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When To Consider Joint Replacement

What things can't I do after joint surgery?

For approximately 12 weeks after surgery certain limitations are placed on your activities. Your health care provider will give you instructions about these limitations. Remember: It is very important to follow these instructions! When fully recovered, most patients can return to work. However, some types of work may not be advisable for individuals with a joint replacement. These types of work include:

• Construction work
• Certain types of carpentry
• Occupations that involve repeated high climbing

Athletic activities that place excessive stress on the joint replacement will need to be avoided. Examples of these activities include:

• Skiing (snow or water)
• Basketball
• Baseball
• Contact sports
• Running
• Frequent jumping
• Hiking
• Mountain biking

Find an Orthopaedic Doctor Search for Orthopedic Doctors in your area. Receive the names and addresses of Orthopedic Doctors who have used or are familiar with Stryker products.

After joint replacement, acceptable physical activities should:

• Not cause pain - including pain felt later
• Not jar the joint - running and jumping should be avoided
• Not place the joint in the extremes of its range of motion
• Be pleasurable

It is also important for an individual with a joint replacement to keep their body weight as close to normal as possible. Joint wear and loosening increases with weight increase. In addition, individuals with joint replacements may need to take antibiotics before dental work (including dental cleaning) and any surgical procedure that could allow bacteria to enter the bloodstream. Ask your health care provider whether you will need to take antibiotics at certain times to prevent infection.

How long will the joint replacement last?

The success of your joint replacement surgery will depend in part on how well you follow your orthopaedic surgeon's instructions during the first several weeks after surgery. It is impossible to predict in individual cases how long a joint replacement will last. Many factors determine the outcome including:

• Age
• Weight
• Activity level
• Bone strength

Loosening is the most common cause of failure with standard cemented joint replacements. A small amount of loosening and bone loss is expected, but if it reaches a certain degree then repeat surgery may be required. Follow-up X-rays are very important because in cemented joints loosening can occur without symptoms. In the early stages this does not present a problem, but if loosening is allowed to continue repair may be more difficult, with greater potential for complications.

Will my medical insurance pay for joint replacement surgery?

Joint replacement surgery is usually covered by medical insurance, including Medicare. You should check with your insurance company.

What should I do if I have more questions?

If you have more questions now, or later, speak with your health care provider. It is very helpful to take some time to write down all of your questions before you speak with your health care provider. If you have an appointment with your health care provider, remember to take your list of questions with you. When speaking with your health care provider, you may want to make a note of the answers to your questions. We often forget exactly what we heard!