Joint Replacements Becoming A New Norm

If you live with chronic pain due to a hip, back or knee injury, your quality of life may be diminished.  There's nothing worse than dealing with constant discomfort taking away what you like to do.  There is good news however.  Joint replacement surgery could be your solution.

Keeping your joints in tip top shape can be difficult, especially as we age.  During the summer, orthopedic surgeons see more patients with pain and injuries from both in and outdoor activities.  Joint replacement continues to advance by leaps and bounds.  It is also less invasive than ever before and some patients report feeling better and regaining full mobility within a few months.

Dr. Nader Hebela is an orthopedic surgeon with the Meridian Health System.  He says "during the warm weather, I see more people with problems because they were practically dormant all Winter and Spring.  They don't take the chance to warm up.  They go out for 7 or 8 hours at a clip to do yard work and end up pulling muscles, injuring a previous problem even more or blowing discs in their back."

Replacement therapy, also known as replacement arthroplasty, is when the arthritic or dysfunctional joint surface is replaced with a prosthesis.  It is becoming extremely common with knees and hips replaced most often, but other joints are also done too.  According to statistics, almost 800 thousand people undergo these types of surgeries each year.

Dr. Hebela adds "the recovery time is a lot less time than it used to be.  I have patients that see a 75 percent pain reduction within weeks and within three months, they feel as good as new."

If you are experiencing chronic pain, be sure to see your doctor.