Signs Your Shoulder Pain Needs Help
Shoulder pain isn’t uncommon, but how do you know when to see your doctor? Here’s what you need to know.
It’s not surprising that hip replacement has the potential for enormous post-procedure satisfaction. You need only look at the reasons why the surgery is done to see that you can look forward to relief from chronic pain as well as a return to something approaching normal mobility.
Yet these benefits can raise your expectations about life after hip replacement, and when you expect a lot, the potential for disappointment climbs, too. So does hip replacement live up to patients’ expectations? The answer is a resounding “yes.”
Surveys that follow up with patients about one year after their hip replacement procedures produce consistent results virtually any way the studies are conducted. It doesn’t matter if those surveyed are asked about their post-surgery satisfaction or if they’re asked to compare their outcome with pre-surgery expectations. Satisfaction levels routinely top 90% for hip replacement procedures.
Perhaps most telling is that those who had both hips replaced are among the most satisfied with their outcomes, with satisfaction results as high as 96%. Similarly, hip replacement patients recovering from the effects of rheumatoid arthritis are equally enthusiastic, with approval ratings reaching 94%.
As for why hip replacement patients are so happy with their results, it’s as easy as looking at their lives before surgery. As the American population ages, arthritic conditions become more common, particularly osteoarthritis, the wear-and-tear form of the disease that simply results from a well-lived life.
Other arthritic conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, also result in the breakdown of components of the hip joint.
Deteriorating cartilage covering the joint ends of leg and pelvis bones permits bone-on-bone contact, creating pain that can be intense during movement as well as a constant ache that may be present even at rest. Pain leads to limited mobility, which tends to reduce your activity, creating a downward spiral.
Hip replacement uses prosthetics to replace worn or damaged joint ends. The surgery restores smooth ball-and-socket function and relieves joint pain. With exercise and physical therapy, muscle strength and range of motion come back, and for well over 90% of those receiving the new joints, quality of life returns.
Perhaps another reason for such high satisfaction comes from improvements in the surgery itself, as well as the quality of the prosthetics.
Techniques that reduce the size of surgical incisions limit the damage done to muscle tissue, making the hip replacement procedure less invasive and resulting in faster recovery times, which may outperform patient expectations.
Better materials and designs mean that prosthetics now last longer than ever. As the incidence of hip replacement rises, the median age of patients drops, and many of these younger patients have the potential for relief earlier in the joint degeneration process as well as reduced need for revision surgery later in life.
As with any surgical procedure, your success and satisfaction depend on the expertise and experience of the surgeon you choose. Our doctors at Crescent City Orthopedics are hip replacement specialists, well-versed in the latest techniques and technology. You can contact us by phone or online to schedule your consultation. You’re only steps away from your own hip replacement success story.
