Osteoarthrosis of the hip joint (coxarthrosis) is a disease that leads to the destruction of the cartilage tissue of the joints and their deformation. Despite the fact that modern medicine has stepped far forward, there is still no way to completely recover from this disease. However, there are methods by which you can significantly improve your health and prevent further destruction of the joints. It all depends on how early the disease was discovered and when its treatment began.
Some statistics
Among other joint diseases, deforming osteoarthritis (DOA) is very common. It can be called the most common disease of large joints. From 20 to 40% (the figure depends on the region) the inhabitants of our planet suffer from the symptoms of this ailment. Female representatives are affected by osteoarthrosis twice as often as men. With reaching a certain age, the number of cases is compared. The disease can also occur in very young people, but in the elderly it is much more common. For example, almost half of people who have reached the age of 50 have signs of osteoarthritis of the hip joint, and at 70 years old, the disease is diagnosed in 80-90% of patients.
The disease most often affects large joints. Almost 43% of all cases are DOA of the hip joint, 34% of the knee and 22% of the shoulder joint. All other joints account for only 12%.
Characteristic symptoms
Symptoms of coxarthrosis depend on what stage the disease is at. The individual characteristics of each person and the severity of the course of the disease should also be considered. But in any case, the ailment begins with a slight pain in the hip joint, which becomes stronger over time, then a restriction in movement joins. This significantly affects the quality of life of a sick person.
The main symptoms of the disease:
- pain in the thigh and groin;
- while moving in a sore joint, a crunch may be heard;
- pain when walking (especially difficult to take the first steps), when getting up from a bed or from a chair;
- atrophy of the thigh muscles is observed, the person limps when walking;
- limitation of mobility of a diseased joint.
As a rule, pain intensifies during physical exertion.
Causes of coxarthrosis
The disease has two forms: primary and secondary.
For what reason arthrosis of the primary form develops - not established. It is more common in older people (after 50-60 years). Its characteristic feature is a symmetrical lesion of both hip joints. It is impossible to completely cure the disease.
The cause of secondary DOA is the presence of other diseases. Usually the disease affects the joints of young people. The disease develops slowly and only on one joint. If a person immediately consulted a doctor and treatment was started on time, then coxarthrosis in this case has a favorable outcome.
The causes of osteoarthritis of the hip joint may be as follows.
Joint injuries and microtraumas
According to statistics, approximately 30% of cases of coxarthrosis are associated with some kind of trauma, and not necessarily very severe. A person can stumble, tuck a leg and not even pay attention to it. But, with a combination of adverse circumstances, this can lead to the development of arthrosis. Especially dangerous when injuries are often repeated. This applies to people who have traumatic professions, and athletes.
Patients often have DOA, resulting from injuries sustained in a car accident. Injuries can be very severe, with complex bone fractures and fragmentation of the joints. They cause severe arthrosis. Moreover, if a person is young, then usually after treatment the joints and bones are restored. In a completely different picture - in the elderly, post-traumatic coxarthrosis in them is treated very hard.
Overload on joints
Some people believe that if you constantly load the joints, it will certainly lead to the early development of arthrosis. But this is not entirely true. If a person has completely healthy joints, then excessive loads very rarely become the cause of the disease. Therefore, the athlete who has never had injuries, or a person who has worked successfully for many years in hard physical work, does not face arthrosis. But this can happen if there are other prerequisites for the disease.
It is very dangerous to load a joint that has been injured and has not yet fully recovered. Large loads on defective joints that have birth defects or genetically underdeveloped cartilage can also result in deforming arthrosis of the hip joint. Do not overload joints that have recently suffered arthritis. This also applies to people in old age, as their joints are already undergoing age-related changes and can not tolerate heavy loads.
Physical loads on joints that already have an initial stage of arthrosis are especially bad. Further rapid progression of the disease and destruction of the joint can even cause long-distance walking or running.
From this we can conclude that excessive loads are harmful to joints with damage and defects.
Congenital malformations and heredity
Specialists came to the conclusion that coxarthrosis is not inherited by itself. But genetically transmitted structural features of the cartilage tissue, metabolism, and more, which can further provoke the onset of the disease. Therefore, if parents suffer from coxarthrosis, then children have a chance to get this disease.
If the child was born with underdeveloped joints, then this risk increases several times. Even if the pathology was detected and treated in time, the possibility of developing DOA at an older age is very high.
But to say that an anomaly in the development of the joint must ultimately lead to arthrosis is impossible. Millions of people on our planet live with congenital defects of the joints, but do not suffer from arthrosis. The disease begins to develop if it is provoked by other damaging circumstances.
Overweight
Clinical studies do not give a clear answer to the question of whether there is a connection between weight gain and the disease that has arisen. It is clear that only excess weight alone cannot cause arthrosis, but if there are any disorders in the joints, then a big load on them can really provoke this disease.
The same goes for older people. Since the elasticity of the cartilage at this age is significantly reduced, it is very difficult for the joints to bear the increased pressure on them.
The conclusion is the following: extra pounds can cause the development of DOA in the elderly and in those who have congenital weakness of the skeleton, impaired circulation, metabolism. But overweight is most dangerous for people who already have coxarthrosis.
Joint inflammation (arthritis)
Often the cause of secondary arthrosis is arthritis. Inflammation in the joints leads to a change in the joint fluid, destroys the cartilage, impaired blood circulation in the joints, changes in the synovial membrane occur. All this in the future may provoke the emergence of DOA.
Prolonged stress
Chronic stress and prolonged nervous tension often cause many diseases, and they are no exception in a disease such as coxarthrosis.
If the stress state lasts a long time, then the level of corticosteroid "stress" hormones rises in the blood. Their excess slows down the production of hyaluronic acid, which enters the joint fluid. If the amount of this fluid is significantly reduced or there is not enough hyaluronic acid in it, then the articular cartilages begin to dry out, thin out and crack. All this ultimately leads to arthrosis.
Hormonal changes
The hormonal changes that occur in the body during age-related adjustment (menopause), diabetes mellitus, nervous diseases that cause loss of sensitivity in the lower extremities, osteoporosis, and congenital “looseness” of the ligaments are a provoking factor in the development of DOA.
Stages of the disease
There are four stages of osteoarthritis of the hip joint.
1. The first stage. At this stage of the development of the disease, the symptoms are minor. The pain in the hip joint, giving in the groin, is not strong and appears only after exertion (stops after rest), movements are not limited. The joint gap has not yet been narrowed. If you seek the help of a doctor in time, then conservative treatment gives a positive result.
2. The second stage. Further progression of the disease occurs. The pain intensifies, can occur even with a slight load. Often at the end of the day, to relieve pain, you have to take painkillers. Pain can also appear at night, when a person is at rest.
On the x-ray, you can see a narrowing of the joint gap, a slight destruction of the cartilage tissue. At this stage, treatment is prescribed that slows down the destruction of cartilage and the progression of the disease.
3. The third stage. Cartilage tissue is being destroyed more and more. X-ray shows necrosis of the femoral head and ilium, a significant narrowing of the joint space, the growth of osteophytes.
A sick person appears lame, it is difficult for him to bend his leg. There are problems with putting on socks and shoes. If a person stops walking for a while, it is very difficult for him to take the first steps again (starting pain).
The diseased leg becomes shorter, the muscles of the buttocks and hips decrease in volume. This is due to the fact that a person while walking tries to spare a sore leg, and the muscles begin to gradually atrophy.
Medications are prescribed that slow the progression of the disease or surgery is proposed to replace the joint.
4. The fourth stage. On the x-ray, severe destruction of cartilage tissue, large osteophytes are noticeable. A noticeable shortening of the limb occurs.
Patients are very difficult to move around, so they often use a cane. The treatment of deforming osteoarthrosis of the hip joint of the fourth stage is carried out only by a surgical method.
Coxarthrosis treatment
Treatment for this disease can be conservative and surgical. It all depends on the degree of joint damage, the age of the patient, concomitant diseases and much more.
The conservative method includes the following measures.
- Drug treatment. Treatment with drugs is carried out in the early stages of the disease. To relieve pain and inflammation, the doctor usually prescribes non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), chondoprotectors are used to maintain the normal state of cartilage. Special ointments, gels, compresses help relieve pain and improve blood supply to sick joints.
- Physiotherapeutic procedures. This method is well combined with drug treatment. Good results are obtained from the use of magnetotherapy, ultrasound, electrical procedures, laser treatment and other procedures.
- Gymnastics with osteoarthritis of the hip joint. Special exercises help to develop joints, improve blood circulation. Physiotherapy exercises should be carried out under the supervision of a physician.
- Massage. With osteoarthritis of the hip joint massage helps relieve muscle cramps, improve blood circulation in the sore leg. Massage can be manual and hardware.
The surgical method is used in the later stages of the disease, when conservative treatment no longer brings the desired result. As a rule, this occurs at the 3rd and 4th stages of coxarthrosis. During the operation, the damaged joint is completely replaced with an artificial prosthesis (endoprosthetics).
To date, such a replacement for a diseased joint is the most effective method of treating coxarthrosis. Endoprostheses are made from materials that can last quite a long time and are compatible with the tissues of the human body.
Treatment with traditional medicine
Alternative treatment of osteoarthritis of the hip joint includes the use of various ointments and compresses made on the basis of medicinal plants and natural products.
- Catcher. This plant is quite poisonous, so the dosage must be strictly observed. Pour 200 g of the crushed root of this plant into the pan, then add 300 g of pork fat to it. Put on fire and cook for 6-7 minutes. Smear the joints at night for 30 days. Then take a break of 7 days and repeat the course again.
- Juniper and nettle. Take 50 g of juniper berries and nettle leaves. Mix them with 20 g of pork fat (pre-melt). Apply to a sore spot three times a day.
- Honey. It has an analgesic effect. Take the same amount of honey, glycerin, iodine and medical alcohol, mix well. Lubricate the affected area three times a day.
- Celandine. Measure out 4 tablespoons of the crushed plant, add 0.5 l of olive oil. Insist in a warm place for 2 weeks. Strain and rub into the joints 3 times a day for 30 days.
Treatment of coxarthrosis with alternative methods will bring a positive result only if the disease was detected in the early stages.
ICD 10 deforming osteoarthritis of the hip joint has code M16 - this is a disease of bone, muscle and connective tissue, which leads to joint deformation. Thanks to the distribution of diseases in ICD 10, the doctor, even without opening the patient’s card, already knows what he is sick with.