What You Should Know About Total Joint Replacement Surgery

Because our joints don't bother us often now, we take for granted that we have the ability to walk, jog, run, bend over or reach out for things. But as we age, some may need total joint replacement surgery because of conditions that affect them like injuries that involve our joints or rheumatoid or osteoarthritis. While these have been challenging operations to recover from in the past, advances in technology and techniques have reduced recovery time dramatically.

To understand why joint replacement is necessary it's important to understand how the joints work. What makes the joints work smoothly is the cartilage where the bones come together at a joint, no matter if it is the hip, knee, elbow, ankle or the shoulder. Cartilage allows for pain free and frictionless movement and typically has a smooth texture. But movement can become rather painful when the cartilage is severely worn or damaged. When the joint is worn enough to cause bone on bone rubbing, even minor daily activities like walking, traversing stairs and even bending over becomes painful and difficult. As it becomes worse, it can become totally debilitating.

Replacing the damaged cartilage with plastic or metal joints and relieving as much pain as possible is the ultimate goal by surgery becoming an option. By replacing the cartilage, complete joint movement and functionality can be restored which in turn restores mobility. For those patients who choose total joint replacement surgery, many can have their quality of life returned and gain back their independence.

Fortunately, surgery for total joint replacement is not as traumatic as it has been in the past for patients because of the technology available today. Patients can even begin to move the new joint the same day as having the surgery with many of the surgeries for shoulder and knee replacement. Instead of being forced to spend weeks in a hospital, many patients can go home within a short time, usually a few days, after surgery and will be able to do most of their rehabilitation in a home setting.

Having a proactive health routine at home including physical rehabilitative therapy is necessary to ensure the new joint functions as well as possible. Every patient will have a different amount of time with how quickly they recover and become active after surgery to replace the joint. You can better prepare by knowing what to expect if your doctor says your best option is surgery.