized by pain in the above area, difficult to treat and diagnose.
Causes and mechanism of development of hip arthrosis
Arthrosis of the hip joint is divided into primary and secondary. Primary is a disease that has developed independently, independently of other factors, for example, as a side effect of the natural aging process. Secondary arthrosis 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 condition 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 arthrosis is not genetic, that is, as a rule, it is not inherited. However, factors such as cartilage weakness, bone fragility, metabolic disorders can be passed from generation to generation and can 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 diagnosed most often in early childhood using ultrasound diagnostics. It is very important to identify this pathology, which is present in ten percent of newborns, as early as possible, because 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 identify tuberculosis only in an advanced stage, when a full recovery is no longer possible. All this is aggravated 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 affects boys most often. 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 injuries and dislocations of the hip joint.
Symptoms
Arthrosis is an extremely dangerous disease, since at the very beginning it can be completely asymptomatic. Often, only by a lucky chance, an x-ray examination reveals the presence of this ailment in a patient who did not find a single sign in himself.
Arthrosis 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 cavity is about half the normal distance. With a disease of the second degree, 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 shortening of the leg.
Diagnostics
When diagnosing, it is important to make a correct medical history. In this case, first of all, attention is drawn to the nature and duration of pain, the location of pain points, atrophy of muscles and nerve endings, the characteristics of the patient's gait, and the state of blood circulation in the limbs.
With all this, X-ray examination is decisive in diagnosing arthrosis of the hip joint, however, additional examinations may be needed, such as: MRI of the thigh, taking a puncture from the painful area, tomography of the extremities, ultrasound examination.
Treatment of the disease
First of all, in the treatment of arthrosis, it is necessary to remove pain, or at least reduce it to a level tolerable by the patient. For this, NSAIDs are used, which not only fight pain, but also relieve inflammation.
Then drugs are prescribed that provide nutrition to 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 patient's funds, while not being the defining method of treatment.
However, with arthrosis of the 3rd degree, doctors usually insist on surgical intervention, while replacing the destroyed joint with a prosthesis.
Folk methods of dealing with arthrosis
Traditional medicine also does not stand aside from the treatment of a serious illness. Various ointments and compresses prepared from birch leaves, burdock, cabbage are used for these purposes. They are pounded into gruel, and then tied 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, treatment with bee stings has become very popular in getting 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 you can drink the tincture once a day, 20 grams.
Prevention of coxarthrosis
As a rule, preventive measures include strict weight control (since 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, at the slightest suspicion, contacting a specialist.
Arthrosis of the hip joint 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.