Both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are conditions that can affect your joints and can lead to erosion of the cartilage. For example, in the knee, you have a normal knee that has good cartilage intact.
As you you progress through arthritis, you have early, moderate, and advanced arthritis. And in advanced arthritis, there's bone spurs throughout the joint that are also known as osteophytes. And you can see erosion of cartilage on both sides of the knee that causes the pain associated with arthritis.
Similarly, in the hip, you can get arthritis as well. In a normal hip, you have really nice cartilage on the head and in the ball and socket side of things. However, as arthritis progresses, you can see that there's wear, especially on the top part of the hip.
This gets worse over time in moderate arthritis, and you get wear on both sides. And finally, for advanced arthritis, there will be no cartilage left, and there's wear throughout the entire socket side of the hip. We know that arthritis is one of the main reasons patients undergo a joint replacement.
How can I control Pain of Arthritis
While we can't cure arthritis, there are definitely ways that we can treat the pain associated with arthritis. There are a lot of non-surgical options available to you if you want to try to reduce the pain associated with arthritis. Diet and weight loss are a great way to start.
One pound off your body is four pounds off your hip and your knee. I always tell patients to celebrate when you take one pound off, because four pounds off of all your joints makes you feel better and can help you move better too. In addition, over-the-counter medications such as Tylenol or anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen can help with the pain as well.
When you have knee and hip arthritis, you want to make sure that your muscles stay strong. One of my favorite exercises is when you take two level areas and you put your leg out and you make sure you have your back straight so you don't lean back when you're doing this exercise. What you want to do is keep your quadriceps muscle or the muscle in front of your leg strong.
To do so, put your leg out as straight as possible and lift your leg up and hold it. You want to hold it for five seconds, 10 seconds, 30 seconds, a minute. The longer you hold it for, the stronger your muscle becomes.
And then after a period of time, you want to build and build and then you bring your leg down and you can do this multiple times a day. What I like about this is it doesn't put pressure on your knee or your hip when you're doing this exercise. If your joint pain persists after trying these options and you can't do your daily activities, it might be time for you to get your joint replaced.
Joint Replacement Therapy
The most common joint replacement procedures include hip replacement, knee replacement, and partial knee replacement, depending on where your arthritis is located. When your surgeon does a hip replacement, they will make an opening from the front, the side, or the back of your hip.
Inside, your hip is made of a ball and socket joint. The ball and socket has cartilage that will wear in arthritis. So during a hip replacement, you make a cut there and take out the ball and we resurface the socket. We put in a new socket, a new ball, and a new stem, and that makes your new artificial hip replacement.
For knee replacement, your surgeon will make an opening to the front of the knee. Once inside the knee, your surgeon will remove the damaged cartilage on the top and the bottom of your knee and replace it with metal on top, metal on bottom, and a plastic insert in the middle that allow your knee to glide smoothly. Depending on where your arthritis is, your surgeon may or may not remove the back part of your kneecap and replace it with plastic.
Everyone's recovery is different after surgery. Right after surgery, most patients walk with an assistive walking device, whether it be a walker, cane, or crutches. You'll use this for a period of time and the most important thing for you to do is move as much as possible after surgery.
Walking is a great option. Not only does it make your mobility better, but it also reduces your risk of clots. Your muscles and tissues need time to heal after surgery.
Over time, you'll get better and better and it can take up to one full year for recovery. However, the best part about a joint replacement is that you're walking immediately after surgery and that you can return to activities of daily life. A joint replacement can be a life-changing event.
It can give your mobility back and allow you to do your favorite activities. You'll want to do exercises either on your own or with a therapist. After knee replacement surgery, you'll want to work on straightening your leg.
You want to sit on a surface and put your leg on a parallel surface. You can even put a bump underneath your heel, which can consist of pillows or towels. Either have your hands or have another individual place their hands above and below your knee and push downwards in order to make your legs straighter.
Hold it for as long as possible. Sit in a chair and place your feet on the floor. Bend your knee back as much as possible first, then scoot forward in the chair and hold it as long as possible to work on the bend in your knee.
For hip arthritis, you want to work on the muscles on the outer and inner part of the legs. For the outer part of the legs, you can put a band around your legs and push outwards. For the inner part of your muscles, you can put a ball between your legs and squeeze inwards.
Thanks for joining me today. For more arthritis post, follow Blueguard. Check out the links below in the description in order to do more exercises on your own.
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