Hip Arthritis?
I have this in my right hip, but there is only a LOUD clicking/popping of my hip if I bent down or stand up too long. Could it be the alignment of the bone or something else? I’ve had hip injections which only work for about 4-5 weeks. I am starting to limp and need to sit often on a high cushioned area or else it is tough to get up. Any sugestions bsides a hip replacement, I’m 42.
I assume that your Dr has ordered xrays of your joint and you have been diagnosed with osteoarthritis. The injections that you refer to – were they a steroid injection? If so, you should have been told by your Dr. that these may or may not work and if you get some relief from them, know that you can’t get these shots forever. They may ultimately destroy the joint. Their value is in giving temporary pain relief until such time as the joint can be replaced.
I have had both hips replaced in separate surgeries. I waited a bit too long to have them done (can you believe that I was told I was “too young” for HR when I was 56 yrs. old?). I eventually had the surgeries 3 yrs later but I got so bad that I lived on Aleve, couldn’t walk without a cane, and had pretty much stopped living. In short, I waited too long and lost a lot of living because of the arthritis.
It isn’t unheard of for people your age to have hip replacements. Also, there is a new device recently approved by FDA for an alternative surgery to replacing the hip joint. It is called hip resurfacing and for those who qualify, involves reshaping and covering the femoral head (that’s the top or ball of your hip joint) instead of cutting it off as is done in a total hip replacement. In resurfacing, the acetabulum (that’s your pelvis) is treated in much the same way as with a hip replacement – reamed out to accept a metal cup. Resurfacing has been done abroad for many years but it remains a new and controversial procedure in the US. Some ortho surgeons don’t perform it; others may be quite new to it. Every patient doesn’t necessarily qualify and some insurances may balk at covering it. The premise with resurfacing is that the femoral bone is preserved and the full replacement, should it be necessary, may be postponed. Resurfacing is major surgery, same as total replacement.
Here’s more on the procedure:
http://totaljoints.info/surface_hip_replace.htm
You may also be interested in seeing the news story on hip arthritis and resurfacing that is scheduled for tomorrow (Tues, Oct. 9) on the CBS Evening News program.
Conservative, non-surgical treatment of hip osteoarthritis includes learning coping & joint preservation skills (such as taking one of the classes that are held by hospitals, clinics, etc.); NSAIDS or other pain meds; physical therapy (esp. exercise done in water); use of walking aids – canes, walkers; steroid injections; and eventually a wheelchair I suppose.
I tried the conservative treatments for 3 yrs. The therapy exercises made me feel better – for about 10 mins! The NSAIDS that I took daily worked pretty well for awhile and enabled me to keep working but they eventually stopped being very effective. I was on a cane for about 9 months before the surgery. I limped badly and began to have trouble sleeping.
Now I have no pain or stiffness, can walk miles, use no canes, and have my life back. It took a lot of work and was no walk in the park but it was definitely worth it. One thing that amazed me about the surgery was the fact that the old arthritis pain was gone instantly as I discovered when they got me out of bed to walk several hours after surgery.
Good luck to you. Arthritis is no fun and I hope you can get relief, if even temporarily. Also keep in mind that people as young (and even younger) than you do have hip replacements. The younger you are, the more likely that you will outlive your fake joint and need revision surgery which may have more complications.
Total Hip Replacement GanderCo [Video]
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Tags: hip replacement clicking, total hip replacement clicking