Arthrosis of the hip joint is also called coxarthrosis. This is a degenerative-dystrophic disease of the musculoskeletal system. Coxarthrosis begins with the articular cartilage, where the thinning process begins, the cartilage breaks down and thereby loses the main function of the joint - the cushioning function.
The process becomes more complicated when the blood supply of the femoral head is disturbed, at which time aseptic necrosis develops, which in turn is accompanied by arthrosis. After that, it is necessary to administer drugs to the patient, do certain exercises or carry out a treatment that includes a whole complex.
Causes of the disease
Of course, the causes of the disease can be completely different. If the disease is associated with a person's constant inactivity, the treatment will not be difficult, just change your lifestyle and remember that the disease is prevented. Thus, it will be possible to get rid of the main symptoms that cause the pain to return from time to time and eventually not retreat at all. Bones and joints, although they are strong and can withstand enough weight, can fail with constant physical force on the body. Be careful to get rid of unnecessary stress that can cause the first symptoms of the disease. Injuries will not lead to anything good, it doesn't matter if the injuries are accidental or not. Due to injuries received in youth, this disease often develops in athletes, and its treatment is not always carried out immediately. Here the diagnosis will be unambiguous, it is necessary to limit the load on the body, in this case it will not be possible to treat the disease in a different way.
No matter how strange it may seem, heredity can affect the development of coxarthrosis. Some people have a congenital dislocation of the hip, which eventually develops into arthrosis of the hip joint.
There are two forms of the disease: primary and secondary. In the first case, the disease develops on its own, pain is also felt, and the secondary form is the result of other diseases. They can be:
- Perthes disease;
- Congenital dislocation of the hip;
- hip dysplasia;
- Joint injuries received;
- Aseptic necrosis of the femoral head;
- Inflammation.
- Often, the initial form of the disease appears after 50 years, that is, when the joints of the body wear out and pain is felt after that.
Symptoms
Arthrosis in the hip joint can be determined by what symptoms appear. Mostly, there will be pain that manifests itself while walking. This disease is chronic, so the symptoms appear once and cannot disappear. The pain is increasing, at first it is almost imperceptible, but over time, if you do not pay attention to it, the symptoms become worse and more noticeable.
Most often, symptoms appear when the body does not move for a long time, that is, pain can occur after sleep, after a person sits in one position for a long time. Such an unpleasant feeling is called starting pain. After a person develops some joints, the pain subsides for a while.
Localization areas of pain can be different. The main part manifests itself in the inguinal region, in the hip region, along the front surface of the thigh, then the transition to the knee, sometimes along the outer region of the left or right thigh.
Without timely treatment, such symptoms do not end well. When the patient feels the greatest pain during walking, he tries to avoid it or at least make the symptoms less noticeable, so the gait is disturbed and, as a result, other disorders occur in the body.
Treatment
Although there is a cure, prevention can be done in different ways. It is better to choose the option that your doctor will advise you. You can be treated with drugs (injections or pills), with the help of gymnastics, and traditional medicine can also help you. Although the latter has not been confirmed, some patients report improvement after certain procedures, even with only prophylaxis.
Treatment may include injections or tablets. The doctor looks at many factors, such as pain, the degree of progression of the disease, and what drugs the patient's body will tolerate best.
Chondroprotectors
There are many chondroprotectors - drugs that nourish the cartilage tissue, then the destruction process stops, and then the cartilage tissue is restored. Often, doctors prescribe injections in the hip joint, believing that this way of treatment is easier. A big plus is that injections are very effective and can treat some comorbidities. But you should remember that no more than three injections can be made for each joint. Also a positive moment, but a warning, injections should not be done often, the interval between each procedure is at least two weeks.
How do they work?
First of all, these drugs are designed to restore cartilage tissue, which is very necessary for arthrosis. Therefore, these drugs are aimed at stopping the process of cartilage tissue degeneration. It cannot be said that the use of chondroprotectors will have a positive effect only when there is arthrosis of the hip joint, not at all. Chonoprotectors will be an excellent treatment for all types of joint diseases.
Chondroprotectors include both animal and vegetable products (depending on the specific preparation), as well as other components that increase the production of collagen, hyaluronic acid, and stimulate the production of chondroitin by cartilage tissue. All these components contribute to the support of the natural processes occurring in the cartilage tissue, the restoration of its basic functions and, accordingly, the disappearance of pain in the joints.
What is suitable for arthritis
When it comes to a pharmacy looking for chondroprotectors, you will be surprised how many different names of the right drug exist today, in fact, they do not differ much in their components. So, which chondroprotectors will be the best choice for arthrosis?
Undoubtedly, the best adviser in this matter will be your attending physician, who sees the picture of the disease from the outside and can advise you (sometimes to choose) several drugs that are most suitable for your individual situation. Do not take medicine without consulting your doctor.
Note that clinical trials are very important in this field, and these are mostly expensive and popular chondroprotectors. Their effectiveness has already been confirmed and the possibility of allergic reactions has been minimized. Remember that the natural substances that make up chondroprotectors rarely cause an allergic reaction, in most cases the culprit is the additives that make up the drug.
Contraindications
There is a group of people for whom chondroprotectors are contraindicated:
- Pregnant and lactating women are prohibited from taking medicine;
- Not to be used by children under 12 years of age;
- If a person has diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, then it is worth excluding drugs in the form of tablets and resorting to other methods of treatment;
- At certain stages, chondroprotectors will no longer have any effect, therefore, in advanced cases, they resort to other treatment methods;
- Some drugs are individually intolerable and must be replaced by others.
Recommendations for use
It is impossible to say that only chondroprotectors will help in the treatment of the disease. It is worth paying attention to the problems that cause the disease, and not to drugs. Because if you got such injuries due to excessive physical exertion and you hope that you can lead the same lifestyle and chondroprotectors will save you, then you are deeply mistaken. The possibility of spreading and aggravating the disease should be eliminated from all sides. Try to protect yourself from hypothermia as much as possible. Monitor what medications you are taking, if you are prescribed medications for the treatment of another disease, ask your doctor if it is necessary to change the course of treatment?
Treatment of arthrosis of the hip joint with gymnastics
Doctors recommend treating arthrosis of the hip joint with the help of special exercises. It is better not to treat and not to forget that the disease should be prevented. The process of treatment of such diseases has never been fast, treatment with gymnastics is no exception in this case. Some believe that since these are not drugs that need to be taken constantly, you can skip classes. Forget about it, this is your health, so gymnastics is a must.
Medical equipment
It should be noted that the medical complex has shown itself well in the field of therapeutic gymnastics. The specialty of the doctor is that, unlike his colleagues, he did not resort to surgery and treatment of arthrosis with injections. His exercises are to help the body repair itself. The doctor's main method in the treatment of arthrosis is kinesitherapy, which means movement therapy. According to his methodology, a separate program, or rather, an exercise complex, is prepared for each patient, where it is determined which simulators to use, which exercises and how to do them. It is necessary to correctly perform the complex developed by the doctor on the recommendation of the doctor. Even if a person knows what the exercises are, even if he does them wrong, there will be no results. It is important to perform this or that exercise correctly, or rather, it is important to repeat the entire complex.
This technique confirms that it is not drugs that heal us, we do it ourselves.
Implementation rules
Sometimes injections do not give the desired effect, treatment is carried out. Recommendations for implementation. If you notice the first symptoms and decide that it is best to treat yourself physically, you should remember a few rules:
- Exercises are not performed sharply, everything should be smooth and measured;
- To aggravate the symptoms of the disease, it should be developed together and not burdened further;
- Do not forget that it helps if you massage a little after the exercises;
- This treatment (exercises) is best done while lying down.
For the effectiveness of physiotherapy exercises, a whole complex involving various exercises is performed.
You should monitor your health, do sports and consult a doctor at the first signs of illness. After all, if the disease is detected in the early stages, it will be easier to treat it or stop its development.