Are you considering a total hip replacement?
If you just got back from a doctor’s appointment and the doc said you need one, you need to read this. I’ll give you the basic info you need.
First, relax. Worst case scenario is you need to have the procedure. It is considered the most successful surgery in terms of complications and restoration of quality of life. If this is the worst case scenario, then it’s not that bad.
Assessment:
First, don’t be afraid to ask your doc questions to clarify your condition. This post is going to assume osteoarthritis or degenerative “wear and tear” arthritis. You could have other types of arthritis caused by your immune system or other conditions that are pretty complicated.
Don’t be surprised if you’re confused and your doc confuses you more. Seems after 50 years of doing hip replacements, docs still don’t have direct answers for anything. Don’t expect a lot of answers you’ll have to do a lot of research on your own.
If your doc seems tired of answering questions, is short or obnoxious with you, get another doc. Seriously, don’t take any crap, this is your body and the doc has a responsibility to explain everything to you in detail. It doesn’t matter if you’re the 3000th patient he/she has explained this too. You’re number 1 in your own matter!
You need to know if any cartilage is left. If no cartilage is left, meaning “bone on bone” then you don’t have a lot of options that are viable. If you’re thinking about stem cells or PRP for the hip, I hate to break it to you, but you may be disappointed. You will not find lots of people on the internet posting success stories because there aren’t many. If you have thousands of dollars to try to avoid an operation and spending money is nothing to you, try it, but I doubt it will be successful, despite all the glowing advertisements. The reason is that cartilage needs a scaffold to grow. With bone on bone, there is nothing for the cartilage to grow on. It’s not going to work.
If you do have cartilage left, you can try lasers, stem cells, prp, diet, supplements, exercise etc. However, if you do your research, it doesn’t look good to help your condition.
Again, if you are diagnosed with “bone on bone”, save your money. If you have cartilage left, you can try these alternatives.
When you are evaluating, these “cures” you really need to understand what the situation is behind the claims. If you are really debilitated–meaning you can’t put your socks on, hurts when you walk and are severely impacted, then don’t expect supplements and alternative therapies to work. Even standard medically accepted alternatives like antiinflammatory meds, steroid shots, physical therapy don’t really work.
I often wonder how bad the arthritis was for people who claim miraculous claims from supplements, drugs and alternative therapies.
In my next post, I’ll break down your options including some new and innovative procedures like the Superpath.
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