Here we answer some frequently asked questions about pain management and what you can expect when you’re ready to schedule an appointment.
Make an appointment with an orthopedist that specializes in caring for hips if you experience:
- Difficulty standing
- Pain when bending at the waist
- Pain when walking or climbing stairs
- Swollen or bruised hip
Depending on your specific condition, your doctor may recommend:
- Anti-inflammatory medications – Reduce swelling, pain, or joint stiffness
- Splints or braces – Protect and support bones, ligaments, tendons, and tissues
- Custom orthotics – Provide personalized foot support
- Injections - Deliver medication directly to an affected area; ultrasound-guided injections are available at some locations
- Steroid injection – Reduces inflammation in and around your joint
- Nerve block – Relieves severe, chronic pain by injecting a local anesthetic and steroid to an affected nerve
- Viscosupplementation (hyaluronic acid injection) – Delivers a gel-like lubricating fluid to your joint to help it move more smoothly and preserve catilage
- Physical therapy – Teaches you gentle exercises to help you reduce pain, increase your range of motion, and move more comfortably
Frequently, Anterior Approach Hip Replacement and Hip Navigation.
You can expect to experience some discomfort in the hip region itself, as well as groin pain and thigh pain. This is normal as your body adjusts to changes made to joints in that area. There can also be pain in the thigh and knee.
Yes, under supervision. Patients go up and down stairs before leaving the hospital.
A hip replacement is expected to last about 25 years in most patients.
On average, hip replacement recovery is six weeks.
No. Joint replacement surgery removes all the arthritis in that joint.
Patients may not drive while taking any pain medications which impair driving skills. Check with your provider regarding this.
Most patients will continue to need the walker for six weeks postoperative; if you feel that you still need it for safety/balance, please continue to use it.
Avoid twisting, if it hurts while doing it, don’t do it.
- Prepare your home in advance.
- Plan for time off work.
- Balance rest and recovery with gentle exercise.
- Think about your nutrition to help with recovery.
- Be mindful of your hip.
- Think about your holidays and travel plans.
After three to six months, most patients get back to dancing.
