Osteoarthritis 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 process of thinning begins, the cartilage is fragmented, thereby losing the main function of the joint - cushioning.
The process is complicated when the blood supply to the femoral head is interrupted, in which case aseptic necrosis develops, which in turn is accompanied by arthrosis. After that, the patient needs to apply medications, do certain exercises or carry out treatment, which includes a whole complex.
Causes of disease
Of course, the reasons that give impetus to the disease can be completely different. If the disease is associated with the constant immobility of a person, the treatment will not be difficult, just change your way of life, and also remember that after this there is prevention of the disease. Thus, it will be possible to get rid of the main symptoms, which lead to the fact that the pain returns periodically and in the end does not recede at all. Bones and joints, although strong and able to withstand considerable weight, nevertheless, with constant physical exertion on the body, they can fail. Take care to get rid of unnecessary stress, which can lead to the first signs of illness. Injuries won't lead to anything good, it doesn't matter here if the injuries were accidental or not. Due to injuries received in youth, this disease very often develops in sportsmen, the treatment of which is not always done immediately. Here the diagnosis will be unambiguous, the load on the body will have to be limited, in this case it will not be possible to treat the disease in a different way.
As strange as it may seem, heredity can affect the development of coxarthrosis. Some people have a congenital dislocation of the hip, which eventually develops into osteoarthritis of the hip joint.
There are two forms of the disease: the primary form and the secondary form. In the first case, the disease develops on its own, as well as pain, while the secondary form is a consequence of other diseases. They can become:
- Perthes disease;
- Congenital hip dislocation;
- hip dysplasia;
- Joint injuries received;
- Aseptic necrosis of the femoral head;
- Inflammation.
- Most often, the primary form of the disease appears after the age of 50, that is, when the joints of the body wear out, and after the pain is felt.
Symptoms
Arthrosis of the hip joint can be determined by the symptoms that appear. Basically, it will be a pain that will manifest itself while walking. This disease is chronic, so the symptoms appear once and cannot go away. The pains gradually increase, at first they are barely noticeable, but over time, if you are not careful, the symptoms worsen and become more noticeable.
Most often, symptoms appear when the body has not moved for a long time, that is, pain can occur after sleep, after a person has been sitting in one position for a long time. Such an unpleasant sensation is called starting pain. After a person develops a few joints, the pain decreases for a while.
Areas of pain localization may be different. The main part manifests in the inguinal region, the region of the buttocks, along the anterior surface of the thigh, followed by the transition to the knee, sometimes along the outer region of the left or right thigh.
Such symptoms without prompt treatment end in nothing good. The patient during walking, when he feels the greatest pain, tries to avoid it or at least make the symptoms less noticeable, due to this, the gait is disturbed and, as a result, other disorders in the body.
Treatment
Although treatment, although 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 medication (injections or pills), with the help of gymnastics, and traditional medicine can also help. And although the latter has not been confirmed, some patients report improvement after certain procedures, even if only prophylaxis was performed.
Treatment may include injections or tablets. The doctor considers many factors, such as pain, the degree of disease development, and which medications the patient's body will best accept.
Chondroprotectors
There are many chonroprotectors - drugs that nourish the cartilage tissue, then the process of destruction stops, and then the cartilage tissue is restored. Often, doctors prescribe injections into the hip joint, believing that it is easier to treat this way. A big plus is that the injections are very effective and can treat certain comorbidities. But, you must remember that injections cannot be done more than three per joint. And also a positive moment, but a warning, injections should not be done often, the break between each procedure is at least two weeks.
How do they work
First of all, these drugs are designed to restore cartilage tissue, so necessary for arthrosis. Therefore, these drugs are aimed at stopping the process of degeneration of cartilage tissue. It cannot be said that chondroprotectors will have a positive effect only if you use them with arthrosis of the hip, not at all. Chonroprotectors will be an excellent treatment for diseases of all types of joints.
Chondroprotectors incorporate products of animal and vegetable origin (depending on the specific preparation), as well as other components that increase the production of collagen, hyaluronic acid, stimulate the production of chondroitin by cartilage tissue. All these components lead to the fact that the natural processes occurring in the cartilage tissue are supported, its main functions are restored, and, as a result, the pain in the joints disappears.
What is suitable for arthritis
When you come to a pharmacy in search of chondroprotectors, you will be surprised how many different names of the right drug exist today, which, in fact, do not differ much in their components. So which chondroprotectors will be the best choice for osteoarthritis?
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 by choice) several drugs best suited to your particular case. Do not take any medications without consulting your doctor about it.
Pay attention to the fact that clinical trials are very important in this area, and these are mainly 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, most often the culprit is the additives that make up the drug.
Contraindications
There is a group of people to whom chondroprotectors are contraindicated:
- It is forbidden to take medication for pregnant and lactating women;
- Not for use by children under 12;
- If a person suffers from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, it is worth excluding drugs in the form of tablets and resorting to other methods of treatment;
- At certain stages, the chondroprotectors will no longer have an effect, therefore, in advanced cases, they resort to other methods of treatment;
- Some drugs are individually intolerable and must be replaced by others.
Recommendations for use
It is impossible to say that only chondroprotectors will help cure the disease. It is worth focusing on the problems that led you to have the disease, and not on the drugs. Because if, due to excessive physical stress, you suffered such injuries, and you hope to be able to lead the same lifestyle, and chondroprotectors will save you, you are deeply mistaken. The possibility of the spread and aggravation of the disease must be eliminated from all sides. Try to protect yourself as much as possible from hypothermia. Keep track of the medications you take, if you have been prescribed medication to treat another illness, ask your doctor if you need 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 lead to treatment and not to forget that there must be prevention of the disease. The very process of treating such diseases has never been quick, treatment with gymnastics is no exception in this case. Some think that since these are not medications that need to be taken all the time, classes can be skipped. Forget it, it's your health, so doing gymnastics is a must.
Doctor's technique
It should be noted that in the field of therapeutic gymnastics, the doctor's complex has proven itself. The peculiarity of the doctor is that, unlike his colleagues, he did not turn to surgery and medical treatment of arthrosis, such as injections. His exercises are aimed at helping the body to recover on its own. The main method of the doctor in the treatment of osteoarthritis is physiotherapy, that is, treatment through movement. According to its methodology, a separate program is developed for each patient, or rather a set of exercises, where it is prescribed which simulators to use, which exercises to do and how. On the recommendation of the doctor, it is necessary to do the exercises correctly, the complex he has developed. Even if a person knows what the exercises are, but does them incorrectly, there will be no results. The correct performance of this or that exercise is important, or rather, it is important to repeat the whole complex.
This technique confirms that it is not the drugs that cure us, we do it ourselves.
Execution rules
Sometimes the injections do not give the expected effect, the treatment is carried out. Recommendations for implementation. If you notice the first symptoms and decide that it is better to treat yourself physically, you should remember a few rules:
- Exercises are not performed abruptly, everything should be smooth and measured;
- The joint must be developed, and no longer loaded, in order to aggravate the symptoms of the disease;
- Remember that the exercises are useful if they are followed by a little massage;
- This treatment (exercises) is best performed while lying down.
For the effectiveness of physiotherapy exercises, a whole complex is carried out, which includes a variety of exercises.
You need to monitor your health, play sports and at the first symptoms of the disease consult a doctor. After all, if the disease is detected at an early stage, then it will be much easier to cure it or stop its development.