As you know, the largest joint in our body is the hip joint. It takes on almost the entire load while walking. However, he is also frequently exposed to diseases such as paresthesia or coxarthrosis. What is it and how is hip osteoarthritis treated? We will talk about this in our article.
What is coxarthrosis?
To understand the nature of coxarthrosis, the treatment of which is extremely difficult, you need to study a little more closely the structure of the hip joint. It is itself a "hinge", and its function is to connect with the pelvis of the femur. Fastening takes place with the help of a spherical head, which is attached to the cavity above the hip bone. Both the surface of the head and the surface of the cavity are covered with cartilage. They perform the functions of shock absorption and wear protection.
So, a violation of the structure of these cartilages will become the cause of joint diseases that contribute to the development. That is, the elastic and durable cartilage, due to some internal or external factors, becomes dry, hard, and its surface becomes rough instead of smooth. Such structures interfere with normal functioning and lead to slow and painful hip destruction. So it's important here to know how to relieve hip coxarthrosis pain, but more on that later.
In the severe stage, the bones are deformed so much that the patient loses the ability to walk. Combining all this, it is possible to form a definition of such a disease as rheumatic diseases of the hip - the destruction of the complete or partial integrity of the joint surface. It is also important to understand that the concepts of joint disease, coxarthrosis, and osteoarthritis are in fact the same. It's just that arthritis is a broader definition, and the other two are one and the same, and they only apply to the hip joint.
Cause of manifestation
According to doctors, there can be quite a few reasons that lead to the appearance of coxarthrosis, but we will consider only the most common:
- Congenital diseases. The most common are dysplasia (curvature) and congenital hip dislocation. They almost always cause grade 1 coxartharthrosis of the hip.
- genetic predisposition. This is when the disease is quite common in your family.
- Passive lifestyle. When inactive, cartilage loses its elasticity and elasticity, and can become deformed.
- Violation of the hormonal background. Such a violation can easily cause inflammation of the tissues of the joints.
- Age. In 70% of cases, joint disease occurs in people over the age of 40. It's all about the body's natural aging and it's largely about maintaining a sedentary lifestyle with age.
- Injured. Joint damage leads to thinning of the cartilage or even deformity and this is an unavoidable condition of the anterior hip.
- Overweight. Signs - a lot of weight, which will constantly overload the hip joint. Such a prolonged load inevitably leads to wear and tear of the cartilage, as a result - the destruction of the hip joint.
- Large load. Athletes are in this risk group.
- A simple circulatory disorder. For one reason or another, blood circulation in the human body can fail. So, in the peristaltic tissues, a lot of waste products accumulate after metabolism, and this leads to the production of enzymes, but they destroy the cartilage tissue.
- Hip diseases. Another fairly common cause of coxarthrosis. The problem is that improper or untimely treatment of any other disease of the hip (various infections or even necrosis of the femoral head) easily leads to the development of osteoarthritis.
Symptom
The symptoms in the early stages of the disease are still mild, so no one is thinking of treating grade 1 hip osteoarthritis with male medicine. Symptoms include stiffness and discomfort in the hip in the morning, right after waking up. The feeling of discomfort or pain gets worse with exertion, and at rest it weakens or disappears altogether. Patients often don't notice such symptoms, but preventing coxarthrosis won't help here.
In more advanced stages, the disease begins to cause total discomfort, even at rest, and everyone thinks about which doctor treats coxarthrosis to contact the doctor in time. Furthermore, joints begin to become inflamed, lose mobility, and cartilage collapses forming bone spurs. The pain is not relieved even with long rest, movement is quite limited. Here you will need information on how to treat grade 3 coxarthrosis, which you can find out with us.
Then the cartilage disappears completely and the bones begin to rub against each other. It becomes quite difficult to move around. As a result, inactivity, leading to muscle weakness or even atrophy, begins to deform the hip joint. The length of the legs can also vary. There is a clear limp. Here, conservative treatment of grade 3 coxarthrosis will no longer work. The final stage is the complete loss of the ability to walk.
Diagnose
To accurately diagnose and treat osteoarthritis of the hip, you need to consult with your doctor. So which doctor treats hip osteoarthritis without surgery? You need to contact a rheumatologist or orthopedist. Diagnosis will begin with asking the patient, i. e. what is the pain, where exactly the pain is, how often the pain is, etc. . . To assess the level of pain, the doctor will perform some manipulations with the joint. It will flex, extend, and rotate the lower limb. Alternatively, the patient may be asked to walk to assess the external configuration of the joint.
However, a clinical blood test can more accurately confirm the diagnosis. Here, the erythrocyte sedimentation rate will be significantly increased, namely from 30 mm/h or more. Elevations of globulins, seromulin, immunoglobulins, and c-reactive proteins are also symptoms of coxarthrosis. To determine their levels, a biochemical blood test is needed. But while such tests are not enough to indicate the treatment of coxarthrosis of the hip joint.
A mandatory event is an X-ray. But here there is a significant minus that slips through - in the picture there are only bones and bony seals, no cartilage and soft tissues are visible. Thus, diagnosing the disease at an early stage will be quite difficult. In this case, a CT scan will help paint a complete picture and from there can tell how to treat hip arthritis. But all these procedures will become unnecessary if you have a 4th degree hip fracture or deformity. After all, the disease will be visible to the naked eye, and joint disease prevention and treatment is notSurgery will no longer be helpful.
Level and type
Based on the neglect and symptoms of the disease, 4 degrees of its manifestation can be distinguished.
| Degree | Description |
|---|---|
| The first day | Grade 1 hip osteoarthritis is easy to overlook. Its symptom is recurrent pain in the hip joint after prolonged exertion. The pain goes away as soon as the load stops. X-rays will show only slightly narrowed intraocular space. If you orient yourself in time, the disease can easily be prevented. |
| Monday | Osteoarthritis grade 2 - the symptoms begin to appear, this is the stage where the destruction of cartilage tissue begins. The pain gradually increases and spreads to the thighs and groin. They begin to express themselves even in a calm state. There may be obvious lameness. Morning stiffness syndrome occurs periodically in the morning. We will talk more about how to treat grade 2 hip osteoarthritis. |
| The third day | The third stage is when the disease is already in an advanced stage. Almost no cartilage remains. The X-ray image shows that the space between the joints is narrowed as sharply as a thread. Pain at this stage is permanent and can only be eliminated with the help of medication. At the same time, the patient is very limited in movement and in order to move, he needs crutches or a cane to lean on. Soft tissue atrophy begins, swelling appears in the joint area. This raises the question of how to treat grade 3 hip osteoarthritis: conservative methods or surgical intervention. |
| Wednesday | The fourth stage is the most overlooked and cannot be done without surgical intervention. Accompanied by severe pain in the joint area. Such a joint is almost completely healed, the ends of the bones begin to grow back together. Symptoms are the same as in stage 3, but there is no mobility of the pelvic joint. |
With other types of coxarthrosis, that seems well understood. Now, a few words about these types of diseases. So the most common are 2 classifications. The first is a classification based on the number of joints affected - 1 or 2. Everything is simple here, if 1, then they say that coxarthrosis is unilateral. If the joints on both sides of the hip are affected, they refer to bilateral arthropathy.
But there is another no less common classification, which denotes a disease based on the cause of its occurrence. There are 7 categories here:
- Changes in joints and cartilage with a person's age known as coxarthrosis cannot be treated.
- Coxarthrosis is caused by a complication of Perthes disease. The result is necrosis of the spongy tissue that covers the femoral head.
- Congenital underdevelopment of joints or joints is called dysplastic coxarthrosis. According to doctors, a fairly common case, in 10 cases is the result of a congenital deviated femur, also known as dysplasia.
- Complications after arthritis or post-infectious coxarthrosis.
- Post-traumatic coxarthrosis. It is the result of a constant, incorrect load on the joint, leading to microscopic damage and gradual destruction of cartilage tissue.
- The next risk group includes people taking antidepressants and corticosteroids, as well as others with any hormonal disturbances. This type is called irrational osteoarthritis.
- Well, if the cause cannot be determined, then you are diagnosed with idiopathic coxarthrosis.
Treatments
There are many treatments for osteoarthritis of the hip, but the disease cannot be completely cured. All treatment can be divided into three phases.
- Prevent or prevent disease.
- Treatment of the first stage (first and second).
- Treatment of advanced stages (third and fourth).
Conservative treatment
This includes treating the first and second stages of coxarthrosis development. As already mentioned, the disease cannot be cured, you can simply eliminate everything that leads to a constant increase in the load on the joints. Moderate load will develop joints that will not be superfluous. This includes light loads, for example, therapeutic exercises, swimming, cycling, etc. . . Such training will not only help develop joints but also keep them in good shape.
Equally important is the adjustment of weight, excess amount as well as proper nutrition. You also need to take care of your sleep and get enough rest constantly. Massages, both special massages and self-massages, will also help. In the second stage, with gradually increasing pain, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are required. Well, if the disease is advanced and reaches grade 3, it can also be treated without surgery, but you don't need a cane or crutches to ease the extra load on the pelvis.
Surgery
The health care practitioner may decide that surgical intervention is already in the third stage to cure hip disease. There are 4 types of operations to be performed:
- Joint arthroplasty - modeling of the cartilage on the joint is performed. With its help, you can almost completely restore the functions of the joints.
- An osteotomy is a dissection of bone, performed in such a way as to completely remove deformed areas and without deforming normal tissue.
- Arthrodesis - the joint is fastened to the bone with the help of special plates and screws. A more radical method of intervention. After that, the joint remains immobile.
- Laparoscopy is a complex surgery on the hip joint. Honestly, this is not a surgery on the joint, but its complete replacement with a prosthetic, which is made based on the anatomical features of the patient. Therefore, a total or partial replacement is performed, which is why it is possible to cure coxarthrosis. The success rate is approximately 70%. What procedures take place before surgery, and how to psychologically heal yourself after surgery, we will tell in the next article.
Prevent
Many people think that joint disease in the elderly does not have to be treated completely, but if treated promptly from an early age, the disease can be completely cured. This is not the truth. Since coxarthrosis can only be cured in the case of arthroplasty, you'd better warn him in advance. This includes managing excessive stress on joints, maintaining an active lifestyle, and managing nutrition and weight. Normal sleep and rest are also important. You can go for a regular massage. Chondroprotectors should be regularly added.