Treatment of arthrosis of the hip joint

Coxarthrosis is a deforming arthrosis of the hip joint.This is a chronic disease characterized by degenerative tissue changes, cartilage damage. Symptomatically, coxarthrosis is determined by regular pain and deformity in the hip joint, impaired mobility. The pathological changes are based on cartilage damage and the subsequent inflammatory reaction. With arthrosis, bone tissue is modified. The lesion occurs locally, but other articular joints can also be involved. The main contingent of the sick are elderly people. A risk factor can be a hereditary predisposition, large body weight, and trauma. Endocrine disorders and metabolic imbalances are found in people with this problem. But the main emphasis in treatment is placed on the restoration of the structure and function of the cartilage. Treatment of coxarthrosis is a long-term process, including anti-inflammatory therapy, the use of chondroitin and glucosamine preparations to replenish the nutrition of the joints, exercise therapy and physiotherapy. Herbal treatment is recommended for maintaining joints at home. Proper diet and moderate exercise are essential.

Symptoms of coxarthrosis

With coxarthrosis, the articular cartilage is primarily subjected to deforming changes. There are 3 stages of the development of the disease. At the initial stage, there are no morphological changes in the tissues of the joint. Only its functional viability suffers. A person feels periodic pain in the joint area after physical exertion, running, walking long distances. After rest, the pain syndrome disappears. In the second stage, the bone begins to deform. The naturalness of the movements is sharply reduced. The pains are intense and often appear at rest. The third stage is characterized by chronic pain syndrome. Pain bothers patients day and night. Walking without a cane is difficult, the person is forced to tilt the body forward. Multiple growths appear on the articular bones.

The main symptoms of arthrosis include:

• morning stiffness;
• joint pain;
• difficulties in moving at a distance of more than 1 km;
• increased pain with prolonged sitting or standing.

Podiatrists call coxarthrosis one of the most common types of arthrosis. The risk group includes people with obesity, heavy physical work, and elderly people. Lack of treatment leads to complete destruction of the hip joint, accompanied by unnatural mobility or complete immobility, as well as severe dysfunction of the lower extremities.

Drug therapy

Coxarthrosis treatment begins with exercise limitation. This is a long-term process that combines a variety of therapy methods: taking anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs, intra-articular injections, physiotherapy and exercise therapy.

Features of the treatment of coxarthrosis 1, 2, 3 degrees:

• at the first stage, NSAIDs are prescribed to stop the inflammatory process, drugs that normalize metabolic processes, analgesics are also needed, folk remedies are used in complex therapy;
• at the second stage of coxarthrosis, intra-articular injections based on hyaluronic acid are added to drug therapy, laser treatment, electrical stimulation are carried out;
• the third stage is treated in a conservative and operative way, when it is impossible to cope without an operation, joint prosthetics are performed.

Medication plays the biggest role. Without anti-inflammatory and supportive agents, dystrophic changes cannot be avoided, and constant pain cannot be eliminated. Doctors prescribe pharmacological agents of various actions to alleviate the condition of patients during exacerbations.

• Medication plays the biggest role. Without anti-inflammatory and supportive agents, dystrophic changes cannot be avoided, and constant pain cannot be eliminated. Doctors prescribe pharmacological agents of various actions to alleviate the condition of patients during exacerbations.
• Muscle relaxants. Reduce skeletal muscle tone. The muscles relax, due to which the pain syndrome decreases, the person gets rest from the pain. These drugs are contraindicated in patients with cardiac arrhythmias.
• Chondroprotectors. Symptomatic preparations containing collagen. They nourish and restore damaged cartilage. They supply the joint with collagen from the outside and stimulate its production by the body. Chondroprotective drugs are drunk for a long time. Under the influence of these funds, the metabolism in the tissues improves, the destroyed cartilage gradually grows. In complex therapy, these drugs are of undoubted benefit, especially at the initial stage of the disease. In chronic arthrosis, they postpone disability.

To stop the destruction of cartilaginous tissue and provide the joint with "lubrication", injections are made with preparations based on hyaluronic acid and synthetic substances, which are similar in composition to synovial fluid. They are highly compatible with the tissues of the human body. They effectively stop the process of cartilage destruction, have analgesic and chondroprotective effects. Synthetic substances contain silver ions, which give an additional bacteriostatic effect.

Prosthetics

Endoprosthetics is an operative method for treating the hip joint. When, as a result of coxarthrosis and dysplasia, irreversible consequences occur in the cartilage tissues, they resort to joint replacement. As a result of the operation, it is possible not only to reduce the constant pain syndrome, but also to restore the function and mobility of the joint. Artificial joints are made of metal-polyethylene and ceramic. Fixation to live bone occurs in a cement and cementless manner. Endoprostheses take root well and can serve for decades. But in some cases, the prosthesis wears out quickly, then a second operation is required.

Physiotherapy treatment

Treatment of arthrosis of the hip joint is carried out with complex measures, including with the help of physiotherapy. This direction is associated with physical rehabilitation, support of the body during the period of recovery and remission, prevention of exacerbations. Physiotherapy is performed by orthopedists, traumatologists, rheumatologists, masseurs, exercise therapy instructors.

The following methods are recognized as effective for the treatment of coxarthrosis:

• ultrasound therapy;
• laser therapy;
• inductothermy;
• massage;
• manual therapy.

With ultrasound therapy, high-frequency waves penetrate the tissues and act like a vibration massage. They improve biochemical processes, prevent stagnation, promote better absorption of medicinal substances. Ultrasound reduces inflammation.

Laser treatment expands blood vessels, stimulates lymph flow, inhibits inflammation, and heals tissues. The technique improves tissue trophism, helps to preserve the structure and function of organs.

During inductothermy, high frequency waves affect the body. The method is effective in the presence of any inflammation and pathologies of the musculoskeletal system. Stimulates the immune system, relieves pain, and has a regenerating effect.

Massage is hardware and mechanical. Contrary to popular belief, during the massage, not only the surface layer of the skin and muscles is exposed. During the work of the masseur, reflex and humoral mechanisms of regulation of internal organs are activated. The combination of a wide variety of massage techniques, the patient receives antispasmodic, tonic, lymphatic drainage and analgesic effects.

A chiropractor works on the bones and joints of a person. It relieves tension from some areas, tones up others, eliminates pain, restores the functional viability of joints. First, the doctor applies diagnostic techniques, during which he determines the condition and capabilities of muscles, ligaments, joints. Then he moves on to treatment. Manual techniques are not used during exacerbations and complications.

The role of spa treatment

Sanatorium treatment is of great importance for coxarthrosis. Treatment-and-prophylactic institutions to support people with diseases of the musculoskeletal system use mainly natural factors.

• Climatotherapy. These are terrain features, a combination of weather factors, sea water, sun, air. Climatotherapy helps recovery, prevents the development of exacerbations, improves the course of biological and physiological processes in the body. Ideal conditions for the treatment of arthrosis are created in areas with high air temperatures and a lot of solar radiation.
• Healing mud. Differ in origin. They are peat, sulphide-silt, sapropel, hydrothermal. They are characterized by high heat capacity. They contain mineral, organic, biologically active components that penetrate the skin and have a beneficial effect on the joints. They improve metabolic processes, reduce inflammation, and normalize blood circulation.
• Mineral water. It contains trace elements, dissolved salts, biologically active substances. For diseases of the musculoskeletal system, mineral baths are indicated. The procedures increase mobility, tone up, activate blood circulation, and improve metabolism.
• Phytotherapy. A method based on the use of medicinal herbs. Infusions, decoctions contain a large amount of active substances that not only effectively support the sick body, but also have a pronounced therapeutic effect.

Treatment with natural factors in sanatoriums is combined with physiotherapy methods, exercise therapy, dietary nutrition, adherence to the daily regimen. Spa programs are developed for all stages of joint diseases.

Physical activity

In the recommendations for people with arthrosis, doctors advise to limit the load on the legs. It is worth stopping squatting, squatting, and doing physical work more carefully in the house and in the garden. You cannot strain the joint if pain is already felt (reduce the cardinal load). Especially it is worth excluding running, jumping. However, you cannot do without gymnastics.

To get the joint to function, special exercises should be done. A person with arthrosis is categorically not suitable for gymnastics of the "young" - at a fast pace, with increasing loads, with a high intensity of the entire session. With a sore joint, gymnastics should be done extremely slowly, smoothly, measuredly, until discomfort or pain appears. If there is pain - it is worth taking a break.

Therapeutic gymnastics allows you to normalize the condition of the muscles, improve blood circulation in the joint, provide it with adequate nutrition, and remove the products of decay and inflammation. Gymnastics helps drugs to quickly get into a sore joint and begin a therapeutic effect. The most difficult task of physiotherapy exercises is to correctly dose the load. A workout that is too short will not achieve the healing effect. And excessive load will bring additional harm to the joint. Competent recommendations can only be given by the attending physician. They will depend on the patient's condition and the characteristics of the course of the disease in each case.

Nutrition for coxarthrosis

There are many reasons for the destruction of cartilage. Nutrition is of great importance in the treatment of arthrosis of the hip joint of 1, 2, 3 degrees. Today the market is crammed with foods rich in preservatives. Attractive hams, smoked meats, sausages, flaunting on the shelves, contain a large number of specific components. The meat is treated with enzymes, active substances that speed up the production process and allow you to quickly get an attractive product. Preservatives increase the shelf life of any product: ready-made or raw, which cannot but be widely used among manufacturers.

When consuming food stuffed with preservatives, a person gets an excess of salt, which retains moisture. Salt is retained and accumulates in the cartilage tissue, and the joint malfunctions. Such arthrosis is inherently a simple inflammation that lends itself well to therapy. And coxarthrosis, which has arisen against the background of metabolic disorders, metabolic failure, intake of junk food, requires adherence to a diet. It is not necessary to strictly limit yourself in food intake or give up a whole list of healthy foods. It is enough to follow some simple rules:

• refuse any ready-made smoked meats from the store;
• exclude the consumption of concentrated broths;
• according to the method of cooking, give preference to cooking and stewing;
• completely exclude the consumption of salt, do not buy salted fish, sausages, canned foods;
• consume no more than 10-15 g of animal fats per day, prepare meals with the addition of various vegetable oils;
• monitor the calorie content of foods, give up the so-called "fast" carbohydrates, sugar, confectionery;
• exclude mayonnaise from the diet, season salads and sauces with low-fat sour cream;
• exclude the consumption of alcoholic beverages;
• limit the consumption of fatty fish, caviar.

Instead of smoked meats, buy natural meat, chickens raised on farms by domestic producers. It is better to cook first courses in vegetable broths, without boiling vitamin-rich foods for several hours. The bouillon cubes that are popular today are almost 100% chemical components. This is harm in its purest form.

you should not completely abandon boiled meat. But it is better to take pre-boiled lean pieces and put them in portions on a plate, and only then pour the vegetable soup. A complete rejection of meat is an extreme.

An old recipe for preserving the strength of bones and joints is jellied meat. A few decades ago, when little was known about artificial preservatives, this was justified. Now, such a product can only increase cholesterol.

Fresh fish has not been treated with preservatives before. But modern manufacturers have learned this as well. Today, we can only talk about the benefits of fish if it came to the counter directly from a fishing trawler or was bought alive.

Only by changing the principles of nutrition, a person can reduce the suffering from deforming arthrosis. The diet should include a large amount of fresh vegetables, berries, herbs, fruits. Low-fat dairy products, lean meats, and chicken are useful. Rice, beets, potatoes, watermelon help to remove salt from the body. Once a week, it is recommended to arrange fasting days on kefir, cottage cheese, fruits, herbal decoctions.