Hip Replacement

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hazeld15
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Joined: Fri Sep 19, 2014 4:17 pm
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by hazeld15 on Tue Oct 08, 2019 2:26 pm

Hip Replacement

I had a hip replacement 18 months ago and expected things to be great and pain free although I do need my other hip replacing and both my knees are on their way out as well. Unfortunately the hip I had replaced just doesn't seem much better than it was before being replaced. It's still very painful and limits my mobility and ability to do normal everyday things. Is this common? The surgeon said my other hip will need replacing soon but I am loathe to have it done if it's not going to help.

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Arthritis Action
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Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2016 1:27 pm
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by Arthritis Action on Tue Oct 08, 2019 8:39 pm

Re: Hip Replacement

Most people will feel a considerable improvement in their pain after joint replacement surgery so I wonder if you have a different problem of generalised joint pain or perhaps fibromyalgia? If so, it would not be advisable to have further surgery until you have spoken to a pain specialist or rheumatologist, as further surgery is unlikely to help and may even make your pains worse. Joint replacement surgery is a great treatment for single painful joints, but not if there is widespread other pains where self-management and pain management techniques are much more useful.

Dr Wendy Holden FRCP
Medical Advisor to Arthritis Action and Consultant Rheumatologist

Arthritis Action

56 Buckingham Gate
London SW1E 6AE

020 3871 7120
www.arthritisaction.org.uk

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Matthew Rogers
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Joined: Tue Apr 17, 2018 12:01 pm
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by Matthew Rogers on Wed Oct 09, 2019 10:30 am

Re: Hip Replacement

Most of the time if we hurt ourselves we know what has caused it and the pain that we experience will resolve within a short period of time, usually less than 6 weeks. Sometimes once you have been living with pain for more than 6 weeks (as you would have been), the nervous system will become a little more sensitive to pain than it should be and this is referred to as ‘central sensitisation’ or ‘persistent pain’. If you are living with persistent pain, your pain nerves may trigger off a little easier than normal. In this case, the hurt you feel is not necessarily a sign of harm. You could think of this as a sensitive car alarm that goes off in error when someone walks past.

Many people who require and end up having a joint replacement will experience significant improvement in their symptoms soon after the procedure, but not all. In some cases, because the pain has gone on for a long time, the nervous system will have become more sensitive as outlined above and this will persist after the joint has been replaced. Persistent pain often doesn’t respond to standard treatment as you would expect, and a different approach is required. Relaxation techniques, specific medications and referral to a specialist pain team are all possibilities.

You can find out more about the management of persistent pain at: https://www.iosteopathy.org/osteopathy- ... tent-pain/
Matthew Rogers
Head of Professional Development, the Institute of Osteopathy

http://www.talkhealthpartnership.com/on ... rogers.php

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