When the joint cannot be saved: 5 signs that it is time for endoprosthesis

The diagnosis of “osteoarthrosis” (or arthrosis) often sounds like a sentence for patients, especially older ones. At first, the disease develops imperceptibly: slight discomfort after a long walk, crunch when squatting. But over time, the cartilaginous tissue, which serves as a shock absorber between the bones, is completely worn away.

Many patients endure pain for years, spend huge sums on chondroprotectors, ointments and dubious procedures, postponing a visit to the surgeon due to fear of surgery. However, there comes a point when conservative treatment loses any meaning. Endoprosthesis (replacement of the destroyed joint with an artificial implant) becomes the only way to return the ability to move normally.

How to understand that this time has come? Pay attention to the 5 main signs.

Sign 1. Pain becomes your constant companion, even at night

In the early stages of arthrosis, the joint hurts only during or after physical exertion. If the pain bothers you at rest, prevents you from falling asleep at night, makes you constantly look for a comfortable position for your leg or arm, this is an alarm signal. When the pain becomes unbearable and exhausts the nervous system, it’s time to think about a radical decision.

Sign 2. Total dependence on painkillers

You can’t imagine your day without a pill or a shot of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). It is important to understand that these drugs do not cure the joint, they only mask the symptom. Moreover, long-term and regular use of such drugs has a catastrophic effect on the gastrointestinal tract (up to ulcers), kidneys and cardiovascular system. If the medicine no longer gives relief, it is dangerous to postpone the operation.

Sign 3. Critical limitation of mobility (contracture)

You notice that you cannot perform the simplest household activities:

• Put on shoes or socks by yourself.

• To raise a hand to comb one’s hair or take something off a shelf.

• Descend or ascend the stairs without support on the handrail.

• Walk more than 100-200 meters without stopping to rest. When the joint “jams” and you physically cannot bend or straighten the limb, this indicates deep structural changes and the growth of bone spurs (osteophytes).

Sign 4. Visible deformation and shortening of the limb

Destruction of cartilage and changes in the shape of bone structures lead to visual changes. The joint becomes massive, swollen, the axis of the limb is distorted (for example, the legs become O-shaped or X-shaped). Often, due to the destruction of the head of the joint, the leg becomes physically shorter than healthy, which leads to pronounced lameness and distortion of the pelvis, which in turn hits the spine.

Sign 5. X-ray shows the “bone on bone” stage

The final decision is always made on the basis of hardware diagnostics. If on an X-ray or MRI (arthrosis stage 3-4) the doctor sees a complete absence of the joint space, large bone growths, cysts in the bone tissue and deformation of the joint surfaces – conservative treatment has exhausted itself. . No injection of hyaluronic acid or plasma can grow new cartilage where there is none.