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Advantages of Hip Replacement

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Many advantages can be gained from having a hip replacement. The hip joint can become damaged due to arthritis; it is normally relentless and causes irreversible damage.

Arthritis will actually wear away an alarming amount of shiny white gristle, otherwise known as articular cartilage, which lines the ball and socket shaped bones which make up the hip joint. It is normally the job of the cartilage which makes the bone ends slippery and ensures that the joint moves smoothly without any friction and also acts as a shock absorber. Gradually with time, an increased area of the bone will become exposed until there is bone rubbing against bone. No cartilage is there to stop this from happening.

Day To Day Activities

Arthritis takes some time to start restricting a sufferer; initial pain starts to kick in in the early stages, but the severe damage will come to a lot later. An individual may find that their mobility is seriously reduced, and every day jobs such as walking the dog or even getting up from a chair challenge. In the final stages, pain may come at night and prevent the patient from sleeping.

The Operation

Hip replacement is a very common surgery and is the most reliable procedure in orthopedic surgery. It will reduce and eliminate the pain that arthritis brings. There may be a pain at the beginning of recovery but this tends to improve within the first ten days and is almost unnoticeable by the third week. The artificial hip will start to improve movements in the joint, and stiffness will start to fade away. This enables the patient to resume gentle activities and leisure pastimes.

Having surgery will improve a person’s mobility, independence, and quality of life when suffering from arthritis. The patients should then receive exercise which will help to strengthen the affected area and lead to a feeling of wellbeing. Patients who have had to have operations separately often ask to bring their second operation forward, as they are so happy with the results from their first surgery.

What is an Artificial Hip Joint?

Artificial hip joints normally come in two types:

  1. Those that will require bone cement to anchor them in the body,
  2. Those that do not require the cement to anchor them in the body.

I underwent a hip replacement in Nottingham and found it helpful to learn what was going on in surgery. Below are the components that are broken down and explained further.

The Socket

An artificial socket replaces the natural cup of the hip joint and will house the ball section of the joint. When cement is required a special type of polyethylene will be used, this is very tough and slippery when wet.  Ridges on the outside will ensure its position can be seen on the X-Ray. The ridges are designed to improve the fixation of the cup by the cement. It is implanted into the natural socket by first filling the cavity with the cement and then pushing in the artificial cup which is held still while the cement sets.

The Ball

The ball is made of a metal stem or rod on top. A metal ball is attached, at an angle that will equal the shape found in the human body, to the top end of the human thigh bone.