Post Traumatic Arthritis
Important Facts About Post Traumatic Arthritis
When an injury occurs to either the hip or knee area there is a possibility of post traumatic arthritis. It usually is a result of blunt force and excessive pressure on a certain joint. Years after an injury occurs you can be affected by post traumatic arthritis because it can take quite a bit of time for the damage to be done. By the time there is painful symptoms from the disease, it is too late.
These dislocations can change the flow of blood to the injured area and the cartilage cells can start to become damaged and die. The joint cushion that surrounds the joint also begins to disappear and sever pain becomes apparent. Along with pain the other symptoms include swelling, tenderness and internal bleeding. It may also be hard to diagnose this condition because although the pain is apparent, there may not be any signs of distress on the skin surface.
During post traumatic arthritis, the cartilage is damaged in some way. The articular cartilage is separated from the joint and bone and ripped into tiny pieces. These small pieces of cartilage do not grow back. Then they can float around the area and cause severe pain and even joint instability. If they are not surgically removed they will continue to cause pain and contribute to even more joint damage.
The body’s natural way to correct this problem is to replace the damaged cartilage with scar tissue. But it is no substitute for it and problems still can persist. Because it is not smooth and cannot support any kind of heavy weight it is still very painful.
Repetitious activity that is done over many years can also cause post traumatic arthritis. Any activity that causes a joint to move in a way it isn’t used to can do damage. But if it is a work or activity related action that is repeatedly done over many years, the same type of damage can be done to the joint area and post traumatic arthritis can also be seen. The repeated activity wears out joints and leaves them unbalanced. After this happens the articular cartilage is permanently damaged.
Arthritis can be a result of our genes. But post traumatic arthritis is a result of either repetitious activity or an accident and the injury has to be severe to cause this kind of damage.
The hip, knee and ankle are the most affected parts of the body when it comes to arthritis. This is because of the joint ligament attachment. But when it comes to post traumatic arthritis the movement and pressure on the joints means everything. This is what causes the extreme damage and what must be corrected with surgery.
Arthroplasty is a surgery that can correct problems with this type of arthritis. This surgery can repair damage to the joint area and a prosthetic alternative may be used. There are cup, silicone, mold and resurfacing procedures used in arthroplasty surgeries. The purpose of this surgery is to re align the affected area to its original position. Joint surface and scar tissue is sometimes also removed during the surgery. But perhaps the most common joint procedure is a hip replacement surgery. During this surgery parts of an affected hip are completely removed and replaced with a prosthetic hip. The hip socket and tip of the femur are also removed and replaced. This surgery restores a better mobility and can lessen the pain from the floating cartilage, making it easy to walk and move around. Because of the ability to move, there will also be no more need for psychical rehabilitation.