Ischemic necrosis of the femoral head is a disease in which the bone tissue in the femoral head is deprived of nutritional supply and dies due to the destruction of the blood vessels that govern the blood circulation to the femoral head for various reasons. This necrosis of bone tissue occurs rapidly, taking less than 24 hours from the absence of blood supply in the blood vessels to the death of the bone tissue.
As the bone tissue dies, its normal structure is destroyed. When the area of necrosis is large and the remaining normal bone structure cannot maintain the function of the femoral head, the femoral head will collapse and the surface of the femoral head will become uneven, and over time the shape of the entire hip joint will change, thus losing the normal structure and function of the hip joint.
High-risk groups of femoral head necrosis.
1, need to take corticosteroids (prednisone, dexamethasone, etc.) for a long time for various reasons
2, long-term heavy alcohol abuse (more than 450 ml of alcohol per week)
3, a history of hip trauma and fractures.
4, working underwater and in pressure-reducing environments such as pipelines.
5, suffering from certain blood disorders, such as hypercoagulable states, sickle cell anemia.
6, organ transplantation.
7, one side of the femoral head has been necrosis, etc.
Early self-detection of femoral head necrosis:
1, hip pain radiates to the groin area or posterior hip, lateral or medial knee.
2.Hip joint stiffness, weakness, restricted movement, inflexible leg lifting, early symptoms are planking or outward skimming of the leg and squatting difficulties.
3, limp: that is, when walking, the affected limb does not dare to bear weight with force, like walking on tiptoe.
4.After the fracture, dislocation or hip sprain heals, intermittent or persistent pain in the hip appears gradually or suddenly.
5, long-term or short-term use of large amounts of hormones or frequent alcoholics appear hip pain, mostly hidden pain, dull pain, often located in the lateral side of the hip and the middle of the groin, obvious when moving, alleviated after rest.
6, cold and damp: when the weather is cold, the hip joint is sore, swollen and painful, and the function is limited.
7.Inflammation: When you have a cold and fever, blood sedimentation is accelerated, white blood cells are elevated, and hip pain is aggravated.
If the above conditions occur, it is possible to suffer from femoral head necrosis, which needs to be diagnosed in hospital.
Treatment of osteonecrosis of the femoral head
The treatment of osteonecrosis of the femoral head is often related to the course of the disease, and in general, the earlier the diagnosis and the earlier the treatment, the better the results. However, there is no specific treatment or special drug that can cure all cases of osteonecrosis of the femoral head. Because the treatment of osteonecrosis of the femoral head is still controversial, there are many false advertisements that take advantage of patients’ eagerness to cure the disease and exaggerate the treatment effect, which not only cheats patients’ money but also delays the timely treatment of the disease. In fact, patients in the early stage, we can use conservative treatment, of which the most important is to reduce the amount of weight-bearing activities, other treatments include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (such as fentanyl, fotarine, etc.) and lipid scavengers (such as lovastatin, clofibrate) treatment, blood and bone activating herbal medicine and hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and combined with regular X-ray radiographs to observe the progress of the disease. If conservative treatment is ineffective and signs of progressive disease development are detected, some surgical interventions are required at this time. Early to mid-stage patients have relatively good results with surgical treatment. Patients who have already developed femoral head collapse can only be treated with artificial arthroplasty to relieve pain and improve function. According to foreign reports, more than 70% of patients have an artificial hip joint with a service life of more than 20 years. Patients recover quickly after surgery, and some can even resume strong physical work or sports.
So how should a patient cooperate with the doctor?
For a patient diagnosed with osteonecrosis of the femoral head, the first thing is to build up the confidence to overcome the disease, neither to treat it like cancer, nor to think that there must be some special medicine or treatment and blindly try it. As the saying goes, the best treatment is prevention. Changing some habits can greatly reduce the occurrence of osteonecrosis of the femoral head, such as using corticosteroids with caution, not drinking alcohol, smoking, not eating too greasy food, avoiding obesity, preventing falls, etc. It is important to emphasize here that we must prevent from seeking medical help in a hurry, we must be good at identifying some false advertisements, and we suggest patients to go to a specialist doctor in a big hospital for consultation and treatment.
In conclusion, osteonecrosis of the femoral head has become a very common disease and seriously affects people’s quality of life. However, as long as early diagnosis, early treatment and correct treatment are achieved, patients with osteonecrosis of the femoral head can still achieve more satisfactory clinical results.