“I’m not as young as I once was.” If you have heard yourself say these words, then continue reading.
Though your mind may be saying that you feel like you are just 30, the physical reality of your aching hip — and perhaps its newfound ability to predict a change in the weather — make you actually feel 90 with each step. But does it have to be that way?
With arthritis it may seem that way as it is a debilitating condition that steals your quality of life, one painful step at a time. It also is a common condition that, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), affects not only 34 percent of the U.S. population age 65 or older, but also 14 percent of those ages 25 and older.
There are several different types of hip arthritis. Some are a result of childhood disorders, others from trauma, and still many without a direct cause. But regardless of the type, arthritis can result in constant pain, reduce your hip mobility, and severely limit your quality of life.
The classic presentation of pain from hip arthritis is activity-related and based in the groin and upper thigh, which can also be felt in the knee.
This is understandable, given an arthritic joint is one that has lost its smooth cartilage cap at the ends of the bones, exposing the rough bone ends that cause pain with movement. In fact, breaking the word down, “arthritis” literally means “joint inflammation,” and that’s why anti-inflammatory medications, to reduce swelling, are the mainstay of non-operative treatment.
But once the symptoms are no longer controlled by non-operative measures (medications, weight loss, activity modification), the only cure for arthritis is surgery. Though the thought of surgery can be daunting — and the decision to move forward with it should not be made lightly — you can rest assured the surgical solutions produce life-changing reversals of pain.
A total hip replacement is widely considered one of the most successful operations in all of medicine. Even a hip replacement performed with a traditional, non-minimally invasive and non-muscle sparing, approach produces great results with happy patients free of debilitating hip pain.
In recent years, there has been a push to improve this already successful operation. To achieve this goal, different approaches to a hip replacement have been attempted. The minimally invasive direct anterior total hip replacement has resulted in much success in achieving a quicker recovery, shorter hospital stay, less muscle damage, and less pain.
Whereas the traditional hip replacement is performed through a posterior skin incision that requires splitting or tearing of the gluteus maximus muscle (the muscle located in the buttocks), an anterior hip replacement is through the front of the hip and is a muscle-sparing approach not performed by most surgeons.
Because no muscles are torn, patients are usually less sore and have a quicker recovery than via a traditional hip replacement. Patients who undergo an anterior hip replacement usually require only an average of a one-night stay in the hospital. And unlike in posterior hip replacements, many patients are walking without a walker or cane as early as two weeks after surgery.
Aside from a quicker recovery, there also are long-term benefits to having an anterior hip replacement compared to other approaches.
Because of how the surgery is performed, these hip replacements have a lifelong lower risk of dislocation than a traditional, posterior, hip replacement and are free of the range of motion restrictions associated with those. This translates to a more pleasant recovery and lifelong peace of mind.
So don’t let yourself be limited by your hip. An orthopaedic surgeon well-versed in anterior hip replacements will have you pain-free and back to enjoying the activities you love.
The downside? You’ll have to start watching the weather channel to know when to pack your umbrella.
Raúl Gösthe, MD, is the associate medical director of orthopaedics at Jackson South Community Hospital. He specializes in direct anterior total hip arthroplasty, total hip arthroplasty, total knee arthroplasty, partial knee replacement, complex primary and revision total hip arthroplasty, complex primary and revision total knee arthroplasty. For more information, visit www.JacksonMedicalGroup.org or call 305-256-4334 to make an appointment.
