Recovering from a knee or hip injury can be a long process because your care provider starts with basic care and advances your treatment depending on your response. When all these nonsurgical treatments are no longer effective, your care provider may now recommend knee or hip replacement to alleviate the pain and discomfort you might be experiencing. Suppose you are a victim of a knee or hip injury and are interested in consulting hip and knee replacement specialist Braselton to help you understand why the procedure is the best solution. Some of the reasons why the procedure may be recommended include the following:
- Severe arthritis
Arthritis is a common disorder affecting both the knee and hip joints. As a result, your hip and knee joints stiffen and become painful and unstable, which affects your participation in your daily chores. Therefore, if you are experiencing aching pain around the groin, upper outer leg, or buttock, you must seek immediate care because you might have hip arthritis. Similarly, if you experience pain, swelling, and stiffness around your knee joint, it suggests that your knee joint has arthritis. Therefore, when arthritic pain is severe and unresponsive to other forms of treatment, knee or hip replacement is recommended to reduce discomfort and pain, thus allowing you to resume your healthy life.
- Severe pain
People suffering from knee or hip injuries experience a lot of pain which is the primary reason they seek medical advice. Severe pain is intolerable, and not only does it prevent you from participating in your daily chores, but it also reduces your quality of life. Therefore, if you visit your care provider with pain, they try dealing with it using nonsurgical methods such as pain medications, hot or cold compression, and physical therapy. When these methods are no longer effective, your care provider may recommend knee or hip replacement surgery to help deal with the pain.
- Serious knee or hip fracture
The condition is referred to as a hip fracture when the upper part of your thigh bone is broken. One might also be diagnosed with a knee fracture when any bone forming the joint is broken. These types of injuries are usually due to falls or car accidents. Once any bone of the knee or hip joint is broken, you are at risk of developing similar fractures in these joints in the future. Therefore, hip or knee replacement is recommended if your joint is badly injured or at risk of developing future fractures. The purpose of replacing these joints is to prevent pain and reduce the recurrence of certain fractures in the future.
- Degeneration due to repeated tear and wear
When the cartilage found between the bones forming the knee or hip joint wear and tear, you begin experiencing a lot of pain as you move the joints. The reason is that the cartilage that is supposed to prevent friction is no longer present when you begin experiencing pain. Therefore, when degeneration affects your hip or knee, joint replacement of the joints may be recommended.
The advancement in orthopedics has enabled care providers to replace various joints, including the hip and knee joints. Therefore, if you have concerns affecting your hip or knee joint, you can start by consulting Georgia Joint Specialists today and inquire whether you qualify for joint replacement surgery.
