Benefit From Hip Replacement Surgery?
It’s hard to deal with hip pain. It can cause pain, stiffness, and inflammation, and it can also make it hard to do important things like walk and move.
If your hip has hurt you for a long time, you may be thinking about surgery. But how do you know if you should get hip replacement surgery?
How Do You Know You Need a Hip Replacement?
As with most types of care, you should try less invasive methods before you go to surgery. Anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen can help relieve hip pain, and walkers and crutches can help you move around more easily and walk better.
But if physical therapy, exercise, and painkillers haven’t helped your hip pain or made it easier for you to move around, you might want to think about having hip replacement surgery.
- Pain medicine and physical therapy don’t work.
For some people, taking painkillers is a good way to treat hip pain. But medicines can have unpleasant side effects, like making you sleepy or less hungry. It can also become a habit. It can be hard to deal with these side effects, especially if the medicine you take doesn’t help.
- Hip pain affects your daily life.
Does hip pain make it hard for you to walk, bend, go shopping, or go up or down stairs? Do you feel sad or irritable most of the time because of your hip pain? Here are some signs that hip replacement surgery could be a good choice for you.
- When you’re resting, your hip hurts.
Walking or going up and down stairs can irritate your hip joints and make them hurt. Hip pain usually gets better when you stop moving. But if your hip hurts when you rest during the day or at night, you may want to think about surgery.
- You know that the pain is coming from your hip.
Pain in the hip area is sometimes caused by pain in the back or knee. In these situations, surgery to replace the hip won’t help. Your doctor can numb your hip to find out where the pain is coming from. If you still have pain in your hip after that, your pain is probably coming from your back or knee.
- Your hip joint is damaged.
If your doctor says that your hip joint is damaged or misshapen, you might want to think about getting a hip replacement. Damaged joints can get worse over time. If you wait too long, a doctor may find it harder to fix them.
- You have severe arthritis in your hip.
Your hip joints can be affected by different kinds of arthritis. One of these is osteoarthritis. Another is ankylosing spondylitis. If arthritis has hurt your hip joints a lot, surgery might help. Hip replacement surgery can help relieve your pain and make it easier for you to get back to your regular activities.
- It’s hard to move or lift your leg when it’s stiff.
If your hip joints are so stiff that it hurts to move or lift your leg, this could be a sign that you need hip replacement surgery.
- You want long-lasting relief.
Most ways to treat hip pain only help for a short time. Most injections last for a few months. The effects of painkillers only last a few hours. On the other hand, hip replacement surgery lasts for many years. Almost 85 percent of artificial hip joints used in hip replacement surgeries last 20 years or more.
What Happens During Hip Replacement Surgery?
The ball in your hip joint sits on top of a socket right above your femur (thigh bone). During hip replacement surgery, your surgeon will use metal and plastic to replace your damaged ball and socket.
These man-made materials help your hip joint work better so that your hip can move and slide.
How Long Does It Take To Get Back To Normal After Having A Hip Replacement?
Most people can do light things again three to six weeks after surgery. But for six months to a year, you won’t be able to turn or bend your legs.
Keeping up with your physical therapy routine is the best thing you can do to speed up your recovery. For a good recovery, your doctor or physical therapist will tell you to do certain exercises every day.
People with diabetes, heart disease, or lung problems may find it harder to get better. If you live alone, someone should check on you often for the first few weeks after your total hip replacement surgery.
Contact the Vikas Mehra clinic today to learn more about orthopedist surgery! Dr. Mehra is Chandigarh’s top hip replacement surgeon.