The bones of the pelvic girdle form a kind of bowl that protects and supports the organs of the lower abdomen. The skeleton of the pelvic girdle is much larger, more massive and stronger than the shoulder, since it has to withstand a large load.
Hip joints experience tremendous stress, especially if a person is overweight. Therefore, it is so important to know how to provide maximum protection for the hip joint and maintain its mobility for many years.
How do hip joints work?
With the help of a pelvis, the legs of a person are connected to the body. Hip joints are paired. Each of them connects two mobile bones - the femoral and pelvic. The pelvic bone, the anatomy of which is formed by fused flat bones, serves as a support for the spine and internal organs. The hip joint has a spherical type, thus providing mobility of the leg in any direction, as well as its flexion and extension.
Detailed pelvic anatomy
The strongest and longest in the human body is the femur. At the upper end, it bends inward, forming a narrow neck bearing a spherical head. The head itself is covered with articular cartilage and placed in a cup-shaped acetabulum on the lateral surface of the pelvic bone. The depression increases due to the cartilaginous ring along its edge - the acetabulum, which covers the femoral head.
Outside, the joint is surrounded by a capsule of fibrous connective tissue lined with a synovial membrane from the inside. This membrane in the form of a thin mucous membrane provides nutrition and lubrication for cartilage, secreting synovial fluid. The capsule itself is strengthened by the ligaments between the femur and pelvic bones. Together they firmly hold the femoral head in the acetabulum.
The femoral head is the spherical end of the femur, located in the deep articular cavity of the pelvis. Dislocation in this place is extremely rare, but the problem is in the thin neck of the thigh, which often breaks with injuries or with thinning and fragility of bone tissue. This often happens in old age.
Pelvic bones
The base of the pelvis is the sacrum, tailbone and pelvic bones. Together with the joints of the lower extremities, they form a bone ring. Inside his cavity are the internal organs. The pelvic bone, the anatomy of which includes three more bones (sciatic, pubic and iliac), up to 18 years old has a cartilaginous joint. Later, ossification occurs, and the three bones indicated above are fused.
The lower part of the pelvis forms the sciatic and pubic pelvic bone. Anatomy shows their connection in the form of a loop.
The ilium is wide and pterygoid. It forms the upper part of the hip joint and is easily felt just below the person’s waist. At the junction of all three bones is the acetabulum. This is what the normal anatomy of the pelvic bone looks like.
Pelvic loads
It has been known since antiquity that the greatest loads are on the bones of the pelvis. The detailed anatomy of the pelvis confirms this with rapid "wear" of the hip joints. Pressure on them often exceeds the weight of the human body itself. And it happens every day: when walking, running, and even during a simple standing. This is the natural human anatomy.
The pelvic bone, depending on the position of the body, may experience various weight loads. For example, when walking at a speed of 1 km / h, the load on each hip joint is approximately 280% of body weight, at a speed of 4 km / h, the load increases to 480%, and when jogging is 550%. When a person stumbles, the load on the joint increases to 870% of body weight.
Women have a wider pelvic bone. Anatomy is slightly different from male. Therefore, the range of vibrations when walking is stronger, hence the wagging of the hips is more noticeable. The female pelvis is on average wider, but lower than the male. It has a much larger lower part, as provided by nature, because through it the baby moves during childbirth.
With normal walking, there is a load on each hip joint exceeding 2-3 times the body weight. When climbing stairs, it exceeds the body weight by 4-6 times.
Pelvic bone health
One of the basic conditions for the health of the pelvic bones is maintaining normal body weight. With each extra kilogram of body weight, the load on both hip joints increases by 2 kg when walking, by 5 kg when lifting and by 10 kg when running and jumping. And the extra load is the daily wear of the articular cartilage and the risk of osteoarthritis. Having lost weight, a person protects the joint from premature wear.
For diseases of the hip joint, regular light loads in the form of walking or an exercise bike are useful, as they help maintain mobility. If you walk too painfully, swimming will provide a good load. In this case, the body weight does not press on the sore joint. After the fracture, as soon as the doctor permits, it is also necessary to give a gradual load to the pelvic bones to restore strength and flexibility.
Bone strength, including the pelvic, as you know, decreases with age, especially in women during menopause. The main preventive measure is to preserve bone strength by eating calcium-rich foods. Most calcium is found in fatty dairy products, legumes, fish, green vegetables, nuts and fruits.