Your hips are among the largest joints in your body and are needed for walking, standing, sitting, and most other types of mobile activity. Whether you’ve developed hip pain due to osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, a fracture or injury, not being able to move freely or support your body weight in your hip joint hampers your lifestyle.
At Bahri Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, the expert team of orthopedic surgeons provides you with the best orthopedic care available by combining state-of-the-art treatments with gold-standard therapies. They spend time getting to know you and your goals, so that they can help you find pain relief that matches your needs and your lifestyle.
Whenever possible, they recommend lifestyle changes and minimally invasive therapies to rehabilitate your hip joint. However, whether due to extensive damage to your bones or cartilage, or for other reasons, sometimes hip replacement surgery is your best option.
You lost weight and adopted a healthier lifestyle, including a diet filled with nourishing vegetables, fruits, proteins, and fats. You stopped smoking. You gently stretch and perform all of your recommended physical therapy exercises.
Though you feel healthier and fitter, you still can’t walk without pain. Even when you use a walker, crutch, or cane, you feel sharp stabs in your hip.
Your doctor recommended corticosteroid injections or other anti-inflammatory medications, but they don’t fully resolve your discomfort. You can’t perform your normal day-to-day functions and your enjoyment of life is impaired.
Osteoarthritis has worn away the protective cartilage that keeps the upper part of your thigh bone from grinding against your hip socket. Or the inflammation from rheumatoid arthritis has eroded your cartilage or bone, or deformed your hips. Or you suffer from osteonecrosis, a state in which the blood supply to the ball portion of your hip is inadequate, causing the bone to become deformed or even collapse.
Your pain stops you from sleeping soundly. You can’t walk up or down the stairs, and find it difficult to stand up after sitting for a long time. Your pain gets worse when you walk, even when you use a cane, crutch, or walker.
If you and your expert orthopedist decide that hip replacement is your best option for a more mobile and pain-free life, you discuss whether a partial or total joint replacement is best and whether to perform traditional surgery or minimally invasive surgery. Your orthopedic surgeon explains which approach is most likely to afford you the most relief and is best for your particular situation.
During your hip replacement surgery, damaged cartilage, bone, and other tissues are first removed. A new ball joint is created with surgical-grade ceramic or metal and fused directly onto your thigh bone. A new socket joint is created with surgical-grade plastic that provides a friction-free surface.
Hip replacement is major surgery that takes several hours, so you’ll be put to sleep with general anesthesia. After surgery, you’re encouraged to sit up and try to walk with a walker or crutches as soon as possible to get your blood flowing again and help prevent blood clots.
Your Bahri Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Clinic specialist provides you with postoperative care instructions, including physical therapy recommendations. Your hip should heal well enough within 6-12 weeks to resume most normal activities. You’ll continue to gain strength and mobility over the next year, but high-impact sports aren’t recommended.
If you’re ready for a new hip and a new lease on life, call us today for an evaluation.
