Manifestations of Femoral Head Necrosis

  Clinical manifestations of femoral head necrosis include pain, intermittent claudication, collapse of the femoral head, narrowing of the joint space, which can lead to osteoarthritis and finally to joint dysfunction.  Generally speaking, there is a staged process of femoral head necrosis. The manifestation varies at different times.  In the early stage, it is often manifested as various discomforts when moving the affected hip joint, such as some hidden pain, or sudden pain in a certain position, etc.  As the necrosis progresses, the pain in the affected hip gradually increases, especially when moving, and sometimes at night. This often requires the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory painkillers.  In the late stage, the symptoms of femoral head necrosis are mainly persistent pain, shortening of walking distance and sometimes functional limitation of the affected hip joint, mainly internal rotation and abduction.  In the early and progressive stages, the main treatment is to remove the causes: stop drinking alcohol, stop using corticosteroids, treat lupus erythematosus, bone metabolic diseases, neurotrophic diseases, hyperparathyroidism, congenital hip inversion, and epiphyseal diseases of the femoral head; reduce the pressure on the affected hip: less walking, more cycling, more swimming (in water), and more bicycling. bicycling, swimming more often (in water, the pressure on the joint is lowest); some treatments with inexact efficacy: Chinese herbal medicine treatment, femoral head perforation and decompression, implantation with vascularized muscle flap; however, the efficacy of these methods is not certain, and the occurrence of osteoarthritis of the hip joint is often not avoided in the end.  In the late stage, the treatment is mainly based on artificial joint replacement, which has positive efficacy and can significantly relieve pain, restore function and improve the quality of life. In the past, the age of surgery was strictly controlled at 65 years old or above; nowadays, people’s demand for quality of life is higher and the age of surgery has been advanced. The youngest patients can be around 40 years old.