Hip Replacement

Hip replacement is a surgery recommended for people with severe hip damage. When a hip replacement is done, the surgeon removes damaged cartilage and bone from your hip joint and replaces them with new, man-made parts. This helps your hip joint function better, relieves pain and improves your walking and other movements. This is usually advised when physical therapy and medications have failed to improve the condition.

Osteoarthritis and Hip Replacement

Osteoarthritis of the hip is the most common reason for a hip replacement. Aging causes wear and tear of the cartilage covering the joint surfaces resulting in great pain and stiffness. This condition is called as Osteoarthritis.

Destruction of the hip joint can also be caused due to loss of the blood supply to the head of the thighbone (osteonecrosis), rheumatoid arthritis, injury, infection and developmental abnormalities of the hip. Patients with arthritis may also have brittle bones (osteoporosis), but there is no direct relationship between bone density and the development of arthritis of the hip.

Hip arthritis typically causes pain that is dull and aching. The pain may be constant or it may come and go. Pain may be felt in the groin, thigh and buttock with possible referred pain to the knee. walking long distances can also cause severe pain resulting in the patient limping. Some patients may need a cane, crutch, or walker to help them get around. Pain usually starts slowly and worsens with time and higher activity levels.

Patients with a bad hip joint can have difficulty in certain normal ativities like climbing stairs, wearing trousers, tying shoes and clipping toenails.

X-rays may show loss of the cartilage space in the hip socket and a "bone-on-bone" appearance along with bone spurs and bone cysts. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT) scans may be recommend to confirm the diagnosis.

Nonsurgical Treatment