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assesses whether a patient would benefit from certain exercises or strength training before the procedure, and they undergo a risk assessment to ensure you're in the best health possible to go through an elective procedure. What's recovery like? Just as preparing for total joint replacement varies depending on your situation, type of surgery and health, the recovery process and recovery time vary, as well as how you experience pain. We have you walking the day of knee surgery, and most patients go home the day of or the morning after surgery. The first week or so can be quite painful, and medications may be prescribed to help with that. Physical therapy is recommended within two or three days of surgery. For total knee replacement, outpatient physical therapy is recommended. Hip replacement tends to be much less painful with a more rapid recovery. Most patients go home the day of or the morning after surgery. With hip replacement patients, we typically have to convince them that they have not healed as much as they think they have. Regardless of the joint replacement procedure you have, the first couple days following surgery are about total recovery: take it easy but also to try to move around as much as you can tolerate. Ready to learn more? Watch the free joint pain videos recorded with our orthopedic providers at providence.org/locations/wa/orthopedics-spokane Joint pain. Ouch! It can affect the quality of everyday life. The chronic aches, swelling or sharp pains in the hip or knee can disrupt sleep and limit your ability to move and do the things you love. Joint problems are more common in older adults, but younger adults can experience joint pain as well. Sometimes joint pain happens after a sports injury or accident, or it could be caused by osteoarthritis, also known as "wear and tear" arthritis. There are many different types of non-surgical treatments to help relieve pain and keep you moving: Physical therapy, bracing, cortisone injections and anti-inflammatory or pain medications are a few examples. However, if relentless hip or knee pain affects your ability to walk, work, sleep or even sit for longer than a few minutes, talking to a professional may help you determine if total joint replacement is right for you. What is a total joint replacement? Joint replacement is a term we use to help simplify the idea of what we are doing. In the knee, it is more of a resurfacing to remove the diseased cartilage from the femur, tibia and patella. Then we resurface the bone with metal and plastic. For the hip, we remove the cartilage from the socket and resurface it with metal and plastic. The femur has a stem placed in the canal with a metal or ceramic head. So, to be clear, the surgery for the hip is more of a replacement. What is the average age of total joint replacement patients? There isn't an average age for patients who choose total joint replacement. Joint replacement is a quality-of-life procedure. If you have bone-on-bone osteoarthritis of the hip or knee you're a potential candidate. How do you prepare for total joint replacement surgery? It's important patients are prepared for the entire journey: before, during and after joint replacement surgery. From the moment a patient is referred to one of our orthopedic specialists by their primary care provider, the entire care team encourages them as well as their support person to participate in our education program. The team also Health Tip Relief from joint pain Joshua Drumm, D.O. Providence Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Stock

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