Arthritis is a degenerative disease of cartilage tissue that can affect the vertebral joints and all bones of the skeleton.The hip joint (HJ) is the largest joint and experiences the most stress.Therefore, coxarthrosis (joint deformity in the hip joint) is a very common cause of disability in patients over 50 years old.
Coxarthrosis (hip arthritis): symptoms
Reason
The causes of coxarthrosis are diverse.This pathology can lead to:
- Age-related dystrophic changes in cartilage.
- Continuous physical activity of athletes and heavy lifting for many years.
- Congenital dysplasia.
- TJ's injury.
- Femoral head necrosis (Perthes disease).
The head of the femur is covered with elastic cartilage, located in the acetabulum of the pelvis.
There is unilateral damage (when the disease affects one joint) and bilateral damage - when both hip joint surfaces are affected.
Symptoms of hip arthritis
When diagnosed, the following symptoms of hip arthropathy are observed:
- The cartilage layer thins, it becomes dry and rough.
- The bones underneath thicken and grow to the sides.
- Fibrosis and capsulitis.
- The appearance of inflammatory exudate in the capsule.
- Joint stiffness and contractures appear.
Externally, these changes are manifested by the following symptoms:
- Joint pain, spreading to the groin, hips and knees.
- Initial (morning) pain symptoms disappear after warming up.
- A limp, stiff, uncertain gait.
- By shortening the leg on the affected side (caused by contracture).
- Femoral muscle weakness and atrophy.
- A crunching sound in the joint.
Stages of the disease
Based on signs and symptoms, three stages of the disease can be distinguished:
Firstly
- Discomfort and pain, often relieved by rest.
- The absence of external symptoms - lameness, stiffness, atrophy.
Such signs do not particularly worry patients, and few people pay attention to episodic pain, let alone begin to treat it.
But precisely in the early stages, hip osteoarthritis is still a curable disease.
Second degree
- Pain symptoms become more intense and may persist even at rest.
- Functional characteristics of the hip joint decrease:
- Limited hip abduction and internal rotation are present
- Lameness is observed
- X-rays show:
- marginal osteophytes;
- head deformation and change in its contour;
- reduced joint space.
Third stage
- The pain became constant and the worst pain at night also began.
- The patient is forced to rely on a cane.
- There is marked limitation of movement and atrophy of the gluteal, thigh and calf muscles.
- There is noticeable shortening of the legs and lameness.
- Due to the overgrowth of bone spurs, the joint space almost disappears, fusion and complete loss of function of the hip joint occur.
It happens that the first attack occurs at a fairly young age - in the early forties.A person is most likely to forget about it and remember it at the age of 50-60, when deformities in the joints become significant, affecting the quality of life.
Diagnose
X-rays and functional diagnostics are performed.Orthopedists not only decode images, but also rotate and bend the femur in all directions and study the symptoms that arise when walking.
Increasingly, however, if a patient is suspected of having hip coxarthrosis, leading experts will turn to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for diagnosis.The explanation for this is the absolute safety and high information content of the process.MRI examination helps detect the smallest changes in the hip joint at an early stage, contributing to the development of the most effective treatment tactics.
Treatment of coxarthrosis of the hip joint
Treatment is carried out according to the principle “as soon as possible”.
Early coxarthrosis can be treated with:
- Chondroprotectors.
- Light physical therapy - swimming, aerobics, walking and cycling.
- Regulates the permissible physical load on the joint.
- Adjust the weight (downwards).
- Physical therapy treatment
- Mining procedures.
- Massage session.
- Compress the painful area.
Pain symptoms may be relieved by using NSAIDs.
Annual nursing treatment is also very effective.
Pain-relieving intra-articular corticosteroid injections can be used to treat more severe pain in the later stages.
Treatment of late-stage coxarthrosis is very difficult due to the complete obliteration of the hip joint.Chondroprotectors in this case are completely useless.
All kinds of external remedies in the form of ointments and gels can relieve muscle spasms and pain, but of course will not affect the condition of the diseased immobile joint.Therefore, you need to have a rational approach to all kinds of advertising, which ensures that by applying ointment to the sore spot, you can soon forget about the disease.
Hip replacement
The only option for complete recovery of the hip joint in the third stage of coxarthrosis is surgery - arthroplasty (atroplasty) of the hip joint.
The endoscope consists of two components: the tip and the cup.
This operation is not easy:
- After surgery, there is a long recovery period.
- Joint healing is very painful (pain can last for a year).
- You will have to walk for a while with the help of a walker or use a cane for support.