Inflammatory Arthritis of the Hip
What is Hip Arthritis?
There are many types of arthritis of the hip as in other joints of the body. Arthritis is basically an inflammatory condition within the joint that may involve just the synovial lining cartilage or extend to destruction of the bone.
There are various forms of arthritis. The most commonly being osteoarthritis or degenerative arthritis. The most common types of arthritis of the hips that are not osteoarthritis are rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Rheumatoid arthritis and SLE are autoimmune diseases or the body’s autoimmune system attacks the body’s own tissue. https://www.drlox.com/medical-conditions/hip-conditions/
Ankylosing spondylitis is a rheumatoid negative or seronegative spondyloarthropathy where the classic laboratory values found in rheumatoid arthritis are negative. Specific laboratory testing for HLA-B27 are positive. It is generally associated with inflammation of the spine and sacroiliac joint and can cause inflammation of the joints such as the hip. Diagnosis is made with history, physical examination, laboratory testing, and radiographic studies.
Hip Arthritis Treatment
Treatment can be conservative with medications, physical therapy, adaptive equipment such as canes, walkers, or adaptive equipment that makes activities of daily living much easier such as reachers and things that diminish the need for repetitive bending of the hip. Surgical options can include arthroscopic debridement, synovectomy, and in later stages total hip replacement can be offered. Dr. Lox notes that many patients are interested in avoiding surgical intervention and especially total joint replacement and in these cases, patients are interested in regenerative medicine techniques such as platelet-rich plasma and stem cell therapy to help decrease pain, inflammation, or regenerate the joint and also prevent total joint replacement. Patients who are interested in regenerative medicine techniques such as platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and stem cell therapy find that the option of using a cutting edge regenerative medicine technique to be an excellent alternative to doing nothing and just allowing the destructive arthritic process to continue.
