Fortis Escorts Hospital

Mobility for a person is very important, and when you look through, the hip is a very important component to this. It connects the upper and lower parts of the body and helps in movement. It is a ball and socket joint, where the hip bone provides a socket, into which the upper part of the thighbone (femur) sits into, allowing for free movement.

Like any other human organ, the hip also is prone to damage. Be it natural ageing, infection, injury, or diseases, hip movement can be affected, leading to limited movement and increased pain and stiffness. For these people, being able to get back a hip which will allow them to be back on their feet is a boon for sure. It helps in relieving pain and improving mobility, almost giving people a second lease of life.

Reasons for hip replacement:

1. With natural ageing, the hip joint can lose its ability to move, due to normal wear and tear of the hip and thigh bones
2. Diseases of the hips (infectious or autoimmune) can also lead to hip replacement
3. Injury or trauma is another major cause that requires hip replacement
4. Joint problems, leading to repeated dislocations
5. Tumours of the relevant bones

Understanding the procedure in detail

1. The affected bones (whether diseases or worn out) are replaced with a prosthesis which is compatible with the normal body tissue.
2. While some materials fuse to the natural bone, others do not and are simply placed as a separate unit
3. This is a surgery which requires hospitalisation and stays for up to 5 days depending on patient’s overall health condition
4. The entire procedure may take a couple of hours and is usually done under general anaesthesia
5. An incision is made through the side of the hip
6. Both the hip and the thigh joints are prepared, diseased tissue removed, re-shaped, etc. to make way for the prosthesis
7. The prosthesis is introduced through the same incision and positioned into place
8. As noted earlier, there are two types. The ones which fuse to the bone have pores in them into which normal bone eventually grows.
9. The other variety is the cemented version, and a glue is used to keep it in place
10. Most doctors now use a combination, that is cement a porous prosthesis, into which bone will grow, and the incisions are closed
11. The patient stays in the hospital for 1 to 4 days depending on overall health
12. Once discharged, infection and pain control are continued
13. Exercise and physiotherapy play a major role in restoring normal function
14. Weight management is also very important

With age, most bones of the body undergo degenerative changes leading to reduced movement. The cartilage that is present in the joints allowing free movement is gradually lost due to wear and tear. This loss of cartilage makes the movement painful. This can also be caused by obesity and trauma, but age is the most common cause. The reduced movement leads to weight gain, which further aggravates the osteoarthritis.

Hips are one of the most commonly affected areas of osteoarthritis. Especially with overweight people, hips are quite often affected. In most people, early diagnosis can help in arresting progress and even reverse changes. This will help avoid chronic use of pain medications and major surgical treatments for managing the osteoarthritis.

Some of the most effective ways of managing osteoarthritis include the following:

1. Weight loss: Reducing weight is one the most important cornerstones of managing osteoarthritis. People who reduce weight will see a drastic improvement in their symptoms.
2. Pain medications: Pain is one of the main reasons that people seek medical help and that is when the diagnosis is made. Therefore, for immediate relief, pain control is essential. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are often used to control pain. In parallel, other measures for long-term control of osteoarthritis should be undertaken.
3. Cold therapy: Using cold packs in the area of pain can provide great relief from pain attacks.
4. Electrotherapy: Use of mild amounts of electricity can stimulate the nerve endings, reduce pain, and help in pain control.
5. Acupuncture: Relieving pressure points which can increase inflammation is also widely used to control pain.
6. Soft tissue massage: The soft tissues around the affected hip joint are regularly massaged, augmented by the use of a topical agent, which can help relieve the pain. The circulation is also improved, which can help in long-term symptom management including improved immune functions.
7. Regular exercise: A well-planned routine exercise regimen will help control pain, improve movement, reduce fatigue, improve endurance, and improve the overall quality of life. All affected tissues should be covered in the exercise bones, muscles and cartilage.

Using a combination of these techniques, the physiotherapy will aim to achieve the following.

1. Pain relief and protection: The first thing to manage is the pain, which brings the patient to the doctor. Once that is controlled, then long-term management needs to be planned.
2. Restoring hip movement and strength: Once the pain settles down, then the muscle strength, tension, endurance, and range of motion need to be worked upon. This restoration will be done in phases, and with each phase, greater range of motion will be achieved with lesser discomfort to the patient.

Physiotherapy uses various techniques to minimise symptoms and in some people, even complete reversal of changes is possible.

A human body has a total of 206 bones, and yet it makes life a living hell, if even one of them is harmed. A person living with Osteoporosis feels the same way, except that they are a lot more prone to having their bones broken than a person who doesn’t. There are a variety of ways to go about treating the issue and one of them involves making use of parathyroid hormones. This is a pathbreaking cure for Osteoporosis and is being adopted by many patients worldwide.

If a person takes a look at the drugs which are made use of in the treatment of osteoporosis, he or she will release that their main function is not to repair what is damaged, but rather to slow the rate of further damage like Bisphosphonate.

However, if parathyroid hormones are looked at, it will be seen that they are usually recommended for those people who may even already had had fractures on account of osteoporosis. These people are generally said to have low bone density, which can be quite dangerous. The reason for this being the case is the fact that when parathyroid hormones are used, they have the potential and the ability to increase the rate of growth of the bones; in terms of the mineral density of the bones as well as the strength of the same.

Teriparatide comes in a pen-like device so that it can be introduced into the body by the way of an injection to either the thigh or the wall of the abdomen. It is important to keep in mind that the medicine should be handled with care which goes to mean that it is to be refrigerated at all times.

It is also to be kept in mind that the medicine can have certain side effects. In most cases in which side effects occur, the medicine leads to some dizziness or some leg cramps.

Taking into due account the fact that the drug is a new one, many doctors would not recommend it to people who have problems with their bones other than those which are caused by osteoporosis. Examples of such conditions would be hypercalcemia, which is a condition in which there is too much calcium in the blood or bone cancer. In addition to this, the medicine is not to be used by a person for a duration which is longer than two years.

All in all, it can be said that if a person makes use of parathyroid hormones to treat a problem that can be as bad as osteoporosis, the effects can be quite startling, and that too, in a positive way!

Cervical osteoarthritis is also known as cervical spondylosis. It is a medical condition which involves changes in the joints of neck, bones and discs. This is generally caused due to the deterioration of the muscles owing to old age. With age, the cervical spine breaks down and loses all its fluids. This leads to stiffness in the spine. It occurs usually in middle aged and old aged people. This causes stiffness and severe neck pain. Corrective surgery is helpful to cure Cervical Osteoarthritis.

Symptoms of Cervical Osteoarthritis:

1. Pain and stiffness in the neck.
2. Headache which usually emerges from the neck.
3. Severe pain in the arms and shoulder.
4. Not being able to turn the head or neck fully while driving.
5. Muscle spasm and abnormal reflexes.
6. Grinding sensation or noise caused while bending the neck.

Cervical Osteoarthritis can be cured by physiotherapy in the following ways:

1. Heat modalities- In this method the pain and stiffness is reduced by putting heat on the affected area. This type of therapy is called heat therapy.
2. Neck exercise- Regular stretching and bending exercises for the neck can reduce pain and stiffness
3. Manipulating therapy- This form of therapy is used by massage therapists. They massage and manipulate the joints so that the muscles can function smoothly.
4. Hydrotherapy- This therapy involves exercising in a pool. Hydrotherapy is extremely beneficial for people having severe joint pain and stiffness.
5. Cervical traction- This is a common non-surgical treatment which cures pain in the neck by opening the cervical foramen (hole or passage).

Physiotherapy is the most natural and safe way of curing cervical osteoarthritis. If you are diagnosed with cervical spondylosis, you should start physiotherapy as soon as possible.

Dislocation refers to an injury, which causes the bones to abnormally separate from each other in the joint, which is the meeting place of the bones. Dislocation causes intense pain and is most common in the fingers, shoulders and the elbows. Although a timely diagnosis can make your pain go away, any future injury in the tendons or the ligaments might bring back the injury. 

What can cause a dislocation?
The causes of dislocation are as follows:

1. A body joint can get dislocated if you have suffered a fall.
2. If you are into any form of sports that requires strenuous physical activity and intense exertion on certain body parts like gymnastics, football or volleyball you have a chance of suffering from dislocated body joints.
3. Automobile accidents can also cause dislocation of joints.
4. Some People who are with a loose ligament and are more likely to get a dislocated joint than other people. This may happen without the influence of a major physical trauma or stress.

Understanding the signs and symptoms
In the majority of the cases, a dislocation of the joint is easily detectable as it induces inflammation along with redness and deformation of the affected area. Some of the other symptoms that might occur as a result of the dislocation of the body joints could be: 

1. You might experience severe pain while moving the dislocated joint.
2. There will be a lack of sensation near the dislocated portion.
3. There might be a stinging sensation in the dislocated area.
4. In certain areas you may not be able to move the joint at all

If you have a dislocated joint, the doctors can easily relocate them. Depending on the amount of swelling and pain you are experiencing, the doctor might administer local anesthesia during the process. If the joint dislocation is too severe or has multiple instances of dislocation, then you may have to undergo surgery. Surgery may also be suggested if the adjoined ligaments or tendons are severely affected along with the joints.