Understanding Hip Pain And When To Seek Medical Treatment?
One in four people may develop symptomatic hip osteoarthritis in his or her lifetime, which can result in poor quality of life, disability, or functional restrictions. If you experience the following, we urge you to seek medical attention as soon as possible:
Symptoms/Pain Points
• Pain in your hip joints
• Limping when walking
• Stiffness or Loss of flexibility in the hip
• Swelling or tenderness in the hip
• Difficulty sleeping on your side
• Difficulty bending over to wear socks, shoes, or clipping toenails
Symptoms may vary from person to person.
Timely treatment can help to alleviate hip pain, allowing you to resume your daily activities quickly.
Some patients with severe hip arthritis don’t actually experience hip pain as their hip joint is fused (ankylosed). This means that they do not have any movement in their hips at all and they have to compensate by moving their body in an abnormal position just to walk. This compensatory gait causes a lot of stress to the adjacent joints in the lower back and knees. Do seek help if you find yourself limping or walking with an unusual gait. Sometimes it may be your friends or loved ones who notice the unusual way that you walk.
How can we help you with various hip problems and injuries?
Your quality of life can be severely impaired, basic activities of daily living and work affected, and your mental and physical health compromised with constant hip pain.
If prior treatment has not relieved your hip pain, you are strongly advised to seek a second opinion from an experienced and fellowship-trained orthopaedic specialist.
Treatment Options For Various Hip Pain & Injuries
– Hip Hyaluronic Acid Injections (Insurance & Medisave Claimable)
– Other non-invasive solutions (most solutions are Insurance & Medisave Claimable)
– Hip Preservation Surgery (contact us to check if it is Insurance & Medisave Claimable)
– Hip Replacement Surgery – for the chronic hip pain problems (contact us to check if it is Insurance & Medisave Claimable)
Hip Preservation Surgery
Hip preservation surgery includes several techniques that Dr. Mizan practices to help restore the integrity of your hip and delay the need for a formal hip replacement.
There are now arthroscopic (keyhole) techniques to preserve the hip and treat labral tears. Labral tears are repaired and stitched back using instruments that are inserted through small 1-2cm skin incisions around the hip (arthroscopic labral repair).
Femoral acetabular impingement (FAI) injuries are also managed by this same arthroscopic technique where abnormal fragments of bone around the acetabulum and femoral neck are removed using burr and shaver instruments (arthroscopic pincer and CAM resection). Keyhole techniques help reduce the risk of infection and collateral damage to other structures in the hip.
Avascular necrosis (AVN) is associated with increased pressure in the femoral head. This prevents blood flow to it and causes it to eventually collapse. In its early stages, core decompression is performed to encourage blood flow to return to the bone and help with its healing.
Hip Replacement Surgery - For Chronic Hip Pain Problems
Advanced hip arthritis may not be amenable to hip preservation techniques such as injections, medication and arthroscopic repairs. X-rays and MRI scans may reveal widespread and severe cartilage degeneration which would be better managed with a hip replacement procedure.
Dr. Mizan will assess your past medical history and hip condition before recommending a personalized treatment plan for you. For severe hip arthritis, Dr. Mizan may recommend a total hip replacement operation (insurance & Medisave claimable) through the direct anterior approach (DAA).
The benefits of performing the hip replacement through the direct anterior approach are as follows:
Muscles, nerves, and other soft tissue are left uncut
Patients assume a supine position (lie on their backs) during surgery: this allows the use of x-rays during surgery and more accurate assessment of your leg lengths
X-rays ensure Implant size and positioning are optimized
Significantly reduced risks of dislocation
Patients are allowed to walk on the same day as their surgery
Patients are allowed to return home the day after surgery
No hip restrictions after surgery. You can kneel, squat, and cross your legs after your total hip replacement.
Your Journey To Long-Term Hip Pain Relief
If you or your loved one is experiencing hip pain, seek medical advice from experienced orthopaedic surgeon Dr Mizan and his team. We are here to help you every step of the way.
GET IN TOUCH
We’re happy to speak with you about any queries you may have.