Osteoarthritis of the hip joint is the general name for a group of diseases, which includes all diseases of the degenerative system of the hip joint, which destroys 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 osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis 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 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 condition of the cartilage covering the thigh and is at the same time a sign of the absence of osteoarthritis. 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 type of osteoarthritis is not genetic, that is, it is usually not hereditary. However, factors such as cartilage weakness, osteoporosis, 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 infectious, traumatological nature. E. g:
- Hip dislocation, hip dysplasia are congenital diseases that are most often diagnosed 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 because of the very difficult diagnosis. Often the symptoms are so mild that they are confused with another disease. Even an x-ray sometimes helps identify tuberculosis only at an advanced stage when a full recovery is no longer possible. All this is exacerbated by the fact that there is a shortage of narrow specialists in the country who can correctly diagnose and treat this disease.
- Metabolic disorders and thyroid diseases, 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 injuries and dislocations of the hip joint.
Symptoms
Osteoarthritis is an extremely dangerous disease as it can be completely asymptomatic at first. Often, only by a lucky coincidence, an X-ray examination reveals the presence of this disorder in a patient who did not find a single sign in himself.
Osteoarthritis of the hip joint can be of 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 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, the pain intensifies, radiates to the groin and may be present even at rest, lameness may occur. The third degree is the most severe, when the patient can not move independently without aids, the pain is permanent. A person is forced to lean to the side when walking due to shortening of the leg.
Diagnostics
When diagnosing, it is important to make a correct medical history. In this case, attention is first drawn to the nature and duration of the pain, the location of pain points, atrophy of muscles and nerve endings, characteristics of the patient's gait and the state of blood circulation in the extremities.
With all this, X-ray examination is essential for diagnosing osteoarthritis of the hip joint, however, further 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 osteoarthritis, it is necessary to remove pain or at least reduce it to a level tolerated by the patient. For this, NSAIDs are used, which not only fight pain but also relieve inflammation.
Then drugs are prescribed that provide nourishment to the cartilage tissue, which is able to recover it, but only in the early stages of the disease. Hormonal injections are also prescribed if necessary. However, only a doctor can prescribe all the above medicines!
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 means, while they are not the defining method of treatment.
However, with 3rd degree osteoarthritis, doctors usually insist on surgery while replacing the damaged joint with a prosthesis.
Folk methods of dealing with osteoarthritis
Traditional medicine also does not go beyond the treatment of a serious illness. Various ointments and compresses made from birch leaves, burdock, cabbage are used for these purposes. They are beaten to 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 stinging 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 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 (as excess weight puts a lot of strain on the hip joints), the correct distribution of physical activity so as not to overload the joints and timely, at the slightest suspicion, to contact a specialist.
Osteoarthritis 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 avoid the terrible consequences of the disease.