Picture this.
You notice a pain deep in your hip.
At first it doesn’t seem like a big deal.
Maybe you tweaked it trying to do too much in that new exercise class.
Maybe you slept in a strange position, or pulled a muscle without realising.
Maybe it’s just another sickle cell crisis threatening to start.
Still, nothing dramatic happened, so you assume it will pass.
But the pain lingers.
Simple things slowly start becoming harder than they should be.
Putting on socks.
Picking things up off the floor.
Getting out of the car.
You catch yourself limping. You’re definitely not imagining it.
It’s not the kind of pain that feels like a typical sickle crisis.
It’s deeper. More localised. And it doesn’t respond to rest the way a muscle strain should.
The first doctor agrees, it’s probably muscular.
"Give it time." "Rest it for a bit."
But weeks pass and the pain is still there.
Eventually someone considers another possibility and orders an MRI scan.
That’s when you hear a term many people living with sickle cell have never been warned about before:
Avascular necrosis.
And suddenly the explanation for that persistent hip pain becomes much more serious.
The name sounds complicated, but the idea behind it is actually quite simple.
Avascular means lack of blood supply.
Necrosis means tissue dying.
So avascular necrosis literally means bone that becomes damaged because it isn’t getting enough blood.
Bones might look solid and lifeless, but they’re actually living tissue. They rely on tiny blood vessels constantly delivering oxygen and nutrients.
In sickle cell, those small vessels can sometimes become blocked by sickled red blood cells.
When that happens repeatedly in certain areas of bone, especially around joints like the hip, shoulder, or knee, the bone can slowly weaken over time.
And because some parts of bone have very limited backup blood supply, once those vessels are blocked the tissue can begin to die.
That’s why avascular necrosis is one of the most common long-term complications of sickle cell disease.
One of the challenges is that it often develops gradually rather than dramatically.
Pain may come and go. Early X-rays can appear normal. And many people only learn about AVN after symptoms have already started affecting how they move.
That’s exactly why I created a Sickleverse Live Masterclass on this topic.
And you can watch the replay by clicking the link below:
'Keeping it Moving: Avascular Necrosis in Sickle Cell.'
In the session we break this down clearly and practically, including:
Stay Healthy,
Lewis
