One of the most common degenerative-dystrophic diseases today is hip osteoarthritis, also known as coxarthrosis.This disease can affect one or both joints, but the processes occur gradually.In the early stages of the disease, one joint is affected, and a little later - the second joint.
Most often, patients over 40-45 years old suffer from coxarthrosis, but this disease has many causes and in principle it can occur in people of different age groups.Fortunately, in children, hip arthritis is uncommon.Congenital dysplasia of the hip leads to coxarthrosis in children.Its cause is that the bone tissue and ligaments of this joint are underdeveloped.Children born with this condition often have a dislocated hip when the head of the femur protrudes from the socket.
Description and causes of the disease
The hip joint is located between the pelvis and femur.This is why the inflammation and pathology is called hip arthritis of the sacroiliac joint.
The space between them also includes the synovial membrane and hyaline cartilage, all of which together ensure the normal functioning of the joint.All this is clearly visible in the photo of hip arthritis.
The action of hyaline cartilage is like that of a sponge.When it contracts, depending on the load on the joint, it releases the necessary amount of fluid that has a lubricating effect.After the load stops, the cartilage pores are again filled with fluid.One of the reasons for the development of a disease such as hip arthritis is a change in the properties of synovial fluid.
In addition to the action of hyaline cartilage, the cause of hip osteoarthritis can also be a slowing of metabolism in the joint, which occurs due to poor circulation.These processes lead to atrophy of the muscles surrounding the joint.These muscles, during the normal functioning of all mechanisms and processes, perform the function of protecting the joints.In case of careless movements, falls or jumps, they reduce the risk of injury.
The cause of the development of the disease can also be the consequences of injuries, inflammatory and infectious processes occurring in the body, as well as congenital dislocation of the hip joint or congenital disorders of joint development (dysplasia).
Severity and symptoms of arthritis
There are four degrees of this disease:
- Grade 1 hip arthritis. At this stage of the disease, the patient feels some discomfort, which is especially noticeable after physical exertion, as well as when going down or up stairs.Pain in the first degree of hip arthritis can occur in both the hip and knee areas.
- Hip osteoarthritis 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;When walking for a long time, there may even be a limp.The nature of the pain is pronounced, it spreads to the groin, back or knees.Joint function at this level of arthritis is impaired.
- With grade 3 hip osteoarthritis, the pain is continuous and non-stop, even at night.Patients can only move with the help of orthopedic devices (canes or crutches).Joint movement is severely limited.
- Grade 4 hip arthritis is characterized by large bone growths (visible on X-rays) and severe, ever-increasing pain.This degree of arthritis is also known as pronounced.Joint function is completely impaired, movement is limited or impossible.It can only be treated with surgery.
Symptoms of hip arthritis vary depending on the severity of the disease:
- limping, impaired leg mobility in the hip area;
- joint stiffness during movement, both after exercise and at rest;
- thigh muscle atrophy and shortening of the affected limb.
The main symptom that makes you see a doctor is pain.Here, timely arrival to the hospital plays a special role, since most patients have complaints during the active development of the disease of the second or even third degree.You should not wait until the pain becomes pronounced, as this causes many irreversible processes that can occur in your body.
Diagnosis of disease
This disease requires combined diagnosis.At the first stage, the doctor talks with the patient, identifying pain complaints and other factors causing anxiety.Then the patient is examined to determine gait disorders, differences in the length of the healthy and diseased limbs, as well as pain that occurs during palpation.In addition, the sensitivity of the affected areas is examined for relief and a process is carried out to determine the function of neighboring joints.At this stage of diagnosis, the doctor can make a hypothetical diagnosis: hip arthritis at one stage or another.
After the conversation and examination, it's time for laboratory and instrument research:
- First of all, the patient is sent for an X-ray.Plain and axial radiographs give the doctor the opportunity to see a nearly complete picture of the disease.
- If X-rays are inadequate, the patient will be sent for an MRI or CT scan.
- The essence of laboratory research is both a blood test to determine inflammatory processes in the body and the collection of joint fluid through a puncture.Using the latter, you can observe whether the composition of a given fluid changes, since these changes are often responsible for the development of coxarthrosis.
Treatment of hip arthritis
Treatment of coxarthrosis should be combined as well as diagnosis of the disease.It is believed that the only sure way to get rid of hip arthritis is surgery.But often, for some personal reasons, such as general health or advanced age, surgery may be extremely undesirable or impossible.In this case, coxarthrosis should be treated in other ways.Here everything depends not only on the patient's condition, but also on the stage of the disease.
Grade one arthritis can be completely cured without surgery.Of course, this treatment is very complicated and requires a lot of effort that the patient must make to recover.Some procedures performed for hip arthritis include:
- drug treatment to reduce inflammation, relieve pain and improve metabolism in the joint area;
- Patients must regularly perform special exercises prescribed by the doctor;
- Diet for grade 1 hip arthritis also plays an important role, because blood circulation and metabolism in the body and the hip joint area in particular depend on proper nutrition.
In the second degree of the disease, we cannot talk about complete recovery, because the bones are already deformed, however, with the help of certain procedures, it is possible to postpone the operation for a longer period or avoid it altogether.In addition to medical treatment using the same pain relievers and anti-inflammatory drugs, exercise and a special diet, grade 2 hip osteoarthritis requires hospital treatment 1-2 times a year.
The third stage of joint disease requires surgery.Joint tissues are seriously impaired, the deformation in the joint area is irreversible, and perhaps there is no other way out.However, there are especially persistent patients who, with the help of incredible efforts and their own constant efforts, have achieved significant improvements without the need for surgical intervention.
Diet and folk remedies in the treatment of coxarthrosis
As mentioned above, an important part of treating hip arthritis is diet.The diet of patients with coxarthrosis must be balanced and include all the necessary trace elements.The basis of any tissue in the human body is protein, so you need to eat milk and legumes, as well as jelly and jelly meat that is not too fatty.It is necessary to take into account the fact that the goal of the diet, in addition to saturating the body with essential trace elements, is weight loss.This is necessary to reduce the load on the joints.Based on this, you should reduce your consumption of fatty, salty and other high-calorie foods.
Treating hip arthritis with folk remedies can relieve pain and alleviate some of the adverse processes associated with this disease.However, any traditional medicine recipes must be approved by your doctor before use and should only be used with your doctor's approval.Here are some methods used for coxarthrosis:
- Use a knife to cut cabbage leaves, spread a little honey and apply it to the painful joint overnight, wrap it in cellophane and wool bandage.
- Rub the joints with tincture of celandine in olive oil.To prepare, pour 7-8 spoons of stems with a liter of oil and leave for two weeks.
- Mix aloe vera juice with eucalyptus and mint leaves and apply this ingredient to painful joints several times a day.
- Treatment of hip arthritis with salt is also popular, as dry heat has a good effect on eliminating inflammation and pain.Pour salt previously heated in a frying pan or in the oven into a thick cloth bag and apply it to the painful area.