An elderly man had hip pain and limping, and it turned out to be "femoral head necrosis"! 6 tips to help you check yourself

Is it true that "if you are patient for a while, everything will be fine"? Grandma Li, who usually plays mahjong, drinks tea, and chats, lives a comfortable life. Because she could no longer bear the pain in her hip, she was recently sent to the Second People's Hospital of Hunan Province (Provincial Brain Hospital) by her family for treatment.

It turned out that Grandma Li had always had high blood pressure, diabetes, coronary heart disease and other diseases, and usually relied on medication to control the symptoms. But six months ago, Grandma Li developed pain in her right hip without any obvious cause, which limited her movements and was relieved when she rested. At the same time, her mental state and appetite became worse day by day.

Just 10 days ago, Grandma Li's symptoms worsened and she began to limp. Her family immediately sent her to the Second People's Hospital of Hunan Province (Provincial Brain Hospital) for treatment. After a detailed examination, it was found that the culprit for her hip pain was "femoral head necrosis."

The orthopedic sports medicine team performed an artificial hip replacement for the patient, and the critical care medicine department actively fought against infection, protected the heart, controlled blood pressure and blood sugar, and strengthened nutrition and other comprehensive treatments. With the sincere cooperation between the critical care medicine department and the orthopedic sports medicine department, Grandma Li's vital signs were stable, she was conscious, and she has been transferred to the general ward.

What is femoral head necrosis? How can we prevent femoral head necrosis at an early stage? What aspects can we check ourselves?

Yang Yongkang, deputy chief physician of Hunan Provincial Second People's Hospital (Provincial Brain Hospital) , said that femoral head necrosis is caused by interruption or damage of blood supply to the femoral head, which leads to death of bone cells and bone marrow. It causes structural changes or even collapse of the femoral head, leading to hip pain and functional disorders. It is also called avascular necrosis of the femoral head or aseptic necrosis of the femoral head.

Some preventive measures can be taken in daily life to reduce the risk

1. Exercise moderately to protect the hip joint and increase the amount of hip joint exercise appropriately to ensure smooth blood circulation in the hip joint and avoid sitting for long periods of time, which may cause hip joint stiffness.

2. Avoid excessive drinking. Excessive drinking is also a major cause of femoral head necrosis.

3. Avoid the abuse of glucocorticoids. If you need to use this medicine, please be sure to follow the doctor's advice and pay more attention to hip joint symptoms.

4. Eat a healthy diet. Maintaining a proper weight can reduce the pressure on the hip joint.

5. Control diabetes and high blood pressure. Diabetes and high blood pressure can also affect the blood supply to the femoral head.

6. Avoid trauma.

To determine whether you have femoral head necrosis, we can self-examine from the following aspects

1. Hip joint pain radiates to the back, outside and inside of the buttocks.

2. Hip joint stiffness, weakness, limited movement, difficulty in lifting the legs, and difficulty in crossing the legs and squatting in the early stages.

3. Limping, walking on tiptoe with the affected limb, not daring to exert force.

4. Hip pain occurs suddenly after the hip fracture, dislocation or sprain heals. It gets worse when walking and hurts when resting.

5. Long-term or short-term use of large amounts of hormones or alcoholism can cause hip pain, which is more obvious with activity and relieved by rest.

6. Cold and dampness. When the weather is cold, hip pain worsens and function is limited.

Hunan Medical Chat Special Author: Zhang Xinzhou, Department of Critical Care Medicine, Hunan Second People's Hospital (Provincial Brain Hospital)

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(Edited by YT)