Why Arthroplasty May Be The Future Of Joint Replacement

If you find yourself constantly struggling with joint pain, specifically along the hips, knees, and ankles, then orthopedic treatment can offer you a great way to treat it. One common surgical treatment performed at our office is arthroplasty. Arthroplasty is a procedure that replaces compromised joints through the use of replacing, remodeling, and realigning the joint through the use of osteotomy. Although the term is synonymous with joint replacement surgery, more people have been shifting towards the term arthroplasty in recent years. This is because there are many key changes happening within surgery that are making arthroplasty easier to obtain and safer for patients.

What’s So Special About Arthroplasty vs. Joint Replacement?

In previous years, joint replacement therapy was considered an involved and heavily invasive procedure. This type of treatment, even in all of its iterations, involved significant tissue damage and long recovery times. It’s only due to advances in technology that joint replacement has shifted to become less invasive with faster recovery time. Arthroplasty represents those changes in procedure, as it now works with minimally invasive techniques combined with pain management and physical therapy in the following ways: 

• Prosthetic Advancements: This change from joint replacement therapy to arthroplasty has occurred due to the shift in injuries present in patients. Most patients require replacing a minimal amount of joints to achieve successful treatments, and the areas most often treated are the hips and knees. These areas often require the use of a prosthesis made with blended ceramic and infused with zirconia, alumina, and titanium to encourage osseointegration. Joint replacement therapy used to involve the replacement of the entire joint, but through advances in the prosthesis, minimally invasive surgeries can be better performed, making it a more robust way to treat patients with minimal damage to the joint areas.
• Shorter Recovery Times: Alongside the advances in the prosthesis, undergoing arthroplasty is a relatively short procedure. When patients go under arthroplasty, they usually spend up to four days at an outpatient center, and throughout that time, exercises, medications, and other means of physical therapy will be introduced to patients to encourage the body’s use of the prosthetics and better improve osseointegration rates. Within a few weeks, patients can resume light activities, and although recovery times can differ by case, the procedure overall has made significant improvements to people’s health within the last few decades, meaning more people facing issues with their joints can recover quickly.

Contact Your Orthopedist to Learn More About Arthroplasty!

Because our joints are essential to our lives, it’s a serious issue when they become impacted by injury or degeneration. For many people, arthroplasty has helped provide patients with a better outlook on life with less recovery time, a higher rate of healing, and better technology to support their needs. If you are interested in learning more about arthroplasty and other orthopedic procedures, make sure to contact your local orthopedic clinic today to schedule an appointment and discuss your goals and regain your freedom of movement!