Narayana Health Care

Hip osteoarthritis is a condition where the cartilage in the hip joint degenerates and causes pain and inflammation. Hip joint causes the loss of mobility of ball and socket present in the hip. It is a large joint that holds much of the body’s weight and helps in activities like walking, sitting, and running. In hip osteoarthritis, the cartilage that lines the acetabular and covers the ball-shaped femoral head gets inflamed. The inflamed cartilage degenerates over time, which narrows the space that exists between these two bones. New cartilage regenerates again, but the new cartilage creates joint friction and makes the bone bumpy and irregular.

Movement is painful because of the conflict between the acetabulum and femoral head. This friction can lead to the development of painful osteophytes and bone spurs in the hip joint. Patients with hip osteoarthritis may feel a grating sensation during the movement. You may feel a little pain from hip osteoarthritis on the groin and down the front of the thigh. You may also contact the same pain while holding or carrying a bucket from your hand. Hip osteoarthritis can also cause brief episodes of stabbing pain in the hip.

Causes of Hip Osteoarthritis:

The origins of hip osteoarthritis of the pelvis are not known. Most common factors cause are as follows:-

• Joint injury – Injury in the joint can result in the deformation of bone and cartilage at hip bones and thus make the person difficult to move. Damage is the very critical cause of hip osteoarthritis.
• Increasing age – With the increasing age, the cartilaginous secretion on the bones decreases and makes the bone a little weaker in comparison to the younger ones. That is the reason why old age people are more likely to suffer from hip osteoarthritis.
• Being overweight – Overweight increases the amount of cholesterol in the body. This fatty acid residues in the mass start moving on to the cartilaginous and obstruct the flowing of synovial fluid. It causes jam on the hips and makes it difficult to move.
• Genetic defects – Genetic factors also have a role in causing hips arthritis. The joints may not have adequately formed due to some genetic (inherited) defects in the cartilage.
• Working load – The person may be putting extra stress on his joints, either by gaining weight or through activities that develop pressure on the hip bone.
• Deterioration of connective tissue – Besides the breakdown of cartilage, it also affects the entire joint. It causes deterioration of the connective tissues that hold the joint together for muscle attachment. One more reason for hip osteoarthritis is the inflammation of the joint

Sign and Symptoms of Hip Osteoarthritis:

Hip osteoarthritis patient will face the following types of symptoms:-

• Joint stiffness after sitting for a long time.
• Joint stiffness after getting out of bed.
• Pain, tenderness r swelling in the hip joint.
• A sound or feeling “crunching” that makes you feel like bone rubbing against another bone.
• It is difficult in moving the hip bone while doing routine activities.
• Tenderness in your joint might feel tender.

Treatment for Hip Osteoarthritis:

The main goal of treating osteoarthritis is to decrease the pain and allow proper movement of the hip. The following treatment involves in hip osteoarthritis.

• Physical care – Taking rest and joint care and Non-drug pain relief techniques for controlling pain comes under self-care treatment. Other treatment measures include losing excess weight, daily hip and stretching exercises, yoga, tai chi, and swimming.
• Drugs – NSAIDs Medications can help you from inflammation and pain. It includes medicine like acetaminophen, Tylenol, Advil for lowering the anxiety.
• Hip resurfacing – Hip resurfacing is a surgical option for the treatment of hip osteoarthritis. In hip resurfacing, A portion of part of the diseased hip joint surfaces are taken out surgically and substituted with metal. They don’t remove the joint, but place a metal cap is placed for natural movement.
• Injections – Hyaluronic acid, Steroid injections, Platelet-rich plasma therapy follows to cure the pain and regulate cartilaginous flow into the hip bones.

Dr. Indranil Biswas, Consultant – Orthopaedics | Narayana Multispeciality Hospital, Barasat