The 4 signs that show you need a hip replacement
Hi!
My name is Dr. Salam and I am a consultant orthopedic surgeon at the One Care Medical Center, which is an international ortho hospital in Coimbatore. 1 in 10 patients who I see in my day to day practice suffer from severe and debilitating hip pain.
When we do a physical exam and imaging study, we find severe degenerative changes in the hip joint. This can occur due to aging, being overweight or even due to the use of some medications.
Past fractures, surgeries, and osteoporosis are other causes of hip problems. All said and done, hip pain can be terribly limiting. Unfortunately, on the subject of hip replacement, there are no set rules at all.
A hip replacement in older patients can be life changing in nature. Hip arthritis is fairly common and can be easily diagnosed with a clinical history and a simple X-Ray.
Given below are the 4 signs that indicate that you may need a hip replacement
The One Leg test:-
Check if you are able to stand on your damaged leg for more than a minute without support and then with support. If you are unable to stand on your one leg even with support, you probably have a badly damaged hip. You are probably better getting full hip replacement procedure
Inability to walk:-
Do you feel your general ability to walk is limited?. In some instances, you may not be able to walk to your post-office or nearby grocery store. You might have been able to walk these distances in the past. If this is the case, you probably need a full-fledged evaluation
Difficulty wearing your footwear:-
Another common sign of hip damage is when you are unable to wear your foot wear/shoe. This is more so if one foot is worse than the other.
Pain:-
Do you have chronic pain while you walk?. Or maybe you have pain after your walk? Do you walk with a limp?. Then these are all possible signs of a hip arthritis. Sometimes you may have pain despite the use of pain medications.
Hip pain can wear you down emotionally, mentally and physically. Sometimes proceeding with a hip replacement may be the best thing you could do to yourself. Eating healthy and maintaining an optimal body weight is extremely important to protect your hip joint from unnecessary wear and tear.
If you are suffering from intractable hip pain, consulting your orthopedic specialist may be the best thing to do!.
I hope you enjoyed reading this short article on the ‘4 signs that you may need a hip joint replacement”. Do watch this space for more interesting articles and of course do not forget to share this post with all your friends and loved ones!.
Cheers!
References:-
https://www.health.harvard.edu/pain/6-signs-that-it-may-be-time-to-have-a-joint-replaced
https://www.nuffieldhealth.com/article/4-signs-you-may-need-a-hip-replacement
