With the increasing age, there are a lot of things that change in our body. With the age, there is some normal wear and tear in our body that causes complications in the future. One such complication is joint pain. In older age, some people feel a sharp pain in their joints due to which doing daily life activities is also difficult.

There are a lot of reasons behind what causes joint pain, but it is mostly caused by Arthritis, bursitis, lupus, gout, infectious diseases, an injury, etc. In severe cases, only surgery can ease the pain and increase the mobility of the patients. But is surgery the only treatment option for such joint replacement surgeries? Are there any ways we can avoid such surgeries?

This blog tells you about some smart ways by which one can avoid a hip or knee replacement surgery.

Smart ways to avoid hip and knee replacement surgery.

The number one mantra of avoiding hip and knee replacement surgery is to keep your joints strong. Below are some smart and effective ways by which you can keep your joints strong and avoiding any need to be undergoing joint replacement surgery.

1. Maintaining a healthy weight:

Excess body weight puts a lot of pressure on the joints and results in the cartilage’s breakage. This excess bodyweight puts pressure on the hip and the knees and thus a patient feels pain in his joint. Reducing even 5% of the total weight can cut off this pressure and ease the pain.

2. Taking proper diet:

Along with losing excess weight by eating less and better things, diet helps a lot in making the joints strong. A proper diet will increase the calcium in the bones and preserving the cartilage. Try to add food items to your diet like green leafy vegetables, soybeans, almonds, omega-3 fatty acids, etc.

3. Staying active:

Staying active by exercising regularly helps with reducing the pressure on the bones along with making them strong. Patient with joint pain should indulge in physical activity as it helps in stimulating the release of the synovial fluid and helps in providing nutrients to lubricate the cartilage. Physical activity like aerobic exercises, lightweight training, cycling, walking, swimming etc. will help the patients to maintain their joint health.

4. Injections for joints:

There are some joint injections that can help in improving the movement of the joints along with reducing the pain. Joint Injections that have cortisone, or hyaluronic acid work like non-operative treatment options that reduce knee and hip pain. Knee pain can also be treated with plasma therapy. Also, Botox injection can buy you some time before surgery by relieving knee osteoarthritis pain.

5. Medications for pain relief:

There are some medications that can help in reducing joint pain. These medicines should only be taken by the prescription of your orthopedics. Some over-the-counter medicines like acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil) can reduce the pain. But if there is no relief in pain after taking these medicines, your doctor may prescribe stronger medicines. These methods will not improve the joint’s condition, it only reduces the pain.

6. Electrical stimulation:

Specially designed medical devices can help in strengthening the front muscles in the thigh and by stabilizing the knee. This way pain in the joint can be reduced and relieved. This electrical stimulation may also help in the regrowth of cartilage cells.

7. Braces:

If your doctor may feel a need for putting braces on your knees, he might prescribe it. These braces are always prescribed by your doctor and are fitted by a physical therapist. The placement of these brace on the knees improves the knee alignment along with relieving pain.

Conclusion

These options have helped a lot of patients to avoid joint replacement surgery for some time. It is important to consult a doctor for any of the injections or medications you take. Remember that some severe joint pain cases need surgery, and these above options might not help you.
But if you are someone with initial joint pain or no joint pain at all, it is high time you take care of your joints and your entire body.

About the author

Dr Ramprasad Dharangutti is a consultant – Orthopaedics & Joint Replacement at VishwaRaj Hospital in Pune