This hip is one of the largest joints in the body, and also one of the strongest. It is capable of holding up an adult body for extended periods of time, sometimes even while performing complex feats of endurance or athleticism. This joint is, in fact, capable of bearing five times the weight of an average-size adult! It is really an a miracle of biological engineering.
When a Hip Replacement Doctor Baltimore MD is Needed
Given these facts, it is also not surprising that sometimes, the hip joint fails. In order to understand how this happens, it is necessary to understand a bit more about the functioning of the hip joint and the circumstances under which a hip replacement doctor Baltimore may need to intervene.
There are basically only four bones that make up the hip joint. It is a ball and socket type joint, with the ball being located at upper end of the femur, which is the long thigh bone. The pelvis contains the socket part of the joint. It is made up of three bones, the ilium, the ischium and the pubis. The joint is made to move smoothly and painlessly by a layer of cartilage about a quarter of an inch thick. The cartilage is located on the ball and inside of socket. Like other joints, the hip is lined with a synovial membrane. The membrane produces synovial fluid, effectively lubricating the hip joint.
A few conditions can cause the difficulty in the functioning of this joint. Of course, parts of the skeletal system, including the femur or pelvis, can be broken by a traumatic injury. More commonly, though, degenerative diseases take hold as individuals age and cause a gradual decline in functioning, eventually necessitating consultation with a hip replacement doctor Baltimore MD (https://www.medstarunionortho.org).
Conditions like osteoarthritis cause the cartilage and synovial lining to dry out, essentially eliminating the hip’s natural lubrication process. These types of degenerative diseases can impact other joints in the body as well. Unfortunately, damage to the hip joint is very hard to ignore because it functions daily to maintain an upright posture and facilitate a variety of movements.
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