Osteoarthritis of the thigh joint is the general name of a group of diseases, which includes all diseases of the degenerative system of the hip joint, which destroy 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, despite 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 x-ray. This indicates the optimal condition of the cartilage that covers the thigh, being at the same time a sign of the absence of osteoarthritis. If the distance is not visible, the cartilage is damaged, which means that there is every reason to assume the presence of the disease described above. This form of osteoarthritis is not genetic, that is, as a rule, it is not inherited. However, factors such as cartilage weakness, bone fragility, metabolic disorders can be passed down from generation to generation and can promote the development of osteoarthritis.
However, the main causes of this disease are various diseases of an infectious, traumatological nature. For example:
- Hip displacement, hip dysplasia are congenital diseases most often diagnosed in early childhood using ultrasound diagnosis. It is very important that this pathology, which is present in ten percent of newborns, be identified as soon as possible, because the correction of dysplasia is possible only in the first two years of the child's life.
- Infectious and chronic inflammatory diseases such as hip tuberculosis. 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 a radiograph sometimes helps to identify tuberculosis only at an advanced stage, when a complete cure is no longer possible. All this is exacerbated by the fact that in the country there is a lack of close specialists who can diagnose and treat this disease correctly.
- Metabolic and thyroid disorders, 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 thigh joint.
Symptoms
Osteoarthritis is an extremely dangerous disease, as at first it can be completely asymptomatic. Often, just by a lucky chance, an x-ray examination reveals the presence of this disease in a patient who did not find a single sign in itself.
Osteoarthritis of the hip joint can be first, second or third degree, depending on the severity of the disease. First-degree osteoarthritis is characterized by pain only during physical exercise, for example, while 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 second-degree disease, the pain intensifies, radiates to the groin, and may even be present at rest, lameness may appear. The third degree is more severe, when the patient can not move independently without assistance, the pain is permanent. A person is forced to bend to one side when walking due to leg amputation.
Diagnosing
During diagnosis, it is important to make an accurate medical history. In this case, first of all, attention is drawn to the nature and duration of pain, the location of pain points, atrophy of muscles and nerve endings, the characteristics of the patient's gait and the state of blood circulation in the limbs.
With all this, X-ray examination is crucial in diagnosing osteoarthritis of the thigh joint, however additional examinations may be needed such as: MRI of the thigh, puncture of 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 the pain, or at least reduce it to a level tolerable by the patient. NSAIDs are used for this, which not only fight pain but also relieve inflammation.
Then drugs are prescribed that provide nutrition to the cartilage tissue, which are able to restore it, but only in the early stages of the disease. Hormone injections are also prescribed if necessary. However, only a doctor can prescribe all of the above medications!
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 require a lot of time as well as patient funds, while they are not the determining method of treatment.
However, with grade 3 osteoarthritis, doctors usually insist on surgical intervention, while replacing the destroyed joint with a prosthesis.
Popular methods for treating osteoarthritis
Traditional medicine also does not stand aside from treating a serious illness. For these purposes are used various ointments and compresses prepared from the leaves of birch, burdock, cabbage. They are hit in the groin, and then tied to the site of pain.
A mixture of honey, alcohol, iodine and glycerin is used as a compress. Traditional medicine confirms the effectiveness of nettle decoction baths. Also, treatment with bee stings has become very popular to get rid of the disease. Tinctures with honey, carrots, beets, radishes and aloe juice should be poured with vodka and injected for a week, after which the solution can be drunk once a day, 20 grams each.
Prevention of coxarthrosis
As a rule, preventive measures include strict weight control (as excess weight exerts a lot of stress on the hip joints), accurate distribution of physical activity so as not to overload the joints and timely contact, in the slightest doubt, witha 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.