Arthritis of Hip Joint – Surgical Options for Hip Arthritis
One of the most miserable conditions anyone can have is arthritis of hip joint. Many people suffer from arthritis of hip joint and usually they suffer for years. Arthritis of hip joint causes a lot of symptoms, such as pain, swelling, limping, and stiffness. Eventually people can end up in a wheelchair and a lot of older people use canes and walkers in order to get around safely, even in their own homes. If you are suffering from arthritis of hip joint, there are things that you can do. When you have exhausted all of your options and are still miserable, you can talk to your doctor about surgical options.
Your doctor may tell you that surgery will be a good option for dealing with your arthritis of hip joint. Surgery often helps those who have run out of options live their lives again without a great deal of pain. In some cases, people are able to stop using wheelchairs, canes, or walkers once they have surgery for their arthritis of hip joint. Your doctor will examine you and do x-rays to see exactly what is going on with your arthritis of hip joint. Those x-rays will be compared to any previous x-rays so that your doctor can see where the deterioration is and determine what kind of surgery would benefit you.
Hip replacement surgery is a commonly done surgery to treat those who are desperate for relief from arthritis of hip joint. It is a major surgery that should not be done unless all other options to treat arthritis of hip joint have been exhausted. In this surgery, the damaged joint is removed and replaced with artificial parts. Recovery can take weeks. Some people feel the pain is not worth the surgery, but those who have arthritis of hip joint usually find that with physical therapy, once they are healed, they have very little pain compared to what they had with arthritis of hip joint.
The other kind of surgery to treat arthritis of the hip joint is hip resurfacing. Implants are used and less bone is removed than in hip replacement surgery. It is usually used for younger patients who have arthritis of hip joint and may be facing several surgeries to help their arthritis of hip joint symptoms over the years. The implants are less likely to fail than they were in the 1970s and those who have this surgery usually have less risk of a dislocation and it is easier to adjust the implants if needed.
