Surgery for hip fractures is commonly done when the upper portion of the femur (thigh bone) fractures.
It usually occurs in older age people (more than 60 years) whose bones become weak due to Osteoporosis.
However, younger people can also experience hip fractures due to injury or accident, most commonly by falling from a height or collision with vehicles.
According to research, the risk of hip fracture is more likely to occur in women than men, especially in old age.
Moreover, the stats show that more than 82,000 women and 61,000 men in India suffer from hip fractures annually.
This shows that the demand for surgery for hip fractures is growing rapidly every year.
Keeping that in mind, here we’ve discussed everything that you must know about hip fracture surgery.
First, unwrap the symptoms and causes of hip fracture!
Contents
Symptoms and Causes of Hip Fracture
Hip fractures can be so painful and make one’s life uncomfortable. So, you must prevent the causes, and if you already suffer from a fracture or notice any of the symptoms, you must consult a doctor.
Below are the causes and symptoms of hip fracture:
Causes of Hip Fracture
The most common cause of hip fracture is Osteoporosis (a bone disease that causes bones to become weak and brittle), generally seen in old age people.
However, there are some other causes too, including:
Severe impact: such as falls from a height, car crashes, and more.
Medical conditions: Like Osteoporosis, some other medical conditions like Thyroid, Intestinal disorders, and more can also cause it.
Prolonged use of certain medications: Cortisone medications, such as prednisone, can make your bones weak, and that can lead to hip fracture.
Sudden twisting: People with weaker bones can suffer from hip fractures even with sudden twisting of bones when while standing or walking.
Less bone density and calcium levels: It refers to lower bone strength and may cause bone fracture easily.
Sports injury: People who play sports, especially contact sports like football, basketball, and more can lead to hip fractures.
Thus, these are some of the causes of hip joint fracture that you should avoid.
Doctors’ Advice: To prevent hip fracture, one should increase the intake of Calcium and Vitamin D, try some bone density exercises, and take precautions while playing sports.
Now, if you’ve already come across any of these causes, you may notice some of the symptoms that you should not ignore.
Symptoms of Hip Fracture
Below are the hip fracture symptoms and signs that you should not ignore:
- Severe pain in the hip joint.
- Feel difficulty and inability while getting up or walking.
- Don’t be able to put weight on the side of the injured hip.
- Can’t able to sit on a chair or sofa.
- Bruising and swelling in and around the affected hip area.
- Shorter leg on the side of the injured hip.
- Feel pain while lying in bed.
If you notice any of these signs and symptoms, you should consult the best Orthopedic Surgery Specialist Patna for proper diagnosis and treatment.
The doctor will follow a defined process for diagnosis and then advise some treatment options.
Surgery for hip fractures is the best treatment option that a doctor advises their patients.
However, some patients also ask for hip fracture treatment without surgery in elderly as they fear going for the surgery.
But to be clear, surgery is the best option they can consider for the fracture. Any other treatment options may not work.
Still, if you don’t want to go for the surgery, you should consult your healthcare provider for other treatment options.
On the other hand, the doctor will advise different surgical treatments, depending on the condition of people who want to go for surgery.
Types of Surgery for Hip Fractures
Below are the types of surgery for hip fracture that a surgeon can recommend:
#1. Hip Surgery with Rod and Screws
Internal repair using rods and screws is one of the common surgical procedures that doctors advise to treat hip fractures, most probably in old age.
In this method, surgeons insert metal rods or screws into the affected hip bone to hold it together.
Moreover, it is beneficial to keep the treated bone stable until it heals completely to avoid further damage.
#2. Total Hip Replacement
In some cases, fracture leads to severe damage in different compartments of the hip joint that can’t heal with the above procedure. In those cases, total hip replacement surgery can help.
Total hip replacement is one of the most cost-effective and result-driven surgery to treat many hip-related problems, including hip fractures.
In this surgical procedure, surgeons replace the damaged or torn bones with a metal, ceramic, or very hard plastic artificial implant.
This surgery is recommended when you feel completely disabled and have severe pain in the hip joint due to the fracture.
#3. Partial Hip Replacement
Many patients don’t need a total hip replacement as only one compartment of the hip joint is damaged due to a fracture.
In other words, partial hip replacement is recommended for those who have damaged only one compartment of the hip joint.
Moreover, surgeons only replace the damaged compartment of the hip, but b=not the complete hip, i.e., surgeons replaces the ball of the hip joint, but not the socket.
Partial hip replacement is performed to treat certain types of hip fractures. That’s why surgeons always go through several tests before considering the surgery.
Thus, these are the top surgery for hip fractures that the best Hip Replacement Surgeon in Patna can advise.
Hip Fracture Surgery Recovery
The recovery of hip fractures is not absolute as it depends on several factors, such as age, condition, gender, medical history, and more.
However, hip surgery with rod and screws recovery usually takes three to four months.
On the other hand, the recovery from hip replacement surgery (both total and partial) can take 6 months to one year. Total hip replacement may take longer.
However, that doesn’t mean you can’t perform any activity for that long. The doctor advises doing light tasks like walking, standing, stretching, and more.
Note: Always remember not to apply extra pressure on your hip joints by doing any intense tasks.
Hence, this is everything you need to know about surgery for hip fractures before considering it.
Conclusion
Hip fracture is common, especially when you get older, as the bone starts losing strength naturally.
However, there are several other causes of hip fracture that we’ve mentioned above, along with the symptoms.
So, if you’ve come across the causes and noticed the hip fracture symptoms, you need to consult the best Orthopedic Doctor in Patna for diagnosis and treatment.
Hope you find this helpful and informative! If you’ve any queries, let us know in the comment section.
You should also read: