190616 Getting ready for a joint replacement-part three

According to the National Institute of Arthritis Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, which is a part of the National Institute of Health, there are over 1 million Americans having a hip or knee replaced every year. Research, over the years, has found that even if you are older a joint replacement will increase your ability to move around with less pain.

After your surgery

After the surgery, you may have to stay in the hospital for a few days. The length of stay depends on the type of surgery, your age, physical abilities, and your surgeon’s judgment. In some cases, this is dependent on your abilities; you may have to go to a rehab center, which can take several weeks of rehabilitation before you go home.

During the time you are in the hospital, you receive painkillers, antibiotics, and blood thinners to help the healing process. Blood thinners are there to reduce the risks of clots. Make use of the painkillers effects on your body by moving around and doing what you can to exercise that joint (within your doctors orders). Get as much range of motion as possible back as soon as possible without destroying the surgically repaired area.

Frequently, after surgery you are going to be encouraged to get out of bed and start moving. The first time you do this is going to be scary especially if you’re standing on a new hip or knee joint. However, this helps keep the blood moving and again reduces the risk of a blood clot forming.

Physical therapy normally begins the next day after the surgery. The exercises the physical therapist will be giving you help to strengthen the muscles around the new joint, assists in regaining your flexibility and motion.

If your surgeon is competent then joint replacement is a relatively safe surgery with overall low rates of complications and mortality. By following your doctor’s instructions and adhering to the physical therapists schedule of exercises you should come through this in much better health than when you went into it. However, there are possible problems that can happen.

In some instances, problems such as blood clotting, and/or infection, and/or a loosening of, and/or a dislocation of the new joint may occur. The latter occurs more frequently in a hip replacement rather than in the other joint replacements.