Who needs hip replacement surgery?
It’s difficult to live your life to the fullest when plagued with hip pain. The simplest of activities like climbing stairs, walking to the kitchen, or even lying down in bed comfortably become a constant source of frustration. When facing all these difficulties, it is easy to wonder if it is time to undergo a hip replacement surgery.
However, the reality cannot be further from this notion. Determining if you truly need a hip replacement requires a good mix of examining the underlying conditions and exhausting all the non-invasive methods first. It is simply not a decision that good medical professionals take lightly. If you’re wondering when someone actually needs a hip replacement surgery, we’ve got you covered. Let us go through the different causes and scenarios that make up the requirements for a hip replacement surgery.
Does having osteoarthritis mean you need hip replacement surgery?
Osteoarthritis (OA) is arguably one of the main reasons why people inquire about hip replacement surgery. It is a situation in which the cartilage cushioning our hip joint withers away over time, leaving the bones to rub directly against each other. What results thereafter is a degenerative condition that gradually worsens over time.
All the weight-bearing joints in our body experience a bit of wear and tear throughout our lives. Years of walking, running, and moving through our everyday lives weakens the cartilage in these joints. It’s a part of life, and we must adjust our lifestyle to fit this change. But the excessive erosion of cartilage resulting in OA, especially before the age of 50, isn’t normal and will require consulting with a medical professional.
Coming to how it feels, the pain from OA typically starts as mild discomfort during any form of activity. For instance, you may feel some morning stiffness after waking up, and it may begin to last for longer as time goes on. As the condition progresses, this pain may persist even when trying to rest, making the need for lifestyle changes abundantly clear.
Usually, hip replacement for OA is recommended when the pain becomes borderline unbearable and all the conservative treatment strategies have been exhausted. It can be life-changing for people going through this condition at such a level, as the procedure removes the damaged joint surface and replaces them with artificial components. Patients often say that, once recovered, they are able to rediscover the joy of pain-free movement and return to activities they may have had to reluctantly abandon.
What other situations call for a hip replacement surgery?
Statistically, osteoarthritis dominates as the reason behind hip replacement surgery. But it is not the only situation that can warrant the procedure. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), for one, presents a completely different challenge, where our own immune system begins to damage all the joints in the body. Unlike the gradual development of osteoarthritis, RA also progresses way more rapidly, making conservative treatment quite difficult and making surgery the only viable option.
Outside of the arthritis duo, traumatic injuries can also push people into seeking surgery. What happens is that falls or injuries among older adults can result in hip fractures that refuse to heal properly with conventional treatment. Similarly, vehicular accidents and sports injuries can compromise the structural integrity of the joints, something that, once again, may not be treatable with conventional means.
Finally, certain types of tumours, although quite rare, can also affect your joint area. Whether it’s benign or a malignant growth, you will almost certainly need surgical intervention. But whether that surgery will entail total joint replacement is a different matter altogether. The removal of tumour tissue sometimes requires replacing part or all of the affected joint to maintain stability and function. It will all differ on a case-by-case basis.
How do you know if you need a hip replacement?
As you can already tell, having hip pain does not mean your journey leads to surgery. With a bit of conservative treatment and care, many people do manage to live their lives with ease. Now, how do you get started with managing your hip pain? It all begins by consulting with either your GP or a hip specialist in London. When you visit them, they conduct a thorough evaluation of your symptoms and try to determine the underlying issue first. Unless your hip pain is unbearable, the doctor will likely begin with conservative treatments first.
These conservative treatment plans usually involve a mix of physical therapy, weight management, and the use of anti-inflammatory medicines. You may also be prescribed steroid injections, which can provide temporary but amazing pain relief.
In the situation where all this fails to provide adequate relief, then surgical intervention will be recommended as a last resort. But even then, the decision to undergo surgery will depend on various factors such as your age, health status, activity level and most importantly, the severity of joint damage. That being said, if you do end up going for the surgery, do not be afraid of what’s to come. In recent years, hip replacement surgeries boast great success rates, and as long as you take care of yourself afterwards, you’ll be back to your best self in no time.
Making the right call at the right time
Simply getting to know if you need a hip replacement or not can feel scary at first. But from everything we’ve discussed so far, it’s easy to see how most people with hip pain do not require surgery at all. All that is required is making a few positive adjustments in your routine, along with some medications and physical therapy. Once you are diligent with this, you can live your life without worrying about an inevitable surgery.
Even if you do need to go through the procedure, modern hip replacement techniques have evolved considerably. The minimally invasive approaches of today not only result in faster recovery times, but also reduced surgical trauma. You may need to find the right doctor for your case, but once you do, you’ll be in safe hands.
With all that being said, living with chronic hip pain should never become your new normal. Whether it’s conservative treatments or a hip replacement surgery, you need to put in the effort to find your way back to a comfortable life. So just take the first step and get that consultation you require. Once you do so, everything will be just fine.
Disclosure: This is a featured post.