Traumatologist cured a skewed pelvis in a snowboarder

According to the doctor, winter sports enthusiasts often do not notice serious injuries and therefore apply late.

We still have a whole month of calendar winter ahead of us, so fun on the snowy slopes remains one of the most frequent weekend pastimes. Skis, snowboards, cheesecakes and sleds are all gear beloved by Russians, which, according to traumatologists, can cause serious illnesses. In our “Ask the Doctor” section, we will talk about one of these cases and how to maintain your health and when it is time to see a doctor.

Today Artur Glumakov, an orthopedic traumatologist at the Open Clinic on Prospekt Mira, shares useful and informative stories from his medical practice.

– A young man of 32 years old came to me. He complained of discomfort and slight pain in the hip area. The first thing I always do during a consultation is to take a detailed history. Both life and disease. The difference between them is that the history of life is operations, transferred, chronic or congenital diseases, and the history of the disease is information on the disease itself. What could lead to pain, whether there were injuries, falls, fractures, that is, those factors that could affect the biomechanics of walking or the work of the whole organism as a whole. With this patient, I found that he had been an office worker for 8 years. In addition, the patient mentioned in passing that he snowboards in the winter, but he did not have any injuries or emergencies on the slope. At least in his memory.

After I examined the young man, this part of the consultation usually takes the longest. On examination, it was immediately evident that the pelvis was distorted. For me, this is a sign that it can be either functional or acquired, or anatomical, which happens at birth or as a result of injuries. When measuring the limbs, I saw that the young man had a femoral segment shorter by 1 centimeter. The shortening just fell on the side where there was pain. He also had a gross impairment of mobility in the hip joint. Of the six possible movements, he could only make two. Rotation, adduction and abduction were impaired. After we went through the plantography – we looked at how loaded the feet were.

The first thing I suspected was joint dysplasia. Because of this disease, an incorrect position of the head of the bone in relation to the bone itself occurs. It was necessary to make an instrumental examination – a survey radiography. But she did not confirm my suspicions. Apparently, there were still sports injuries, although the patient did not remember them. The picture showed the advanced stage of arthrosis, which is rare at such a young age. On ultrasound, we began to study soft tissues. You need to understand the state of the cartilage, joint capsule, attachment points, ligaments. I found a change in the thickness of hyaline cartilage – this is such a layer on the bone that reduces friction. His cartilage was worn out beyond his age.

We made a correction of the insoles, because due to the fact that one limb was shorter than the other, the gait imitated walking up the stairs all the time, and flat feet developed. Orthopedic frame insoles were needed so that the arches of both feet were equal. If we did not do this, the pelvic tilt could eventually be reflected in lower back pain. Unfortunately, this time we did not do without hyaluronic acid injections, despite the patient’s youth. It was necessary to restore the balance of synovial fluid in the joint. The acid nourishes the joint, cartilage and performs a lubricating function.

After putting the pelvis in place, we planned to work with the muscles. If the situation is not neglected, in such cases massage is enough or resort to the help of a chiropractor. The patient understood everything and performed exactly. Usually at this age, people perfectly perceive all the recommendations. After all the manipulations, the patient went to a specially selected course of exercise therapy.

As for sports that can lead the patient to such a disease, it can be skiing and snowboarding, unfortunately, injuries from them are not rare. Young patients often experience discomfort after the season. For some, it may just be pain, but for someone who did not immediately go to the doctor, structural changes in the joints are also added to them. If you want to learn how to ride, take a detailed instruction from a specialist. Do not learn the method: “get up, go, fall, draw a conclusion.” Be careful and attentive. For anyone who wants to ask the doctor a question, you can write to the editorial address [email protected].