Fox Valley residents might require hip replacement surgery for many reasons. One reason is rheumatoid arthritis. This condition can affect you in a number of ways, but if your hips are affected you want to better understand the effects and how they relate specifically to this joint. Knowing more about the hip-specific symptoms and the treatments can help you to better manage your condition.
What is Rheumatoid Arthritis?
This is a form of arthritis, but it results from the immune system essentially working in overdrive and attacking the tissues of the body. When it attacks the tissues that make up your hip joint, it can have a significant impact on your hip movement and overall function. If you have this condition and it is affecting your hips, it might cause:
- Stiffness in your hip joints that tends to be considerably worse when you wake up in the morning
- Worse pain and stiffness in your hips when you are inactive for a while
- Your hips joints might be tender, swollen or warm
In most cases, both of your hip joints are affected, but there are cases where it only affects one or the other. If only one is affected at first, it might affect both at the same time at a later date. There is a chance that your symptoms might seem to come and go over time. You might feel okay for a while and then experience a flare up. As the disease progresses, your joints might eventually shift out of place after becoming deformed.
What Are the Risk Factors?
It is not know what spurs this condition, but there are some risk factors that might put someone at a higher risk for developing it. These include:
- A family history of this type of arthritis
- Being obese
- Being female
- Being between 40 and 60 years of age
- Using tobacco products, especially smoking cigarettes
- Being exposed to certain chemicals, such as silica and asbestos
Exploring the Treatment Options
When this condition affects your hips, your doctor might recommend one or more medications to help you to better cope with your symptoms. These might also slow down the progression of your disease. Your doctor might also recommend physical therapy. Surgical options for more severe joint damage could include:
- Synovectomy
- Joint fusion
- Tendon repair
- Joint replacement
You can see that a hip replacement might be needed when you have rheumatoid arthritis affecting this joint. Now that you know more about the condition and what it can cause in terms of your hips, you can better advocate for your care and work with your doctor to determine a solid treatment plan.
If you would like to request a consultation with one of the orthopedic specialists at the Orthopedic & Sports Institute (OSI), please call (920) 560-1000 or request an appointment online. Additionally, OSI now offers a Walk-In Clinic at its Appleton location for new, acute orthopedic injuries.
The Orthopedic & Sports Institute has convenient locations to serve you. In addition to the flagship facility in Appleton, you will find outreach clinics in New London, Ripon, Shawano, Waupaca, and the newest location serving the Green Bay area, inside the NOVO Health Clinic in De Pere.
OSI is a proud member of NOVO Health.