Today, one of the most common degenerative-dystrophic diseases is arthrosis of the hip joint, otherwise known as coxarthrosis.This disease can affect one or both joints, but these processes occur gradually.At the initial stage of the disease, one joint is affected, and a little later - the second.
Most often, patients over 40-45 years of age suffer from coxarthrosis, but this disease has many causes and, in principle, it can occur among people of different age groups.Arthrosis of the hip joint in children, fortunately, is not common.Congenital dysplasia of the hip joint leads to coxarthrosis in childhood.Its reason is that the bone tissue and ligaments of this joint do not develop.Children born with this condition often experience hip subluxation and dislocations when the head of the femur dislocates.
Description and causes of the disease
The hip joint is located between the ilium and the femur.Therefore, inflammation and pathology of the sacroiliac joints is called arthrosis of the hip joint.
The space between them also includes the synovial membrane and hyaline cartilage, all these components together ensure the normal functioning of the joint.All this is clearly visible in the photo of arthrosis of the hip joint.
The function of hyaline cartilage is similar to that of a sponge.When it contracts, depending on the load on the joint, it releases the required amount of fluid, which has a lubricating effect.After the load stops, the cartilage pores are filled with fluid again.One of the reasons for the development of a disease such as hip arthrosis is a change in the characteristics of the synovial fluid.
In addition to the work of hyaline cartilage, the causes of arthrosis of the hip joint can also be a slowdown in the joint metabolic process caused by poor blood circulation.These processes lead to atrophy of the muscles surrounding the joint.These muscles perform a protective function for the joint during the normal functioning of all mechanisms and processes.They reduce the risk of injury during careless movements, falls or jumps.
The causes of the development of the disease can also be the results of injuries, inflammatory processes and infections, congenital dislocation of the hip or congenital disorders of joint development (dysplasia).
Degrees and symptoms of arthrosis
There are four degrees of this disease:
- Arthrosis of the hip joint, 1st degree.At this stage of the disease, the patient feels some discomfort, which is especially evident after physical exertion, as well as after going down or climbing stairs.In the first degree of hip arthrosis, pain can occur both in the hip and in the knee.
- Arthrosis of the hip joint 2 degrees.This degree of the disease is characterized by the manifestation of pain of a more intense nature.In addition to physical activity, pain can occur even when the leg is at rest;even lameness is possible with prolonged walking.The nature of the pain is pronounced, spreading to the groin, back or knee.With this degree of arthrosis, the function of the joint is already impaired.
- With third-degree hip arthrosis, the pain is constant, even at night.The patient can move only with the help of orthopedic devices (cane or crutches).The movement of the joint is severely limited.
- Arthrosis of the hip joint of the 4th degree is expressed by large bone growths (visible on X-ray), severe pain that is constantly increasing.This degree of arthrosis is also called pronation.The function of the joint is completely disturbed, movement is limited or impossible.It can only be treated by surgery.
Symptoms of arthrosis of the hip joint vary depending on the degree of the disease:
- lameness in the hip region, impaired mobility of the legs;
- stiffness of movement both after exercise and at rest;
- atrophy of the thigh muscles and shortening of the diseased limb.
The main symptom that causes a visit to the doctor is pain.A timely visit to the hospital plays a special role here, because most patients present with complaints during the active development of the second or even third degree of the disease.You should not wait until pain is felt, because it is full of irreversible processes that can happen in your body.
Diagnosis of the disease
This disease requires a combined diagnosis.At the first stage, the doctor talks with the patient, identifies pain complaints and other factors that cause anxiety.After that, the patient is examined to determine the gait disturbance, the difference in the length of the healthy and diseased limb, as well as pain during palpation.In addition, the sensitivity of the diseased areas is examined to reduce it, and a process is carried out to determine the functions of the neighboring joints.Already at this stage of diagnosis, the doctor can make a probable diagnosis: hip arthrosis at one stage or another.
After the conversation and examination, it was time for laboratory and instrumental studies:
- First, the patient is sent for X-ray.Plain and axial X-rays allow the doctor to see an almost complete picture of the disease.
- If the X-ray is not enough, the patient is sent for magnetic resonance or computed tomography.
- The essence of laboratory research is both a blood test to identify inflammatory processes in the body and the collection of synovial fluid through puncture.Using the latter, you can observe that the composition of a certain fluid changes, because these changes often lead to the development of coxarthrosis.
Treatment of hip arthrosis
Treatment of coxarthrosis, as well as its diagnosis, should be combined.There is an opinion that the only sure way to get rid of hip arthrosis is surgery.However, surgery may often be highly undesirable or impossible for a number of individual reasons, such as general health or advanced age.In this case, coxarthrosis should be treated in other ways.Here, everything depends not only on the condition of the patient, but also on the stage of the disease.
First-degree arthrosis can be completely treated without surgery.Of course, this treatment is complicated and requires a lot of effort for the patient to recover.Some of the procedures performed for osteoarthritis of the hip include:
- drug treatment to eliminate inflammation, reduce pain and improve metabolism in the joint area;
- the patient must regularly perform a set of special exercises prescribed by the doctor;
- Diet also plays an important role for arthrosis of the hip joint of the 1st degree, because the blood circulation and metabolic processes in the body, and especially in the hip joint area, depend on proper nutrition.
In the second stage of the disease, we cannot talk about complete recovery, because deformation of the bones has already occurred, but with the help of certain procedures, the operation can be postponed for a longer time or completely avoided.In addition to drug treatment using the same painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs, a series of exercises and a special diet, secondary hip arthrosis also requires hospital treatment 1-2 times a year.
The third stage of arthrosis requires surgery.The joint tissue is severely depleted, the deformation in the joint area is irreversible, and there is probably no other way out.However, there are particularly persistent patients who, with incredible efforts and constant work on themselves, achieve significant progress without surgery.
Diet and folk remedies in the treatment of coxarthrosis
As mentioned above, an important part of hip arthrosis treatment is diet.The diet of a patient with coxarthrosis should be balanced and contain all the necessary micronutrients.The basis of any tissue in the human body is protein, so you need to eat milk and legumes, as well as jelly and jellied meat that is not too fatty.It should be taken into account that the purpose of the diet is to lose weight while saturating the body with necessary trace elements.This is necessary to reduce the load on the joint.Based on this, you should reduce the consumption of fatty, salty and other high-calorie foods.
Treatment of arthrosis of the hip joint with folk remedies can relieve pain and reduce some of the unpleasant processes associated with this disease.However, any traditional medicine prescription should be consulted with a doctor before use and should only be used with his approval.Some of the methods used for coxarthrosis are:
- Cut a cabbage leaf with a knife, spread it with honey and apply it to the painful joint overnight, wrap it in cellophane and a woolen bandage.
- Rub the joint with tincture of celandine in olive oil.To prepare it, pour 7-8 tablespoons of plant stem with a liter of oil and leave for two weeks.
- Mix aloe juice with eucalyptus and mint leaves and apply this composition to the painful joint several times a day.
- Treatment of arthrosis of the hip joint with salt is also common, as dry heat has a beneficial effect on relieving inflammation and pain.Pour the salt, previously heated in a pan or oven, into a bag made of thick cloth and apply it to the painful area.