Vim & Vigor - Spring 2018 - Community Healthcare - 21

Why You're READY

1 You've already tried modifying

your lifestyle. At some point, aging
joints don't let you run and jump like
you used to. But if you're still in pain
after you've traded running for biking or
reduced your hourlong walk to 30 minutes, it's time to explore the next level
of treatment options.

2 Pain is inhibiting you from everyday activities. You can change your
hobbies and possibly even your job to
accommodate joint pain, but you can't
eliminate the physical demands of simply getting through the day.
"I have to be able to get off a toilet or
chair. I have to be able to fi x meals for
myself or walk to the mailbox. I need
to walk at least a couple of blocks,"
Johnson says.
3 You're in pain more often than
not. Johnson recommends starting a
daily log in which you record the pain
levels you experience on a scale of
zero to 10.
"If you have more bad days than good
days, maybe surgery is a consideration,"
he says.
4 Your joint is damaged from osteoarthritis. The bones of a healthy joint
glide over each other thanks to cartilage, the tissue that covers the ends
of the bones and helps absorb shock.
But when the joint is damaged by
osteoarthritis, the cartilage breaks
down, causing bones to rub together.
Your doctor will take X-rays to
look for space between bones, which
should be filled with cartilage. If bones
are instead touching, Johnson says,
"They've essentially lost all of their cartilage ... they'd be a candidate for total
knee or total hip replacement."
5 You've exhausted all other non-

surgical treatments. Before recommending surgery, your doctor may
prescribe physical therapy to alleviate

stress on the joint by strengthening
the muscles surrounding it. Antiinflammatory medications or steroid
injections to reduce swelling might be
part of treatment, too.
If nothing helps manage the pain,
you probably need joint replacement.
But that doesn't mean the time spent
strengthening muscles during physical
therapy was wasted.
"Your recovery will be that much
better," Johnson says.

3 You're not healthy enough for
surgery. Joint pain can trigger a vicious
cycle: A sedentary lifestyle and weight
gain can lead to heart disease or type 2
diabetes that makes surgery risky.
If you're not in good health, make it
your goal to get well enough for joint
replacement. It's worth it, Johnson says.
"The vast majority of patients have
significant improvement, if not complete resolution of their pain." ■

Why You're NOT READY
1 You haven't tried losing weight.

Extra weight means extra stress on
your joints. A study in Arthritis &
Rheumatology found that every pound
of weight lost reduced pressure on
the knee fourfold-so if you drop 10
pounds, you'll take off 40 pounds of
pressure. Losing weight can help you
be more active and, in turn, prolong
or even avoid the need for surgery.

2 You haven't quit smoking. Studies
show that joint replacement surgery is
riskier and less effective for people who
smoke. In one study, smokers were 10
times more likely to undergo revision
surgeries and almost twice as likely to
develop surgical complications, including blood clots and kidney failure.
A successful joint replacement surgery requires the bone to grow into
the implant. But because nicotine
constricts blood vessels, smokers are
slower to heal and more prone to infection and blood clots.

JOINT EFFORT
After spending decades bending, kneeling, running and squatting, it is no wonder
that sometimes our hip and knee joints
suffer with age.
Knee or hip replacement surgeries at Community Hospital, Munster,
St. Catherine Hospital, East Chicago,
or St. Mary Medical Center, Hobart, are
designed to make joint replacements easier
to undergo, helping patients get on their
feet more quickly. Patients are fully educated on their procedure prior to surgery
and continue with inpatient group therapy,
followed by education and readiness for
recovery at home.
"Everybody is a little bit different,"
cautions orthopedic surgeon Scott
Andrews, MD, medical director of the
Joint Academy at St. Mary Medical Center.
"After two weeks, we encourage people
to use the joint more and more. If they
have light work, they can usually go back
in about three weeks. If they have heavierduty work, it's probably more like six to
10 weeks."

CALL

Help for Aching Joints
For an appointment with an orthopedic specialist at the Joint Academies of
Community Healthcare System, call 219-836-3477 or toll-free 866-836-3477.
Visit online at comhs.org/services/orthopedics.

SPRING 2018

21


http://www.comhs.org/services/orthopedics

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