Good News About Hip Replacement Surgery

Need a new hip? Well, you may laugh now, but statistics show that over the past 2 decades the number of Americans having total hip replacement has more than doubled. The number of knee replacements is also expected to reach over 4 million by 2030.

Dr. Stephen Barnett is a board certified orthopedic surgeon with a practice specializing in joint replacement and adult reconstructive surgery for arthritic conditions.

“You know, osteoarthritis and various forms of arthritis are very common in our population. And for the most part there is a fair amount of misunderstanding as far as treatment modalities and what’s available for people,” says Barnett.

He adds, “I think what’s important for people to understand that they do not necessarily have to suffer from these afflictions, that there are treatments out there not necessarily just surgical, but medical treatments as well.”

Definitely age is a factor. He says, “The most common arthritis that we see is osteoarthritis, which is a wearing down of the joint service and can occur with age and as the joints age they lose some of their elasticity, which in respect to the articular cardiology, which can pre expose people to arthritis, but age is not the only component.”

Dr. Barnett says: “Certainly we see patients who have sustained some form of trauma to their joints.  And there are a multitude of inflammatory conditions. The most common one that people would know about is rheumatoid arthritis. And this inflammatory conditions could be related to the patient’s immune system. Their own body can actually start attacking the cardiology in their joints, which leads to the disease.

But the good news is there are medical procedures than can really help people.  Dr. Barnett says, “These days our treatment modalities are so good, whether it’s surgical or nonsurgical. I think the days where you just say: ‘I can’t do this anymore.’ And gradually become sedentary sitting on the couch are gone. We have treatments that can allow you to be very active and participate those activates that you really want to do.”

He adds,  “advances that we’ve seen in the last decade are the longevity of the implants that we put in. So, if you think back, you know, 40 years when hip and knee replacement surgery was brand new, really that was reserved as an absolute last resort for patients that were maybe wheelchair bound and just needed enough help to get around the house.”

Barnett who practices in Southern California, regularly receives pictures from his patients who are returning to their favorite activities.  He says he gets plenty of pictures of activities like surfing, skiing, tennis and hiking.  He believes exercise, keeping your weight down and your mobility up, along with a healthy diet is an important key to staying healthy.

 

Category: Articles, Senior Health