Joint replacement: 7 questions to ask yourself

Ask yourself these questions to determine if you should consider a joint replacement procedure.

Throbbing, stabbing or constantly aching, the pain in a joint can significantly limit physical activity and exact an emotional toll as well.

But for many, living with the pain and limitation is preferred than what they think a joint replacement procedure and recovery will entail.

While the prospect of a prolonged recovery and rehabilitation might once have been the case, today’s joint replacement procedures are designed to get patients up and moving sooner, with less post-operative pain and a quicker return to activity.

“The most common question I get from our joint replacement patients is about their recovery,” said Leslie Sahr, joint replacement coordinator at McLaren Macomb. “How long will they be laid up for and will their rehabilitation be painful? Orthopedic joint replacement surgery may once have been a more invasive surgery, the reality is that today’s procedures make the recovery much faster than before.”

Joint replacement surgery is not what it once was.

Should you consider joint replacement?

• Have you had difficulty sleeping, or has your sleep been disruption by pain?

• Has a once-routine task become more difficult to perform due to pain?

• Have you previously tried a non-surgical procedure, but the pain persists?

• Have you been diagnosed with advanced arthritis or significant joint damage?

• Has a doctor told you that another non-surgical procedure was unlikely to help?

• Is your pain not relieved with rest?

• Is your pain wearing you down physically and emotionally?