What is Perthes disease?
Perthes disease is a disorder that occurs in childhood when the blood supply to the head of the femoral is impeded for a time and the bone begins to lose life.
When the bone begins to weaken, it breaks gradually and tends to lose its original shape.
With the passage of time, the body replaces the blood supply to the bone and it is replaced. But if the bone does not achieve its natural shape, it can cause stiffness and pain. The cycle of bone death, renewal and fracture, can last several years.
In order to maintain the sphere of articulation it is its original form, doctors use a variety of treatments to adjust the cavity of the joint. The cavity acts as a mold for the head of the damaged femur as it is healing.
Causes of Perthes disease
Perthes disease starts when there is little blood supply in the part of the hip joint that has a spherical shape. When there is not enough blood supply, the bone loses stability and tends to break easily. At present, the mysterious cause of the temporary reduction of blood flow in the head of the femur is still unknown.
Symptoms of Perthes disease
The symptoms of Perthes disease are understood as:
Rigidity and pain in the groin, knee, thigh and hip
Limp
Increased limited movement of the joint in the area of the hip
Mainly this disease causes problems in only one hip. But, both hips can be affected in some cases, mostly with different movements.
Treatments for Perthes disease
The treatment aims to reduce discomfort, maintain optimal conditions for the head of the femur to be generated and avoid the loss of mobility of the patient.
Reduce discomfort and prevent loss of mobility are achieved through a treatment with anti-inflammatory analgesics.
Ibuprofen is the main drug which is used in the treatment, the decrease of excess physical activities is also part of the treatment.
The specialists perform a study according to how the lateral pillar is and what degree of renewal is considered according to the age and sex of the patient.
Keep the best environment for the femur to regenerate properly, we must be very aware of the bony area where the weight of the body passes.
The femoral part of the head that holds a large amount of load that is located in the lateral third, if the disease complicates this area and deforms it, can cause serious consequences very important.
Based on this, an operation that allows a better bone renewal may be indicated.
It is essential to take into account that the bone that is being renewed must take a spherical shape, where the femoral head fits in the pelvic part is spherical, allows a good movement of the hips and I made a spherical shape of the new bone that is regenerating.
This is why in the Perthes the use of splints is prohibited, it is important that you have a constant movement of the hips to enrich and see better results of your healing.