Joint Replacement Faq’s

There are many causes of debilitating joint pain. Joint pain includes any part of the joint such as your muscles, tendons, ligaments, bone, and cartilage.

Different people will experience different pain thresholds. Some will experience mild pain and sensitivity after specific activities. However, others will experience extreme pain while bearing weight. People with severe pain will have trouble making any movement without experiencing intense pain.

When most people are discussing joint pain, they're often referring to pain from arthritis or arthralgia, which causes inflammation and pain within the joint itself. However, there are many types of conditions that cause joint pain.

Pain can be evidence of degenerative disease, osteoarthritis, broken bones, rheumatoid arthritis, or other joint conditions. The Resurgens Joint Replacement Center specializes in diagnosing and treating injuries in two of the largest joints: the knee and hip.

Over time, your joints sustain a lot of wear and tear. Symptoms such as joint pain, tenderness, swelling, stiffness, or difficulty moving one or more joints could indicate severe arthritis, joint damage, or other joint conditions that might require an evaluation by a joint doctor.

While more conservative options like injections or physical therapy may help treat your joint condition, you should consider talking to a doctor about joint replacement if you:

• Experience extreme difficulty while using your hips and knees during non-intensive daily tasks
• Are in constant chronic pain despite non-surgical treatments and other remedies
• Have been diagnosed with osteoarthritis and is experiencing diminished movement capacity.

Before advising total joint replacement, your physician will recommend conservative options. Contrary to popular wisdom, developments and advances in prosthetics means people of all ages can alleviate pain with joint replacement.

As the largest joint in the body — made up of the thighbone, the shinbone, and knee cap — the knee is one of the most easily injured joints. If you experience a popping noise and feel your knee give out at the time of injury, suffer severe pain, or struggle with immobility in the knee, these are signs you should consult a joint specialist to determine the severity of your problem.

The hip joint is made up of two bones: the pelvis and the femur (the thighbone). It is the largest ball-and-socket joint in your body. If you experience limited mobility, stiffness, or pain in your hip, you should consult a joint specialist to determine the severity of your problem.

Treatment of your hip or knee pain will vary depending on the severity of your condition. If your Resurgens joint doctor does not recommend total joint replacement at this time, there are a number of non-surgical hip and knee treatments available including fluoroscopic guided hip injection and Visco-supplementation for arthritis of the knee, which may provide pain relief and improved mobility.

For more severe hip or knee joint conditions, you may require total joint replacement. Resurgens joint experts will ensure that appropriate conservative measures have been attempted prior to surgical intervention. If it's determined that a surgical solution is required, our team is trained in the latest techniques in hip and knee surgical solutions.

In general, the surgery takes about two hours followed by a one to three hour stay in the Recovery Room.

This is dependent on your age and medical condition. Some patients are able to leave the day of surgery whereas other patients may stay overnight or longer depending on your physical condition.

PT begins the day of surgery or the morning after surgery in the hospital depending on when your surgery is completed. The therapist will assist with exercises and walking. After you leave the hospital, physical therapists will either come to the house or some patients will be able to go directly to outpatient physical therapy. Most of the motivated patients can do physiotherapy on their own after a few days of training.

The type of anesthesia depends on patient and surgeon preference. Some patients will have a regional anesthetic (nerve block, or spinal) along with light sedation to help them sleep. Other patients will have general anesthesia. The anesthesia provider will discuss these options with you at your hospital pre-operative visit.

Yes. Pain medicine will be available to you immediately after surgery. Surgeons use different combinations of medicines based on their preferences. Every effort will be made to make sure that you are comfortable. Please remember that the pain medicine will not completely relieve your pain. It is meant to make you comfortable enough so that you can rest.

Pain medications can cause nausea, vomiting, itching, drowsiness, decreased energy, loss of appetite, and constipation. You may need a stool softener or laxative to remain regular. These are available over the counter.

Yes. You will be given a blood thinner to help prevent blood clots based on your surgeon's preference and your medical comorbidities along with your normal home medications.

Yes. We encourage that someone is present with you at home if possible.

A surgical dressing will be in place after surgery. Your surgeon will instruct you regarding dressing changes if needed.

The timing of this activity is surgeon dependent. Bath tubs and swimming pools should be avoided until cleared by your surgeon.

Skin closure technique is surgeon dependent. You may also have steri-strips over the incision.

You will need a walker initially but you will progress to a cane over time.

Patients can usually safely drive four to six weeks after surgery. Some patients are able to drive sooner. Driving is not permitted while taking pain medication.

Running, jumping and other impact loading activities should be avoided as they can lead to increased wear of the prosthesis and early failure. Extreme positions should be avoided as they can lead to dislocation.(in hip surgery)

Occasionally blood will be necessary during your hospital stay. Your surgeon will advise you if this is necessary.

Complications from surgery are rare - but possible. Risks include infection, dislocation, blood clots, leg length inequality, fracture of the femur (thigh bone) or acetabulum (socket of the hip joint in the pelvis) during surgery, loosening or wear of the implants, wound problems, need for additional surgery, damage to nerves and/or blood vessels, bleeding, problems with anesthesia, and death. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee that you will not have a complication but we do everything we can to minimize the risks related to any surgery.