Through Pain Relief Institute of America
The hip is a common place for injuries and therefore a common place for fractures, especially in older patients. Due to the loss of the female hormone progesterone, women tend to experience more hip fractures than menopause, which supports bone formation.
The hip is a ball and socket joint that connects the upper part of the leg and the pelvis together. It allows for a lot of exercise. However, due to aging in all patients, bone density and joint elasticity will be reduced, resulting in stress on hip mobility. The restricted mobility of the lumbar spine can also lead to strain in the hip joint. A drop can move the ball and socket out of position, which can cause hip breaks.
What is hip fracture treatment?
The only effective treatment for hip fractures is surgery. Depending on where the patient’s hip ruptures, it will be different from when the surgical surgeon can replace or save the hip joint. Surgeons prefer to keep natural joints as much as possible. However, if the hip is broken on the upper part of the ball and socket, the hip must be replaced. In particular, surgeons will make a complete replacement for patients with high activity. For those who live a longer sedentary lifestyle, surgeons will only partially replace the ball side of the joint. . For those who break hips on the lower part of the ball and socket joint, they will get plates and screws and or rods to keep the local joint.
If, in rare cases, a patient is seeking a non-surgical approach, he can be sent directly to rehabilitation after a hip fracture. However, it often leaves the patient bedridden for most of the day to avoid magnifying his weight on the joints. When patients stand upright and move around, they will have to use crutches or walkers, which will consume a lot of energy and may slow down recovery. Not to mention, bedridden patients may suffer from pneumonia, or even deep vein blood clots or DVT. DVT can cause pulmonary embolism; in other words, a blood clot trapped in the pulmonary artery can lead to death. We strongly recommend those who have a broken hip and seek surgery as soon as possible. Additionally, the use of implants is powerful enough that patients can place weights on them immediately after the surgery, which strongly supports them to gain more efficient and efficient mobility.
What are the surgery and post-care for hip fractures?
The surgery is usually done within an hour and is a familiar procedure for most orthopedics. The bigger concern is what will happen after the surgery. As patients age, hip surgery can cause greater problems, which can lead to pneumonia or blood clots if they stay sitting for a long time or bedridden. This is why the recovery process of patients’ recovery is so important, and it can sometimes take a year to complete the recovery process.
When orthopedic surgeons are treating patients, we not only prepare for the surgery, but also monitor them during the potential months after recovery, or potentially moving to a nursing facility. We motivate patients to see their treatment plans as a journey with long-term goals rather than quick resolution. We include families and any facilities we are in contact with, such as nursing homes or physical therapists, to ensure that everyone involved in the recovery process has an open line of communication. We also make sure patients are fully aware that they may lose a lot of independence because mobility during the recovery process will be severely limited. We support their psychological and emotional well-being because it is difficult to cope with this sudden change.
We can also refer to or advise patients to see a psychologist or therapist to support their mental health; many patients may feel frustrated or suffer from other mental health problems due to hip fractures and loss of independence in many patients.
What happens in the long run after a hip fracture?
Even after surgery and recovery, patients are subject to long-term exercise limitations affected by fractures. Some people lose at least one mobility, especially older patients. If an elderly patient walks independently before a hip fracture, they may walk with a crutch or walker. If they walk with walkers or crutches, they may be in a wheelchair.
Patients who are now in conjunction with walkers, crutches, or wheelchairs may experience other chronic pain problems, such as back and shoulder pain. Additionally, because one hip loses its movement level, patients usually offset it by placing the weight on other joints in the legs, shoulders, and back. This can cause pain in these areas.
Patients may have to be treated in other parts of the body with a hip pain doctor through steroid injections and/or more physical therapy. Sometimes we recommend them to go to hydrotherapy because they have a significant weight reduction, making it easier for patients to build strength and maintain their mobility.
What are the treatments for long-term recovery of hip fractures?
After hip surgery and recovery, it is important to maintain regular activity to support all the activities of the hip and throughout the body. I recommend my patients to yoga, walk or cross-train to support different muscles around the hips, such as leg muscles, groin, botulinum toxin and abdomen. In the recovery process, core strengthening is often overlooked; however, achieving good results is crucial. Likewise, maintaining a healthy diet is equally important so that the patient does not gain weight, which may make the recovered hips and surrounding joints more stressful.
For women, especially those who have consequences, bone health is more important. Therefore, we recommend increasing their calcium and vitamin D intake. I also recommend having a DEXA scan with their GP after menopause, a medical imaging test that measures bone density. This can help prevent future fractures of the hips as well as wrists and spine.
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