Coxarthrosis of the hip is a chronic pathological process in which the integral structure of the joint tissues changes due to impaired metabolism. With coxarthrosis, what happens in the body? For coxarthrosis of the hip type, dystrophic, degenerative processes are characteristic, which affects people of middle age and old age.
What is it about?
For rheumatoid arthritis of the joints, a long course is characteristic, it is difficult to immediately diagnose changes in coxarthrosis. What is coxarthrosis? Pathological processes, even if based on the name of the pathology (coxarthrosis), at first affect the cartilage, and with the progression of this disease of the hip joint, destructive changes occupy the articular structures.
Osteoarthritis of the hip disrupts the function of the joints, when compared with other pathological processes, degenerative deformation of the hip (also called hip osteoarthritis) is observed more often, as a rule, manifests itself after the age of forty. Diseases of the hip joint in women are less common than diseases of the hip in men.
About the reason
With coxarthrosis, the causes of which are of different origin, the following are more often expressed:
- Impaired blood flow in the affected joint tissue area. Due to various root causes, the vascular system malfunctions, the flow through the venous vessels is impaired, and the blood does not circulate well to the vascular tissues. All the changes that occur in this disease lead to the accumulation of organic compounds characteristic of metabolism. Such enzymatic compounds have a destructive effect on cartilage tissue.
- Psychological trauma. The most common causes of coxarthrosis in the hip joint type are minor and insidious injuries over a long period of time with thinning, damage to cartilage tissue, and formation of post-traumatic coxarthrosis.
- Dysplastic coxarthrosis of the hip can be caused by overactivity of the joints. Degenerative processes develop, joint tissues are deformed due to hard labor.
- The disease can manifest itself because the patient is overweight. Overloaded joints cause inflammation and in the future it is at risk of deformity.
- With an exacerbation of heredity, joint deformities of the hip are also manifested. The disease itself is not hereditary, and specific properties and components of cartilage and bone structures are transmissible. Many cases of hip coxarthrosis, along with this cause, have a greater influence than other factors.
- Endocrine dysfunction. Constantly changing concentrations of hormonal compounds affect metabolism, lead to inflammatory changes in the joints, development of coxarthrosis deformities.
- A person does not like physical activity, is inactive, due to which DOA of the hip develops, sacral necrosis.
- Other pathological processes (necrotic changes in the femoral head, severe infectious diseases). If unprofessional medical measures are taken, many pathologies will lead to the patient also having a complex form of degenerative hip deformity.
- Genetic pathological changes (dysplasia, congenital hip dislocation) contribute to DOA expression of the hip.
That is why this pathological process occurs.
About the symptoms
Symptoms of coxarthrosis of the hip joint type are characterized by slight differences at different stages of the pathological process. But there are signs of fibromyalgia, which is a defining sign of the early stages of fibromyalgia.
If they are detected in time, then the treatment of coxarthrosis will be more successful.
But often patients with the type of hip joint affected and the symptoms of the disease go to the doctor at a later stage in the development of signs of coxarthrosis, which greatly reduces the chances of successful treatment of coxarthrosis.
General symptoms include the following:
- Severe pain is the main symptom of hip disease. At the initial stage, pain is manifested during human motor activity. With the progression of the destruction of the hip joint, pain symptoms appear continuously, the patient also feels pain in the sacrum.
- With degenerative hip disease, other symptoms are manifested by the patient being restricted in movement and constrained. In the early stages of coxarthrosis, these symptoms can be observed after the patient wakes up or after hard work.
- Change the length of the lower extremities. When there are these symptoms, it means that the hip joint has been affected for a long time, along with deforming changes affecting the pelvic area.
- Atrophic changes are the hallmark of this disease. The early stage is characterized by mild muscle weakness.
- The patient's limp, abnormal walking, this shows the change and deformation of the bone structures.
- In the joint tissues, it creaks, which signals pathological changes.
About the level of disease
Coxarthrosis has four stages of development:
- The initial stage is characterized by a mild course of the pathological process. The patient did not suspect for a long time that he had coxarthrosis. Therefore, if the disease is not treated promptly, the disease will get worse and worse. At this stage, the pathology can periodically damage and groan in damaged joint tissues after a long period of physical overload. This process can be one or two sided. The patient may limp, the muscles are in a state of hypertonicity, they are resistant to deformities. Soreness disappears as soon as a person stops being too physically active, the attacks appear cyclical. Osteoporosis of the sacrum can sometimes become more severe. X-rays will show mild narrowing of the joint cavity.
- At the next stage of the progression of the pathology, the joint tissues gradually collapse, undergoing significant destructive changes. Symptoms intensify, pain radiates to the hip area, possibly below the pubic bone, in the knee. In a patient with hip problems, osteonecrosis may also be aggravated. Soreness not only occurs after physical work, but is also observed in a calm state. If no treatment measures are taken, the patient will have a limp, the spine will be overloaded. Symptoms of osteosarcoma are pain, stiffness in the spine in the morning. The femoral muscle fibers lengthen, the abduction weakens. The process of bone necrosis progressed.
- In the third degree of the pathological process, the cartilage tissue is almost completely destroyed. An X-ray will show the opening of the joint in the form of a thread. The joint will be severely deformed. Osteonecrosis will always be more severe. Patients will not be able to do without pain medication. Without the emphasis on the cane, the patient would not be able to move. In damaged joint tissue, edematous and atrophic changes will occur.
- In the final stage of the disease, genital warts cannot be cured without the use of surgical methods. The bony structure of the articular tissues of the hip region is completely fused, constant pain, sharp edematous changes are observed, osteonecrosis of the sacral region is also aggravated.
Introduction to diagnostics
For the proper treatment of osteoarthritis of the hip, you should consult a doctor who treats osteoarthritis of the hip. He will make an appointment to go through the diagnostic measures. The diagnosis of coxarthrosis is:
- Collecting medical history data, the medical history is filled in by the doctor, he takes into account all the symptoms. It also indicates the presence or absence of genetic burden or impact on trauma. The doctor examines the problem area, performing a series of functional tests.
- A general blood and biochemical test is performed. If the erythrocyte sedimentation rate is increased by more than 29-31 mm/h, inflammation is present. Blood biochemistry will show markers of the inflammatory process (types of C-reactive proteins, globulins, immunoglobulin compounds, seroglycoids). This study will help distinguish this pathology from other pathological processes.
- An X-ray examination is used, which will show the growth of bone cells, the extent of narrowing of the joint space, the way the cartilage tissue forms, and the compaction of the bony structures under the cartilage tissue. But soft tissue structures cannot be detected using X-rays.
- Computerized examination and magnetic tomography were used. With these methods, you can see the degree of influence of the joint structure of a certain region and adjacent tissues, and at the same time you can find out the root cause of the pathological process.
About treatment
How is hip coxarthrosis treated, what doctor treats coxarthrosis, how is it treated? In the treatment of hip deformity of the joint type, drugs or surgical methods are used. If the patient has osteoarthritis, the treatment will be long, including many stages, symptoms and treatment depend on each other.
Effective treatment of hip osteoarthritis is in the shortest possible time with treatment measures right from this diagnosis. If the patient has advanced coxarthrosis, treatment should be carried out by a doctor in the field of orthopedics.
But when the patient suspects that the hip joint is dry, because after running 8-9 km and feeling pain in the groin area, this case should contact a specialist in joint replacement therapy. This is the doctor who treats hip arthritis and the doctor who treats these pathological processes.
About medicine
With coxarthrosis of the hip joint type, drug therapy is aimed at:
- Eliminate pain.
- Restores tissue nutrition.
- Activate regeneration processes.
- Improve blood flow.
- Reduce pressure on damaged areas.
- An increase in the size of the common space.
How to treat different types of hip joints, how to reduce pain? Treatment of hip arthritis is carried out with drugs:
- Non-steroidal drugs reduce the inflammatory process. Apply injections, tablets. They relieve pain.
- Chondroprotective agents. They use injections. These drugs provide nutrition to the affected tissue structures, they stop the destructive processes, the joints will function normally.
- Muscle relaxants. These funds will relieve muscle spasms, improve microcirculation processes.
- Ointments, creams, lotions for healing. Using this group of drugs externally, the painful area is stimulated, microcirculation improves, spasms stop.
- To treat the hip joint, steroid injections are used. These injections relieve the exacerbation, eliminate severe pain.
- Vasodilators are used. These drugs dilate the vascular tissues, dilate their smooth muscle fibers, improve blood circulation in the joints, relieve spasms.
What treatments for coxarthrosis exist, how are they treated? Kinesiology tape is used. Kinetic measuring tapes have long been used in sports medicine. The bandage is a special kind of cotton patch, hypoallergenic and elastic. If it is glued to the skin, then:
- Microcirculation processes are enhanced, lymphatic flow and drainage effect is created.
- Muscle function is normalized.
- Pain lessens or disappears completely.
- Joint surfaces or ligaments are carefully immobilized.
Kinesio tape has the following advantages:
- The effect lasts as long as the application is applied.
- Efficiency increases with physical activity.
- Does not cause discomfort.
- The composition does not contain any drugs.
For the type of hip joint, how to treat, how to apply medicine? Hair will interfere with the gluing process, so the skin is cleaned and disinfected. Take 4 rolls of tape, the length of the strips from 15 to 20 cm, which are applied to the patient lying in a supine position, so that the joint surfaces are on the upper side and the lower extremities are bent at the knee.
The scheme is very simple:
- The tape bases (about 4 cm on both sides) are glued, but not stretched, the main part is stretched as much as possible.
- The first strip is glued in an upright position so that the central area of the tape rests on the affected joint.
- Another strip is glued in a position perpendicular to the previous strip, stretched as far as possible.
- The next 2 tapes are glued diagonally, stretching as much as possible.
- After gluing, the tape is rubbed so that it is better fixed.
The surgical method is performed at the extreme stage of the pathological process, when the joint ceases to function.
As a rule, the joint is restored, the following manipulations are performed:
- The femoral head was severed, and a pin was inserted inside. A titanium analogue of the femoral head is attached to it.
- Parts of the pelvis were excised, and a special polymer bed was attached to connect it to the artificial head.
With successful operation, the joint is properly maintained, then it can function for about two decades.
About prevention
To prevent coxarthrosis of the hip type, the root causes of the pathological process should be prevented and eliminated in time. Prevention of coxarthrosis lies in the fact that the pathology should be diagnosed in a timely manner. To prevent coxarthrosis changes, patients should:
- Swim.
- Perform physical therapy.
- Arrange a ski hike using sticks.
- Sometimes treated in sanatoriums.
- Learn to massage yourself.
- Apply special massage techniques.
- Control body weight.
- Regular use of chondroprotective agents.
- Don't get cold.
- Avoid injury.
- You should eat in moderation so that vitamins are in the food in the necessary amount, excluding foods that are too fatty, salty and also have many preservatives. You should eat lean fish, meat, dairy products, buckwheat, lentils, vegetables and natural fruits. Collagen protein is required, found in jelly meat, fish jelly, fruit jelly. Sugar is replaced with honey.
If a person is physically active, then the following treatments will give maximum results:
- The joint will function normally.
- Muscle tissues will be strengthened.
- The blood flow of the joint structure and the area around it will improve.
- Lower back pain will go away.
- There will be no complications.
It is worth remembering that timely diagnostic measures allow you to start treatment earlier, the progression of the pathology will stop. There will be no complications. Therefore, it is better not to delay treatment, and if symptoms appear, it is better to immediately consult a doctor.