It is impossible to imagine that you can maintain an active and healthy lifestyle without exercise. Joints are the most important element in the musculoskeletal system, allowing people to move freely and feel full. With age, the bone and cartilage tissue will undergo malnutrition changes and pain, which indicates that the disease has begun.
The hip joint can bear a huge burden of life, so it is not surprising that the most common pathology of ODA is arthritis of the hip joint. From this article, you will understand what it is, and the causes, consequences and methods of treating arthritis.
Features and reasons
Hip arthropathy is a chronic inflammatory process of the hip joint in which the cartilage tissue is destroyed prematurely.
The development of this disease causes the growth of osteophytes and the fusion of the acetabulum and femoral head, which reduces the joint space and loses function of the joint.
Let us clarify that hip joint disease is the same as arthritis of the pelvic joint and osteoarthritis deformans.
The disease can occur as the main pathology, or it can develop in the context of existing diseases.
Let us consider the main cause of hip arthritis:
- During periods of active or excessive physical exertion (trauma, minimal trauma, overload);
- Congenital abnormalities (developmental abnormalities, Perthes disease, primary joint deformities);
- Pelvic bone inflammation (ankylosing spondylitis, rheumatoid or psoriatic arthritis);
- Severe stress (vascular and muscle spasm, aseptic necrosis, hypothermia);
- Hormonal imbalance;
- Ischemic heart disease;
- Endocrine system diseases (obesity, diabetes).
Complex health problems lead to the development of hip joint disease. In most cases, the disease is diagnosed in middle-aged and elderly people. However, in the presence of multiple predisposing factors, young people and even children are prone to arthritis.
Symptoms
In order to respond to pathological development in a timely manner, it is important to pay attention to the characteristic symptoms that change as arthritis progresses.
The first and most important symptom is leg pain, which penetrates into the groin, gluteal muscles, bones, thighs and knees. Pain will worsen after fatigue, keep standing and sitting position for a long time.
Important! At first, the pain may be small and not appear in the pelvis at all, but in the knee, for example. This fact complicates early diagnosis and correct diagnosis.
If the disease is not diagnosed in time, patients will face the following symptoms of hip arthritis:
- Severe pain in the groin when walking or resting on the leg;
- When you move your hips to one side and walk, you will feel pain, rough nch shrinkage (not to be confused with not, which is inherent to most healthy people);
- Stiff joints, restricted leg movement;
- Gait, la line, duck gait changes;
- Shorten or lengthen limbs;
- Muscle atrophy;
- The leg is fixed in one position (rigidity).
Patients with this diagnosis find it difficult to tie their shoes, sit with their legs apart and sit very deep.
The acetabulum and femoral head have 3 degree osteoarthritis, which is characterized by the gradual destruction of joints. Let us consider their functions below.
By the second stage, the destruction of cartilage tissue is significantly increased, and the first signs of the disease begin to be disturbed: pain, stiffness.
In the 3 stages, the hip joint suffered more serious damage. It is characterized by deep destruction of cartilage, bone deformation, and pain at rest. The disease completely destroys the cartilage and deforms the femur.
The joints lose mobility, and the legs are fixed and act as support. In this case, conservative treatment is powerless; joint replacement surgery is required.
Diagnosis
The diagnosis of the disease indicates how severe the cartilage is affected and whether the arthritis of the hip joint can be cured.
The success of treatment depends on when the treatment is started.
Attention. The final stage of hip arthritis does not respond to conservative treatment and requires surgical intervention. Diagnosing and treating the disease at an early stage will increase the chances of recovery.
In order to make a diagnosis, an external examination is required to assess the range of motion of the hip joint, changes in gait and leg length. In order to confirm primary arthritis, X-ray, CT and MRI examinations are required. If the patient needs surgery, extra urine, feces, blood and joint fluid are needed.
Disease treatment
Successful treatment of grade 1, grade 2 and grade 3 hip osteoarthropathy requires a comprehensive approach that must incorporate therapeutic exercise, medication, physical therapy, and lifestyle changes.
In extreme cases, patients will need surgery to treat hip joint disease. The treatment method depends on the degree of the disease.
Medicines
Patients diagnosed with osteoarthritis must first prescribe non-steroidal anti-inflammatory analgesics. They act directly on the site of inflammation and provide symptomatic treatment.
Attention! It is important to follow the dosage and course of treatment prescribed by your doctor. Abuse of NSAID can cause side effects.
In order to treat hip joint disease, vasodilators are also prescribed. They are necessary to increase blood flow to diseased joints and enhance cartilage nutrition.
Cartilage protective agent is used to restore the mobility of cartilage tissue and joints. Glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate are substances that stimulate the production of new building cells and inhibit the action of enzymes that destroy cartilage tissue.
Massage
Manual therapy or rehabilitation massage is passive gymnastics for affected joints. Through massage exercises, blood circulation and lymphatic drainage are improved, muscles are strengthened, and ligaments and tendons become more elastic. This treatment method helps to reduce pain, enhance the effectiveness of drug treatment and reduce the need for drugs.
Important! Massage can only be performed by qualified professionals. Careless actions can cause joint pain and even injury.
Physiotherapy practice
Exercise is the foundation of life. The gymnastics exercise for hip osteoarthritis aims to restore cartilage nutrition and joint mobility, and strengthen muscle corsets.
Regular remedial gymnastics will reduce leg discomfort during walking.
Gymnastics allows you to treat hip pain at home.
All actions are designed to treat and prevent the first and second stages of hip osteoarthritis.
Before starting the exercise, please make sure that there are no contraindications to the exercise:
- Hypertension;
- Crucial day;
- Infectious diseases;
- Increased body temperature;
- The recovery period after abdominal and thoracic organ surgery;
- Inguinal and umbilical hernia;
- Herniated disc;
- Acute inflammatory process of internal organs or deterioration of chronic diseases;
- Serious diseases of the cardiovascular and circulatory system.
If certain exercises are likely to cause severe pain during exercise, this is probably not suitable for you, so it is best not to do this and to exclude it from the complex.
Diet
Diet therapy for hip joint arthritis aims to reduce and maintain normal weight.
Being overweight will increase the burden on the spine and joints, thereby increasing the risk of musculoskeletal diseases.
The basis of the diet is to consume moderate amounts of foods rich in vitamins and minerals. Food should be complete and contain the necessary components of cells: protein, carbohydrate, and fat.
Plant foods should be preferred: nuts, seeds, leafy vegetables, seasonal vegetables and fruits, lean meats and fish, medium-fat fermented dairy products, beans and grains.
It is best to consume milk in moderation.
Fat, spicy, smoky, canned, fried, preserved dishes, semi-finished products, alcohol, and coffee must be excluded from the diet.
Bad habits (smoking, drug use, overeating) must also be eliminated from your lifestyle, as they wear down the body and expose it to premature aging.
How to get rid of pain through folk remedies
Homeopathy for paraarthritis of the hip is one of the alternative treatment methods. Homeopathy is based on natural ingredients to create medicines designed to treat internal organs and human bone pathologies. The uniqueness of homeopathic preparations for arthritis is that they can restore the balance between the destruction of cartilage by enzymes and the renewal of their tissues.Attention! Before treating the hip joint at home, you need to diagnose the disease first. It is important not to make the pathology worse, because it will make people lose the ability to walk.
Choose homeopathic medicines, injections and ointments for joint treatment according to the physical conditions of the environment and the location of the disease.
You must consult a doctor before using any medicine!
Prevention
People who are susceptible to this disease should avoid stress, injury, treat infectious diseases on time, exercise regularly, eat and get enough sleep.
If the leg is unwell, it is recommended to contact an orthopedic doctor for diagnosis and treatment immediately.
Conclusion
Osteoarthritis of the hip most commonly affects people over 45 years of age, athletes, and children with congenital limb disease. The disease destroys and deforms joints, causing great pain in the legs. Successful treatment of hip arthritis requires therapeutic exercise, medication, correction of the patient’s lifestyle and weight, and manual therapy.
Paying attention to health is the key to a long life together! At the first symptoms of the disease, do not delay visiting an orthopedic surgeon.