According to the Mayo Clinic, hip replacement surgery is meant to relieve pain and to increase the mobility and function of a damaged hip joint.
But doctors may recommend other treatment first, including pain medication, physical therapy, exercise and the use of a cane or a walker.
The clinic’s Website says the following conditions might make surgery necessary:
- Osteoarthritis
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Broken hip
- Bone tumor
- Osteonecrosis, which occurs when there is inadequate blood supply to the ball portion of the hip joint
Symptoms that might lead you to consider hip replacement include:
- Persistent pain, despite pain medication
- Pain aggravated by walking, even with a cane or walker
- Poor sleep due to pain
- Difficulty going up or down stairs
- Trouble rising from a seated position
- Inability to participate in formerly enjoyable activities because of pain
But problems may not necessarily end with hip replacement surgery. Thousands of patients who received metal-on-metal hip implants from DePuy Orthopaedics have filed lawsuits over problems that the implants caused.
Complaints include widespread failures of the devices within only a few years, as well as toxic metal debris breaking off and getting in patients’ bloodstream.
See the Mayo Clinic information here: https://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hip-replacement/MY00235/DSECTION=why-its-done
