Arthritis

Effective Arthritis Treatment for Dallas-Fort Worth Area Residents

The specialists at Advanced Spine and Orthopedics use their expertise to perform effective arthritis treatments for Dallas, TX-area patients. We understand the challenges facing people with arthritis and work tirelessly to find solutions. Arthritis is a disorder impacting one joint or multiple joints. While there are over 100 types of the condition, the most common are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. While usually found in adults over 65, arthritis can affect children, teenagers, and young adults. It is more common in women and those who are overweight. You can expect your symptoms to develop over time, so seeking medical assistance is crucial.

About Arthritis

Arthritis Features a Range of Symptoms

Arthritis produces numerous symptoms, including joint pain, swelling, and stiffness. In addition, there will be some redness on the skin around the joint and decreased range of motion in the area. Most of our patients will experience various symptoms because they vary for each individual. And in most cases, arthritis worsens throughout the day due to multiple factors, such as activity level and the time of day. Some other common symptoms include:

Loss of Appetite
Exhaustion
Inflammation
Deformity

Understanding the Two Most Common Types of Arthritis

Cartilage surrounds every joint in your body. This connective tissue is firm and flexible, provides a protective layer to the joints, and absorbs pressure and shock as you move. Arthritis occurs due to a reduction of that cartilage. The two most common forms of arthritis affect your joints in different ways:

Osteoarthritis (OA)

OA is caused by wear of the cartilage. In many cases, injuries and infections speed up the process of this wear. It occurs most commonly in older adults and can result in zero cartilage in extreme cases. Bone-on-bone contact is painful and causes a reduced range of motion and chronic pain.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is an auto-immune disease in which the immune system attacks healthy joints, tissues, and organs. It occurs most commonly in women of childbearing age and inflames the lining of the joints.

Treatment Options

Diagnosing and Treating Arthritis

The first step to treating your symptoms is to get an official diagnosis from our specialist. We will perform a physical examination and look for fluid around your joints. Our doctors will also look for red or warm joints and test your range of motion. We will perform a test to determine which kind of arthritis you have. Once we diagnose you, we have several options for treatment, including:

Synovectomy: This procedure is performed with arthroscopy and is best for early cases of inflammatory arthritis where there is significant swelling.
Arthroplasty: We will remove the joint and replace it with an artificial implant during this procedure. Arthroplasty is best for severe osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and other types.
Arthrodesis: This fusion surgery involves removing joints and fusing the joint's bones with metal wires or screws. We do this when severely damaged joints, ligaments, or tendons are damaged.

The Advantages of Anterior Approach Hip Replacement

Anterior approach hip replacement is a safe and effective treatment that results in positive outcomes for patients dealing with severe arthritis. Many patients have searched for ways to relieve their symptoms for years, and this procedure can hold the answers. The most attractive benefit of the procedure is it is minimally invasive, which helps to reduce downtime and other drawbacks. It accelerates rehabilitation and decreases the amount of time spent in the hospital. Other benefits include less damage to major muscles, less post-op pain, and fewer precautions before surgery.

Advocates of anterior hip replacement surgery assert that it has a number of benefits, including:

Reduced damage to the muscle: The anterior approach prevents major muscles from being severed. Toward the front of the hip, there are fewer muscles, so the surgeon works between them rather than severing muscle fibers or separating muscles from bones (and then having to make repairs at the end of the surgery).
Less pain post surgery: Due to the fact that no significant muscles are cut during the procedure, patients often suffer less post-operative pain and need less pain medication.
Speedier recovery: According to research, individuals who get anterior hip replacements quit requiring walkers, canes, and other aids 5 to 7 days sooner than patients who have typical hip surgery.
Fewer postoperative precautions: Patients who have had hip replacement surgery are given a set of aftercare instructions, including specific motions and activities to avoid to prevent the new hip from dislocating. (During the first six weeks following surgery, precautions are usually observed.) Less or no postoperative precautions are frequently given by anterior approach surgeons. There isn't a unanimous agreement on this matter, either, as some surgeons who perform standard hip replacements also skip the post-operative hip precautions. Several studies tend to indicate that the anterior approach is less likely than the usual techniques to cause damage to the major nerves close to the hip, especially the sciatic nerve. This is because adopting the anterior technique does not expose the sciatic nerve, which passes behind the hip joint.

An client seeking anterior hip replacement surgery should discuss the potential benefits and drawbacks with their surgeon in light of their unique circumstances, such as their hip arthritis, anatomy, general health, and other factors.