Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease of cartilage tissue that can affect the joints of the vertebrae and all bones of the skeleton. The hip joint (HJ) is the largest and most load-bearing joint. Therefore, coxarthrosis (deformity of the hip) is a very common cause of disability in patients over 50 years of age.
Coxarthrosis (inflammation of the hip): symptoms
Reason
The causes of coxarthrosis are varied. This condition can lead to:
- Age-related dystrophic changes in cartilage.
- Continuous physical activity among athletes and weight-bearing over a number of years.
- Congenital malformations.
- Hip injury.
- Necrosis of the femoral head (Perthes disease).
The head of the femur, covered with elastic cartilage, is located in the pelvis of the pelvis.
There are unilateral (when the disease affects one joint) and bilateral - with damage on both hip surfaces.
Symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis
When diagnosed, the following symptoms of hip arthritis are observed:
- Cartilage thins and becomes dry.
- Thickening of the underlying bone, its growth to the sides.
- Fibrosis and capsulitis.
- The appearance of inflammatory secretions in the capsule.
- Stiff joints, the appearance of contracts.
Externally, these changes are manifested by the following symptoms:
- Joint pain that radiates to the groin, hips, and knees.
- Pain that started (morning) will go away after warm-up.
- With a limp, uncertain, limp gait.
- By shortening the leg on the painful side (the reason for this is spasticity).
- Weakness and atrophy of thigh muscles.
- Cracking sound in joints.
Stages of the disease
According to the signs and symptoms, three stages of the disease can be distinguished:
The first
- Discomfort and pain usually go away with rest.
- There are no external symptoms - lameness, stiffness, atrophy.
Such signs are not alarming to the patient, and few people pay attention to the intermittent pain, moreover accept the treatment.
But precisely in its early stages, hip osteoarthritis is still a curable disease.
Second level
- Pain symptoms become more intense and may persist even at rest.
- The functional characteristics of TBS are decreasing:
- there are restrictions on hip abduction and internal rotation
- lameness is observed
- X-ray profile:
- marginal osteoblasts;
- deformation of the head and changes in its contour;
- reduce joint space.
The third stage
- The pain becomes permanent and the most intense nocturnal pains also begin.
- The patient is forced to use a cane.
- There is a strong limitation of movement and atrophy of the glutes, thighs, and legs.
- Short legs and a limp are noticeable.
- Due to the overgrowth of osteocytes, the joint space practically disappears, fuses, and the function of the hip joint is completely lost.
It happens that the first attack occurs at a fairly young age - at the age of forty. A person is most likely to be forgetful, and remembers to be between the ages of 50 and 60, when joint deformities become severe, affecting quality of life.
Diagnose
X-ray and functional diagnosis were performed. The orthopedist not only decodes the image, but rotates and flexes the femur in all directions, studying the symptoms that occur while walking.
However, increasingly, if a patient is suspected of having coxarthrosis of the hip, leading experts in the field will turn to diagnosis by means of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The reason for this is the absolute safety and high information content of the procedure. The MRI examination allows you to identify the smallest changes of the hip in the early stages, contributing to the development of the most effective treatment strategies.
Treatment of coxarthrosis of the hip joint
Treatment is carried out according to the principle of "as soon as possible. "
Early coxarthrosis can be treated with:
- Chondroprotectors.
- Supportive physical therapy - swimming, aerobics, walking and cycling.
- Regulations on allowable physical loads on joints.
- Weight correction (downward).
- Physiotherapy treatment
- Discharge process.
- Massage sessions.
- Apply pressure on the painful area.
Painful symptoms can be relieved with NSAIDs.
The annual spa treatments are also very effective.
Intra-articular corticosteroid injections may be used to relieve pain to treat more severe pain in the later stages.
Treatment of cervical spondylosis in the late stages is very difficult because the hip joint can be completely erased. Chondroprotectors in this case are completely useless.
Any external treatment in the form of ointments and gels can relieve pain and muscle spasms, but of course, they will not affect the condition of the diseased immobile joint. Therefore, you need to rationally approach various types of advertising, making sure that, after applying ointment to the painful area, you can soon forget about the disease.
Hip replacement
The only option for complete restoration of the hip in the third stage of coxarthrosis is surgery - arthroscopic surgery (atroplasty) of the hip.
The intracellular space is represented by two components: the head and the cup.
This is not easy:
- After surgery, a long period of rehabilitation is required.
- Joint adhesions cause pain (the pain can last up to a year).
- You will have to walk for a while with the help of a walker or cane.