Many people are familiar with joint pain – a fairly common phenomenon, and its causes are diverse. It happens that the problem for many years makes itself felt only by episodic attacks, but when the pain becomes a constant companion, begins to limit our capabilities, interfere with our usual way of life, we understand that something needs to be done about it.
Of course, the treatment options are different — they depend on many factors, and the doctor always offers the best solution to the problem based on the overall picture of the disease. But when other methods have exhausted themselves, one day there comes a moment that many patients are afraid of: an orthopedist offers joint replacement surgery.
There are many questions, doubts, fears — and they are quite understandable. Awareness of what awaits us helps to solve problems and overcome fears. So, let’s talk about this in more detail in order to make a calm, informed and balanced decision.
How to understand that it is time for joint replacement surgery?
The need for surgical prosthetics of joints is not always obvious. We all tolerate pain in different ways. That’s why the patient and the orthopedic surgeon should make a decision together. For example, on radiographs of joints, some patients already have severe manifestations of arthrosis, but for some reason this does not affect their quality of life, they are still active and do not experience serious discomfort. In other patients, X-rays show only the initial signs of the disease, but they experience terrible pain that they cannot live with. One thing is for sure: this is definitely not a competition to see who will last longer without surgery.
Middle-aged people may feel that it is too early to agree to a joint replacement, even if this step will ease the pain. But when you’ve gone through all the other treatment options and the pain gets worse, postponing surgery feels like torture. The patient chooses surgery for the simple reason that he is bored with the constant pain that he experiences at every step, and rest and painkillers do not bring relief. Surgery in this case is a real way to improve the quality of life and restore motor activity.
How to determine that the benefits of an operation outweigh its risk? After all, even when you experience constant pain in your knee or hip joint, it’s not always easy to decide that it’s time for surgery to replace it. Are you giving up too soon? Or on the contrary, have you suffered for too long?
Tolerate or not tolerate?
The number of patients who have undergone knee or hip replacement surgery is increasing every year, and they are getting younger. But there are also those who do not want to go to surgery, and this is normal. Perhaps the joint disease does not allow them to walk, but they say that they have heard about cases of surgical complications, so they do not want to have surgery. They would rather suffer than agree, fearing that something will happen to them. They are all waiting, enduring and waiting…
On average, according to the survey results, people who underwent joint replacement surgery experienced severe pain in the hip or knee joint from 7 to 11 years before they decided to “go under the knife.” Such patients postponed surgery due to fear, incomplete awareness of possible treatment options and lack of reliable information about the results of prosthetics.
Enduring pain is not always as prudent as it seems. Since chronic pain often leads to limited mobility, many people, fearing surgery, let their lives slip away from them. They gain weight and stop doing what they like – for example, doing their favorite sport and even walking their dog. Their body loses flexibility, and it becomes difficult for some to walk. Postponing surgery often means that you allow the pain to noticeably reduce your quality of life.
When it is better not to hurry?
Despite the advantages of surgery, it is not recommended to rush into surgery until you carefully evaluate all the pros and cons. Like any other surgery, joint replacement is associated with potential dangers such as infection and thrombosis. Patients may experience severe postoperative pain and prolonged lameness. In some cases, repeated surgery is required if the artificial joint is displaced or worn out. In hospitals with extensive treatment experience and a good reputation, the risk of these complications is very low, but, nevertheless, it exists.
Specialists do not recommend joint replacement for patients who have not yet undergone conservative treatment: physiotherapy and kinesotherapy (treatment with physical exercises), treatment with anti-inflammatory painkillers and intra-articular injections, weight loss.
For example, exercises to strengthen the muscles around the joint often help relieve pain. Strong muscles strengthen the joints, thereby preventing increased pain during exacerbations of the disease. A balanced diet and maintaining a healthy weight help reduce the high pressure on the joints exerted by extra pounds. Patients can avoid joint replacement surgery or postpone it for a long time if they reach the ideal body weight.
Orthopedists advise patients to try all non-surgical treatment options before seeking surgery, as well as honestly answer the question: “How have I changed my lifestyle?”.
So to be or not to be op?
How, in the end, to determine that it’s time for surgery? When, finally, to decide for yourself whether or not to stop pain, restore motor activity, return to a habitual way of life, whether or not to improve the quality of life?
Often patients come to their own decision, believing that “they have had enough.” Sometimes the right moment comes when the patient starts saying, “I can’t take this pain anymore, I have to do something” – or “I can’t live like this anymore.”
In many people, the early symptoms of osteoarthritis are mild and well tolerated, especially if the lifestyle changes. But when pain and stiffness already prevent you from working, sleeping or doing what you like, it’s time to think about surgery.
You should not focus on age. If your body says it needs a joint replacement, listen to it, regardless of age. Regardless of whether you are 45 or 75, it is important to understand yourself, your body, in order to really appreciate the intensity of pain and the price you will have to pay.
Consult your doctor and make sure that the pain comes from the joint, and is not transmitted from neighboring areas of the body, is not the result of neurological or vascular diseases. Together with your orthopedic surgeon, carefully study the benefits and risks of surgical intervention and get a second opinion.
If orthopedic doctors unanimously recommend joint prosthetics as the only way to treat arthrosis, this means that all other treatment options have exhausted their possibilities. Now only you can answer the question, to be or not to be.
Remember that you are not alone
What do the famous action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger, rock star Steve Tyler from Aerosmith, German tennis player and former world number one Boris Becker have in common?
In addition to the fact that they are all famous people, each of them has undergone joint replacement surgery. And it seems that their future life is developing very successfully. Do you think, not because they are famous, but because they are “in a special position”? Not at all! Nowadays, thousands of people continue to lead an active lifestyle after joint replacement surgery. Although, of course, they are not so widely known.
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