M05.05: Felty syndrome Pelvic region and thigh

You have a rheumatic disorder that is causing joint inflammation in your pelvis or hip.

The pelvis is made up of different bones. There are 3 bones on each side which each merge to form one large pelvic bone. A joint connects these two large pelvic bones to the sacrum at the back of the body. The sacrum is part of the lower spine. The two pelvic bones plus the sacrum form a bony pelvic ring or girdle. In front, the two pelvic bones are tightly joined to one another by ligaments and cartilage fiber. The hip joints are outside, to the side of the pelvis. They connect the pelvis to the thighbones. The hip joints enable the legs to be moved in different directions.

An inflammation in the joints can cause various symptoms. Typical is a swollen, painful joint. The skin above the joint may also be red. It may also no longer be possible to move the joint as usual.

The joint inflammation has been caused by a rheumatic disease. A rheumatic disease can affect the entire body. There may be inflammation in the bones, the connective tissue, and the joints. The symptoms can be more and less severe. It is thought that rheumatic diseases are caused by a person’s immune system producing antibodies against their own body. These antibodies attack the body’s own tissue. The tissue can get inflamed and damaged as a result.

There are various kinds of defense cells (immune cells) in the blood. As a result of the rheumatic disease you have fewer of one particular type of defense cell in your blood. As a result, you may more easily get infected by pathogens.