By omshivaay78@gmail.com 
If you have hip pain, you know just how much it is affecting your life. The decreased mobility could prevent you from engaging in or enjoying some of your preferred activities. Additionally, your mental well-being may be impacted as well.
Painkillers can be used to alleviate pain in some instances. In other cases, hip replacement surgery might be necessary. With time, the only solution may be hip replacement surgery to remove pain and restore quality of life. It is a major but common and highly successful operation.
If a surgeon decides that replacing the hip joint with a prosthetic would be best, because the joint is worn out or damaged for several reasons, hip replacement surgery will be performed.
What happens in hip replacement surgery?
Hip replacement surgery is often advised when therapies and medications fail to provide sufficient relief. In this surgery, your surgeon will make a few small skin incisions and remove the damaged cartilage and bone. The damaged part of the hip socket is replaced with a metal component, which can be connected using cement or screws. A plastic, ceramic, or metal spacer is inserted between the new ball and socket to enable them to move smoothly. The operation is done to alleviate pain and enable you to resume your usual activities easily.
How can I determine whether I need a hip replacement?
If you experience any of the following symptoms (some of which may vary), you may need hip replacement surgery. If you have any of the following symptoms, it is crucial that you initially see an orthopedist for a diagnosis.
Severe hip pain
Severe pain in and around the hip joint during exercise or other physical activity is the most significant and incapacitating sign that you may need hip replacement surgery. This could be a signal of a weak hip joint. Hip pain is not always limited to the hip; it can also be concentrated around the joint.
In addition to the groin, the front of the thigh, the back, and the knee joint may also experience pain. It is possible for 20% of hip discomfort to manifest as knee pain. Furthermore, feeling too much exertion also suggests hip and abdominal weakness.
It’s hard to do typical tasks due to a Hip Disability
The degree to which your injured hip is interfering with your life is the most crucial consideration when determining whether or not hip replacement surgery is necessary. Significant hip joint dysfunction can make even the most basic tasks challenging or impossible, even if you are able to manage the pain:
- Wearing your socks or shoes
- Walking the usual distances
- Even with help for balance, standing on one leg
- Not being able to move or put weight on the injured limb
Hip Stiffness
Stiffness in the hip is also a signal that your hip joint might be severely injured and in need of hip replacement surgery. If you find you are having stiffness in your hip that causes you trouble when walking or bending at your hip joint, or you can’t lift your leg, talk to an orthopedic expert as soon as possible.
After an accident, acute hip stiffness is common, but chronic hip stiffness requires immediate medical care. Sudden acute hip stiffness disappears within a short period of time. Chronic hip stiffness, on the other hand, lasts forever.
Conservative treatments are insufficient in relieving hip pain
Hip replacement surgery is not always necessary for persons with hip-related illnesses. Most likely, your doctor will start with conservative treatment options like:
- Through physical therapy, the hip joint’s surrounding muscles are strengthened and stabilized, and the hip’s range of motion is preserved or partially restored.
- Giving injections of steroids that help in reducing swelling and suppressing pain signals.
- Anti-inflammatory drugs can alleviate pain by reducing inflammation in the hip joint.
- Acupuncture increases blood flow to the affected area to help heal, relax muscles, and lower inflammation.
These treatments do not heal hip conditions. However, they can improve function and render hip pain more bearable. Regrettably, there might be a time when these conservative treatments are no longer effective and fail to bring relief. When this is the case, your doctor might recommend hip replacement surgery.
Unless hip pain is intolerable, physicians advise these conservative interventions before surgery. The total hip replacement surgery cost may vary upon the expertise of the surgeon, hospital, and the condition.
Bodyweight unsupported on one leg
There’s a small test you can do at home, known as the one-leg test. It will give you an idea about whether or not you should be seeing a hip replacement specialist. When you take this test, make sure someone else is nearby in case you need assistance.
Hold onto a chair or door frame with one hand to keep your balance. Then, lift the leg on the side that doesn’t hurt. If you can’t stay balanced on the leg that does hurt, it might mean there’s a problem with that hip.
Advanced arthritis or significant joint damage detected
Your hip is a ball and socket joint. Cartilage and synovial fluid minimize the friction between the pelvic bone socket and femoral head. The cartilage erodes with hip osteoarthritis (OA), leading to severe pain and damage to the joint.
There is no cushion between rubbing bones without cartilage, and they start wearing out and destroying the joint. Severe joint damage could require surgery.
Lack of Mobility impacts mental health
If your hip pain has limited your walking and if this stops you from doing your work, then you may also suffer some mental strain. If the pain and decreased mobility persist for an extended period of time, it may result in anxiety and depression.
And if you are under the impression that your mental health has been impacted due to such symptoms, see your doctor immediately.
Bottom line
If you are experiencing the above-mentioned things, you may be a patient for hip replacement surgery. To find out if this is the best option for me to lead a pain-free life, seek the best total hip replacement surgeon in Delhi.