Hip-related problems can significantly affect your life, comfort, and overall health. These problems arise from different causes, meaning that you need a thorough medical examination to establish the specific root of your condition. The best way to manage a hip-related condition is undergoing total hip replacement surgery, which helps eradicate the problem.
Working with a physical therapist can also have life-changing benefits that help you regain your previous health and well-being. Subsequently, you want to conduct your research and establish the best physical therapy specialists to consult.
At Suarez Physical Therapy, we dedicate our services to helping patients seeking arthroplasty services in Las Vegas, Nevada. Our years of experience providing physical therapy services have equipped us with the best skills necessary for proper recovery, giving you a chance to return to your everyday life.
The Nature of the Total Hip Replacement Procedure
When your doctor finds that your hip bone health has deteriorated, they may recommend surgery as a last resort. Subsequently, the total hip replacement procedure aims to remove the affected hip bone sections and replace them to help you regain your health.
Although only a limited hip bone section may have damage signs, your doctor may recommend a total hip replacement surgery to prevent the condition from spreading. Due to this, you can expect the doctor to remove a significant part of your hip bone.
During the same surgical procedure, they will replace the hip bone with a prosthetic to help you continue with normal body function after recovering from the surgery. Your doctor will present several prosthetic options, including ceramic, plastic, or metallic replacements. Each option has merits and demerits that you will have discussed with your healthcare professional beforehand.
Common Conditions Resulting in a Total Hip Replacement Procedure
Various conditions may affect your hip bone joints, and you want to understand the common causes to help you identify potential problems. Furthermore, if you suffer from any underlying condition, you will have an easier time linking it to the hip-related condition, prompting you to seek help sooner.
The most common cause of hip problems requiring total hip-related surgery is arthritis. However, the condition presents in different ways based on the triggers. As a result, you want to establish whether you are suffering from:
Rheumatoid Arthritis
One of the arthritis variations is rheumatoid arthritis, characterized by continuous inflammation around the affected hip bone. The condition arises when your immune system reacts to potential bone infection by disease-causing microbes.
Typically, the body’s reaction produces more white blood cells than usual to fight off foreign microbes. However, the white blood cell count will rise significantly if your body’s immune system activates more defense responses than necessary, the white blood cell count will rise significantly. Consequently, the dead cells accumulate and cause inflammation around the hip bone, if that was the affected area.
Notably, increased inflammation takes up more space than your bone’s cartilage should take up. Hence, you may face bone erosion, causing pain and weakened hip support, including deformed joints. If you suspect your hip pain stems from rheumatoid arthritis, you want to consult your doctor as soon as possible for an examination and treatment options.
Osteoarthritis Conditions
Additionally, your hip joints may suffer from osteoarthritis, which arises from the continuous wear and tear of your bone mass. The problem occurs when your body produces low amounts of synovial fluid. The fluid is instrumental in protecting your joints from too much friction, as it would cause progressive bone deterioration.
You can identify signs of osteoarthritis before scheduling a medical consultation. For example, if you notice clicking sounds around your hips when you sit or stand, they may indicate friction against the movement. You may also experience pain or discomfort as you sit, stand, or walk because you will have engaged your hip bones.
A thorough medical examination will help establish whether total hip replacement surgery is necessary. Your doctor will give their opinion if the hip bone joints are severely eroded from the joints, making them insufficient to support your total body weight.
Osteonecrosis Conditions
Blood supply is crucial for your body's muscles and bones, and insufficient blood flow could cause irreversible damage. The necessity extends to your hip ball and joint socket, which allows you to sit and stand through the mechanical bone movement.
When your hip ball joint does not receive blood supply, the bone will deteriorate, resulting in potential deformation and subsequent failure to support your body weight. Osteonecrosis may cause sudden pain and inability to move, as bone health regression takes time.
Nonetheless, you may notice a few changes in your hip movement, so you want to raise any concerns you see as soon as possible.
When to Consult Your Doctor About the Procedure
Although your doctor may diagnose you with any of the discussed arthritis conditions, total hip replacement surgery may not be their immediate recommendation. On the other hand, you may exhibit serious problems that warrant direct medical intervention to prevent your condition from worsening. The following are instances when you should consider undergoing total hip replacement surgery:
When Pain Medication Does Not Relieve Hip Pain
Sustaining injuries and trauma around the hip area are typical, especially if you involve yourself in high-impact sports. Accidents may also affect the hip area and cause pain. Despite this, the pain medication should help alleviate the symptoms and provide relief until you return to your usual way of life.
Therefore, when your body does not respond to the pain medication or only provides temporary relief, you want to raise the issue with your doctor for examination. They will likely find that your hip bone has sustained severe damage and requires replacement.
You Face Difficulties in Standing
Challenges when standing, especially after remaining seated for a long time, can also indicate the need for total hip replacement surgery. The symptoms often indicate severe hip bone deterioration, meaning that you may face more severe outcomes if you fail to replace the affected bone.
The Hip Pain and Discomfort Affect Your Sleep
Many patients take pain medication to manage their symptoms, especially when going to sleep. If your case is still manageable, the remedy usually works well to help you avoid difficulties at night. However, if your hip pain is so intense that it disrupts your sleeping schedule, it points to a severe hip problem that requires immediate attention. Among the remedies to consider is a total hip replacement procedure to remove the affected hip bone area.
Your Hip Pain Increases When Walking
Since walking actively engages your hip joints, experiencing increased pain when walking may point to osteoarthritis. This is because your bones continuously face excessive friction and erosion, exposing your nerves to intense pain. Subsequently, your doctor will use the information they find during your examination to establish whether a total hip replacement procedure is necessary.
You Have Significant Challenges Going Up a Staircase
Similarly, climbing stairs engages your hips, so any challenges or pain when bending your legs on each step could indicate the need for treatment. You should check in with your healthcare provider, mainly if the pain arises, without having experienced any previous injuries around the hips, as it helps distinguish pain from arthritis and chronic body trauma.
Previous Medical Interventions Have Little Effects
As discussed, total hip replacement surgery should be a last resort, as it is an invasive procedure that may carry several risks. Therefore, your health care provider may have recommended several treatment options, including bone-strengthening diets, exercise, and pain medication.
However, if the options fail to yield the expected results, it may mean that your problem has escalated to the need for hip replacement. Your doctor will make this decision after studying your case and giving your body sufficient time to react to the previous treatment options. If no changes are noticeable, you will start preparing for surgery.
Preparing for Surgery
Once your doctor clears you to undergo the surgical procedure, you want to prepare yourself for the upcoming processes to avoid delays. The most important factors to go through with your doctor include your medical history, which guides the surgical team on the best treatment process for you.
For example, you should disclose any information related to allergic reactions or specific allergies to the anesthesia medication used. The data can be pivotal to the success of your surgery, as some patients may have adverse reactions to the spinal block or general anesthesia used.
Additionally, you should inform your doctor if you are under any medical prescription, as the details guide them on the best remedies to issue after the process. These details will also help the doctor advise you on whether to discontinue the prescription before surgery if the medication poses a threat to your health.
Undergoing body imaging is also a crucial preparation step, as it helps your doctor identify how much damage your hip bone has sustained. Thus, you can expect to undergo several X-Ray and MRI scans, depending on the nature of your condition.
These imaging processes are also essential because they guide the doctor in designing a suitable prosthetic hip replacement to match the bone mass they intend to remove. Doing so requires high accuracy levels, as failure to factor in your body’s dimensions can cause discomfort even after surgery. Therefore, your medical team may take time to obtain information on the affected hip bone.
Your doctor will recommend blood tests to ensure you do not have any infections in the days leading up to surgery. The bloodwork will also reveal your blood type, which is valuable information to have before surgery if you require a transfusion.
Additional preparations include creating a surgery schedule that works for you, specifically during days when you fully rest. Hence, you may need to cancel or reschedule upcoming plans to help you create sufficient rest time.
Also, you should check with the relevant medical staff on the essential items to carry to the hospital for comfort. These include personal things like toothbrushes, body care products, and your phone or laptop.
The Surgical Procedure
During surgery, the doctor’s primary role is to remove the affected hip bone mass and replace it with a prosthetic to eradicate pain and improve your body's movement/support. To do this, they need to access your hip bone, meaning the surgery is highly invasive. As a result, you need general anesthesia or spinal block anesthesia to prevent you from feeling pain from your waist down.
After the surgical team confirms that the anesthesia is working, they make incisions to access the affected hip bone. They will then remove the affected bone mass and clean the surrounding area in preparation for the prosthetic.
Placing the hip prosthetic follows, and the doctor needs to ensure that the ball and joint socket fit perfectly. Failure to do so will limit your movement after recovery, reducing the effectiveness of the surgical process.
Hence, your doctor will take time to ensure that the replacement will work well, regardless of its material. Notably, ceramic prosthetics are more fragile than metallic or plastic options, so the surgical team will be keen to ensure that the prosthetic is well set on your leg.
Risks Associated With Total Hip Replacement Surgery
Like any other surgical procedure, total hip replacement surgery may attract some health risks. Although your doctor may do their best to minimize these problems from arising, unforeseen circumstances may negatively affect your body, resulting in any of the following:
Body Infections
An infection is the most common risk you can face during surgery, as your body tissue is exposed to external components, including bacteria. However, your doctor can manage the problem by ensuring the surgical room is thoroughly sterilized ahead of the procedure.
Moreover, avoiding tissue over-exposure can help minimize the risks, depending on the type of hip replacement process they will follow. Follow-up antibiotic prescriptions also provide extra safety precautions to reduce body infection risks, provided your doctor understands the best medicine to issue.
Nerve Damage
Additionally, as the surgical team removes your affected hip bone, you may face nerve damage as they need to dissociate it from the surrounding body tissue. Consequently, you may suffer significant nerve damage that increases your chances of a long-term effect. However, a skilled surgeon will minimize the risk by ensuring that their maneuvers around the affected area do not destroy your nerves.
Blood Clots
If a vein in the leg that your doctor intends to operate on transports clotted blood during surgery, you also risk serious medical complications. Nonetheless, the surgical team is often alert for blood clot indications and will take the necessary steps to prevent the incident from negatively affecting you.
Aftercare Tips to Observe
Once you are awake and ready to return home after your surgery, your doctor will run you through several aftercare processes to incorporate into your life. Following these tips is essential to full recovery, so you must create routines to encourage you to remain consistent.
Firstly, you must take all prescription medication you receive to help your body heal and manage pain. This is because you will have a prosthesis in your body, which is a foreign component that your body may reject. Hence, the medication you receive after surgery can protect you from future complications.
Additionally, you should attend all follow-up appointments with your doctor to help them monitor your recovery. Although the meetings may take many days initially, they are essential in identifying any causes for alarm or follow-up treatment if necessary. Therefore, you want to plan with your doctor and fix schedules that allow you to attend consistently.
Furthermore, working with a physical therapy professional is crucial, as they will help you regain your posture and walk sooner. A physical therapist will also use their skills to relieve pain by stretching your muscles, identifying potential issues around your hips, and advising you on the way forward. Therefore, their involvement in your recovery journey should be a serious consideration.
Contact a Las Vegas Physical Therapy Service Provider Near Me
Hip problems can disrupt your life and lower your mobility, decreasing your quality of life. Therefore, undergoing total hip replacement surgery is an excellent way to help you recover and deal with the health problem conclusively. However, your recovery process may be strenuous, especially post-surgery.
Visiting a physical therapist is advisable, as they will help you stretch, train, and care for the muscles surrounding your hip. With their help, you can regain your walking posture and reduce discomfort from the surgery. The assistance will also help you become accustomed to the hip prosthesis that replaces your affected hip bones.
You can expect excellent services tailored to meet your needs at Suarez Physical Therapy. Our team is well versed in health training to enable clients seeking total hip replacement services in Las Vegas, Nevada, to regain their health. Our specialists are available for consultation and therapy sessions upon booking. Contact us today for more information on a total hip replacement at 702-368-6778.
