The Role of Medical Prevention and Treatment of Femoral Head Osteonecrosis

Osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH), also known as femoral head osteonecrosis, is a pathological state resulting in the collapse of the femoral head and subsequent degenerative osteoarthritis of the hip. ONFH frequently affects relatively young adults, between the ages of 30 and 50 years, and leads to major socioeconomic burdens [1, 2]. Many patients with this devastating condition will eventually require total hip arthroplasty (THA), and osteonecrosis is the most or second most common condition of THA in East Asian countries [3]. Although the pathogenesis of ONFH remains still to be elucidated, many researchers have investigated its pathomechanisms during decades and have developed various nonsurgical treatments for ONFH based on the results. However, most studies on the nonsurgical treatments have limitations such as small sample sizes, scarcity of available randomized controlled trials, and different study designs.