Recognizing Common Symptoms of Osteoarthritis

Almost 27 million Americans, aged 25 and above, are afflicted with osteoarthritis, according to U.S health statistics. Osteoarthritis is a degenerative type of illness affecting the joints. Pain and stiffness in the joints of neck, fingers, knees, lower back, and hips are the tell-tale signs.

Fallen victim to Stryker hip replacement

Here are the most common symptoms of osteoarthritis to watch out for:

Pain

People with osteoarthritis experience pain in their affected joints or other symptoms. Joint pain is normally worse during periods of activity and stops with rest. There are many ways how to manage the pain, some of these are application of hot and cold packs and pain-relieving medications.

Stiffness

Stiffness is felt particularly in the hands, knees, hips, and spine. These are usual among people with osteoarthritis, it occurs after you get out of bed in the morning or after you sit for a longer duration. To help you dodge stiffness from inactivity, your doctor may suggest low-impact exercises such as swimming and cycling. Rigorous actions like running and jumping, however, may intensify joint pain.

Muscle weakness

Those who have osteoarthritis may also experience reduced muscular function. According to some studies, muscle weakness may actually be a contributing factor for osteoarthritis to develop, mainly osteoarthritis of the knee. Daily exercises will help keep muscles strong.

Reduced range of motion

Limited movement and flexibility in certain joints are other indications of osteoarthritis. These are generally the effects of the joint pain and stiffness suffered by many people with osteoarthritis. These symptoms may occur in any of the joints where osteoarthritis will most probably develop.

Joint cracking and creaking

Some people with osteoarthritis may have a chomping feeling in their joints or hear the sound of bone against bone. This may arise as cartilage wears away, letting the bones in the joint to move alongside each other.

Deformed joints

A healthy joint are protected with smooth cartilage. As the cartilage becomes worn away by osteoarthritis, spurs may grow out from the end of the bones. This will most likely progress to misshapen joints which frequently occur in the hands of people with osteoarthritis.

Do not ignore these signs as early management of it will help you to delay impairment of your joints, and save yourself from getting a joint replacement. Although it will benefit you to have one but, you cannot risk the complications you will most likely experience as well.  Get more latest news and updates by visiting the Stryker hip replacement recall website.
Sources:

osteoarthritis.about.com/od/osteoarthritissymptoms/a/osteoarthritis_warning_signs.htm
arthritisresearchuk.org/arthritis-information/conditions/osteoarthritis/symptoms.aspx

How to Prevent Hip Implant Injury

Metal-on-metal hip implants are devices designed to replace the ball and socket in the hip joint to facilitate painless and functional mobility. Walking remains the body’s most important function for survival and productivity. However, as men and women increase in age, the hip joint deteriorates. When  the hip and thigh bones are not working smoothly together any more, discomfort is unavoidable and causes pain and stiffness. The worst that may  happen is for the patient to develop a walking disability that cannot be alleviated through medications, physical therapy and a restorative exercise regimen. For this reason the invention of hip replacements becomes a breakthrough in medical technology that should address this problem. No longer do patients have to resign themselves into immobility after a hip joint malfunction. But, like all other medical procedures and products, there are possible dangers in using metal-on-metal hip implants.

While hip implant systems work well and are designed to have low levels of wear and tear, there have been reported cases of itheir metal component being susceptible to premature corrosion and fretting. When this happens, the released debris (metallic shards) may affect the nearby tissues, thereby causing adverse reactions such as pain and swelling. The bloodstream also becomes unsafe from these toxic metal particles, making it prone to tumors. The health dangers of these metal ions, if prolonged and untreated, could affect the nervous system, the heart and the thyroid gland where all vital functions of the body are regulated and controlled.

One important thing to know is that, in the process of manufacturing a product that is supposed to facilitate healing or improve one’s condition, there really are instances in which lapses are unavoidable such as in the quality of the product in terms of material wear. Indeed, it is very important for a patient like you to know as much as you can about the type of hip implant that you or a cared for individual would be getting, especially if it is permanent and not removable. You want to know what kind of material it will be made of and how long it should last inside your body. It is also wise and helpful to check if you are allergic to the material. Make sure that you are doing this procedure with an experienced doctor. You may also want to know what the symptoms are and which would tell you that the implant is not functioning properly so that you will be prepared should this happen. Prevention is always better than being at the receiving end of a painful damage as experienced by the patients that caused the Stryker hip recall.

URLS:

 fda.gov/MedicalDevices/ProductsandMedicalProcedures/ImplantsandProsthetics/MetalonMetalHipImplants/ucm241604.htm

 arthritisresearchuk.org/arthritis-information/surgery/mom-hip-q-and-a.aspx

Patients of Stryker Hip Implants at Risk of Metallosis

In July 2012 two hip implant models were voluntarily recalled by Stryker Orthopedics. The two models that were recalled were the Rejuvenate and the ABG II modular-neck hip stem implants.  This recall comes on the heels of around 60 different reports to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which held complaints ranging from implants corroding and slowly breaking, causing swelling and pain in the patient’s hip.  The FDA had taken notice of the possible negative trend that these reports were showing since the complications the patients were reporting were not caused by underlying conditions such as arthritis.

 In a press release Stryker admitted that their metal on metal bearings in their hip replacement implants could cause metallic wear particles around 20 to 80nm in diameter to be introduced into the body when the bearings were in motion.   As the debris corrode, the metal ions found inside them can create an adverse reaction in the muscle tissue nearest to them causing swelling and pain.

 However, the type of debris which is produced depends on the type of material the implants are made of.  Each material may cause a different long-term effect on the patients body.For example, hip implants known as metal-on-metal hips in which both the femoral component and the cup are made of metal will create debris primarily made of cobalt and titanium ions, which may cause a condition known as metallosis.  Metallosis is a rare disease in which metallic debris are introduced into the body and cause pain in the soft tissue, in the case of hip replacement the tissue around the hip area is most effected.

The way that Stryker is different from the DePuy Hip Replacement line is that the hip socket joint for the Stryker models is not a metal-on-metal joint but mainly ceramic. However, they do have a metal-on-metal joint within the workings of the devices that may likely deteriorate over time.  As a result, certain recipients of these implants may experience the dangerous effects of metallosis.  One such side effect is that these metal debris can cause grey discoloration of the tissue surrounding the implant, this usually means that the tissue is oxygen-starved and dying.  The effects of metallosis can be particularly acute in implant recipients who have a condition known as metal sensitivity.  Those patients who have metal sensitivity are more likely to suffer from metal poisoning.

Hospitalization and painful corrective surgeries are sometimes necessary to alleviate pain and swelling caused by the affected Stryker implants.  Stryker has begun warning patients on its website that if they began to experience  pain or discomfort in their hip area they may visit their doctor as soon as possible.

References:

aboutstryker.com/hip/disclaimer/