By 2017, osteoarthritis affected around 303 million of people worldwide, representing the most common degenerative disease of the hip.
What is osteoarthritis of the hip?
Osteoarthritis occurs when the protective cartilage that cushions the hip joint wears down over time.
The cartilage is a soft tissue that covers the head of the femur and the concavity of the pelvis, allowing hip joint motion without difficulty.
Over time, this cartilage wears down and loses its ability to heal itself, causing the bone to rub on bone, developing painful spurs around your bone.
Symptoms of hip osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease that worsens over time, becoming severe enough to make daily tasks difficult. The common symptoms of osteoarthritis of hip include:
• Pain, might hurt during or after movement, radiating to the groin, thigh and knee, in some cases causing difficulty in walking.
• Stiffness. Joint stiffness might be most noticeable upon awakening or after being inactive.
• Tenderness. Your joint might feel tender when you apply light pressure to or near it.
• Loss of flexibility. You might not be able to move your joint through its full range of motion.
• Grating sensation. You might feel a grating sensation when you use the joint, and you might hear popping or crackling.
Treatment of hip osteoarthritis
No proven specific treatment to cure hip osteoarthritis is currently known; consequently, the main goal of treating osteoarthritis of the hip is to reduce pain and improving your daily activities.
If you have been diagnosed with hip osteoarthritis, it is important that you know how to change your lifestyle to protect the joint and slow the progression of the disease.
High-impact exercises, such as running, can be substituted for low-impact exercises, such as biking or swimming.
Loss weight, reduce the stress on your weight-bearing hip joint. Heat and cold therapy can relieve pain and swelling in your hip joint.
When the pain becomes severe and constant could be necessary pain medication.
If conservative treatment has failed, the pain persists or increases, affecting your daily activities, probably you need a hip surgery.
Hip Replacement Surgery
In joint replacement surgery or arthroplasty, your damaged joint surfaces are removing and replaces them with plastic and metal parts. The hip replacement can be total or partial.
Removes the diseased parts of the hip joint, and replaces them with new, artificial parts. Incision over the upper side of the thigh and buttock.
In a total hip replacement, the damaged femoral head is removed and replaced with a metal stem that is placed into the hollow center of the femur.
The femoral stem may be either cemented or “press fit” into the bone. A metal or ceramic ball is placed on the upper part of the stem. This ball replaces the damaged femoral head that was removed.
The damaged cartilage surface of the socket (acetabulum) is removed and replaced with a metal socket. Screws or cement are sometimes used to hold the socket in place.
Finally, a plastic, ceramic, or metal spacer is inserted between the new ball and the socket to allow for a smooth gliding surface.
Complications of hip replacement surgery
The complication rate following hip replacement is low. The possible common complications are:
Infection
May occur superficially in the wound or deep around the prosthesis. Less than 2% develop a serious infection.
Blood clots
It is the most common complication of hip replacement surgery. These clots can be life-threatening if they break free and travel to your lungs.
To reduce the risk, blood thinning medications, and support stockings are used.
Dislocation
This occurs when the ball comes out of the socket. The risk for dislocation is greatest in the first few months after surgery, while the tissues are healing.
In situations in which the hip continues to dislocate, further surgery may be necessary.
Hip replacement recovery time
After the surgery, physiotherapy begins and, in a few days, you will be able to start walking with a walker, or cane.
During the first weeks and in one to six months, you will be able to resume your daily activities normally. On average, joint prostheses have a half-life of 15 years after hip replacement.
Cost of hip replacement surgery?
In the United States, the average total hip replacement surgery is between 30,000 and $50,000.
Comentarios
