Joint problems can occur regardless of a person’s age. Often, skeletal diseases develop even in children. Moreover, the apparent causes are sometimes difficult to establish. For example, synovitis of the hip joint is a complex inflammatory pathology that can cause serious consequences.
What is a disease?
This disease is characterized by the appearance of inflammation in the synovial membrane of the hip joint. In most cases, the pathology requires thorough treatment, since it is fraught with complications that can immobilize a person and even lead to blood poisoning.
Hip joint synovitis can be triggered by completely different factors. The type of therapy that will be prescribed by the doctor often depends on finding out the causes of the development of inflammation.
Causes of the disease
Such factors can provoke synovitis of the hip joint:
- Severe injury to articulation due to fall or impact.
- Neurological or hormonal disorders.
- Severe allergic reaction.
- Dystrophic or degenerative joint damage.
- Joint instability.
- Infection.
- Inflammation of the nerves.
Varieties of pathology
Hip joint synovitis can be classified as follows:
- Reactive. It arises as a result of a response to a certain stimulus or pathological process that occurs in the body. Most often, it is the result of a severe allergy.
- Transient. Most often, it develops in children under 15 years of age. The cause of this pathology is usually considered an infectious or viral disease. Another factor may be too much physical activity on the joint.
- Traumatic synovitis. Based on the name, we can say that this type of disease develops due to traumatic or mechanical damage to the joint.
- Infectious. Appears due to the action of pathological microorganisms on the synovial membrane. In this case, the effect can be made through lymph, blood or directly.
Synovitis can also be acute or chronic. They differ in the intensity and completeness of the symptoms. By the features of the course, serous, purulent, hemorrhagic and mixed synovitis can also be distinguished. Correct diagnosis of pathology will make it possible to prescribe adequate treatment.
Symptoms of an acute form of pathology
It all depends on the form and nature of the development of the disease. The most informative are echographic signs. They provide enough information for diagnosis and treatment. Echographic signs can be determined using ultrasound. For example, this study will help to identify changes in the shape of the joint (its increase).
The patient himself observes the following symptoms of the disease:
- Moderate pain, which may become stronger during a change in body position or palpation.
- Swelling of the joint.
- A slight change in the shape of the joint.
- The inability to move the legs to the side and some restriction in movement.
- Accumulation of fluid in the joint.
These signs are inherent in the non-infectious form of the disease. If the pathological process has an infectious nature, then it can manifest itself as follows:
- A more pronounced sensation of pain.
- Puffiness.
- Skin redness.
- Local or general fever.
- Severe lameness.
- Limited movement.
- General weakness.
- Symptoms of general intoxication of the body.
Symptoms of a chronic form of pathology
If synovitis has already passed into a chronic form, then the patient has the following symptoms:
- Aching pain of low intensity, which is present almost constantly.
- Swelling, growing very slowly.
- Possible dislocation of the joint due to its instability.
- Isolation of exudate (in some of the most difficult cases).
Diagnostic features and possible complications
To make the correct diagnosis, the patient should consult an orthopedic specialist. You may also need to consult a surgeon and a traumatologist. The doctor should conduct such studies:
- Visual inspection. Palpation will make it possible to determine the most painful area, the degree of joint enlargement.
- Ultrasound This procedure will help to see the joint from the inside. That is, the study makes it possible to determine echographic signs.
- Roentgenography. It is not always used, as it is less informative than the previous method. Most often, an x-ray is prescribed in case of injury to detect violations in the structure of the joint.
It should be noted that synovitis, the symptoms of which we have already examined, can give serious complications. For example, with inadequate treatment, it becomes chronic and periodically makes itself felt. Also, the presented pathology provokes the development of purulent arthritis.
Features of traditional and alternative treatment
If you have joint synovitis, treatment should be comprehensive. It provides for the elimination of symptoms and the inflammatory process itself. In addition, the patient should take multivitamins to strengthen immunity. If the patient rises in temperature, then he can take an antipyretic.
In general, the treatment regimen provides for the implementation of such measures:
- Immobilization of the joint with a splint and pressure bandage. It is superimposed for a week.
- Articulation puncture, in which an exudate is removed from its cavity. Then he goes to histological and other examinations.
- Therapy with medications: "Voltaren", "Ibuprofen", "Movalis".
- If a relapse occurs, then the following drugs can be used: Brufen, Indomethacin, glucocorticosteroids.
- A chronic form of pathology requires the use of enzyme inhibitors that are injected.
- Physiotherapy. To eliminate symptoms and effectively fight inflammation, phonophoresis, manual therapy, and therapeutic exercises are used.
You can also use traditional medicine:
- Take a glass of rye beans and pour them with 2 liters of water. Put the mixture on the fire and boil for half an hour. Fire should be slow. Next, cool the resulting broth and strain it. After that, add to it half a liter of vodka, 1 kg of honey, as well as 5 large spoons of chopped barberry root. The product should be infused for at least 14 days. After that, you can take it 2-3 tablespoons before meals.
- Laurel oil is considered very useful. To prepare it, you will need several crushed bay leaves, which you need to pour with linseed or olive oil. Next, you need to insist the product in a dark place for about 2 weeks. Subsequently, the substance is used for rubbing into the affected joint.
Surgical treatment of the disease
If conservative therapy does not help, surgery may be required. A very high load is placed on the hip joint, so a person cannot lead a normal life if he does not function as expected. Naturally, the surgical path is extreme. In the most difficult situations, an endoprosthesis of the hip joint is established.
This operation is very complex and requires high-tech equipment. Before it is carried out, the patient’s medical history is carefully studied and examined. Which hip joint implant will be installed is decided by the orthopedic surgeon.
Intervention lasts 2-3 hours. To begin with, the surgeon must make his way to the damaged joint, while muscles and tissues get minimal injury (if you use modern equipment). Damaged bones and cartilage are removed. The joint is prepared for the installation of the prosthesis.
Then, in fact, the installation of the structure is carried out, which can be ceramic, plastic, metal or combined. After installing the prosthesis, it is adjustable. The operation (a fixing splint is applied to the hip joint) helps to fully resume the functionality of the joint after a rehabilitation course.
Pathology Prevention
To prevent the problem from overtaking you, follow these warning measures:
- Try to eat balanced and take complex multivitamins.
- Avoid injury to your hip.
- At the first sign of a problem, try to see a doctor right away.
That's all the features of the disease. Be healthy!