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Latest Advances in Joint Replacement Pittsfield, Massachusetts (MA) - Berkshire Health Systems
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Health Take-Away

Health Take-Away

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  • Breast Cancer Awareness: Mammograms Save Lives
  • Antibiotic Resistance
  • Lung Cancer Screening
  • Giving Thanks
  • Healthy Holidays
  • Alcohol's Impact on Breast Cancer Risk
  • Acupuncture Can Help with Relief in Breast Cancer Care
  • Breast Reconstruction Surgery Journey is Personal
  • Building Your Immunity during COVID-19
  • Emotional Toll of COVID-19
  • COVID-19 Anti-Body Testing: What It Tells You What It Won't
  • Treating Varicose Veins
  • Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine: What is OMM
  • Know Your Audiology Options
  • Pets as Therapists
  • Reducing the Stigma of Substance Use Disorder
  • Be Kind to Your Heart
  • Headache Care
  • Managing Presenteeism
  • Don't Struggle with Resolutions
  • Enjoy the Holidays Through the Gift of Giving
  • Seasonal Affective Disorder
  • Save a Life, Lift Your Soul, Give Blood
  • Team Approach for Breast Cancer
  • Surviving Breast Cancer: A Journey
  • Hunger in the Berkshires
  • Vaccinations Help Avoid Needless Risks
  • Embrace Mindfulness
  • Low Carb High Fat Diet has Benefits
  • Probiotics Uses the Good Bugs to Fight the Bad Ones
  • Use the Power of Nature for Better Health
  • Unplug from Online for Better Health
  • Weight Loss Through Narrowing Your Eating Window
  • Mammography and Dense Breast Tissue
  • Medication-Assisted Treatment for Addiction Disorder
  • Smoker or Former Smoker? Lung Cancer Screening is Recommended for You
  • Be Safe When Using Over the Counter Medications
  • Screenings for Colon Cancer
  • Thyroid Health Essential to Metabolism
  • Go for Nutrition that is Heart Healthy
  • High Blood Pressure and Ways to Lower It
  • Hospitalists: Your Around the Clock Caregiver
  • Weight Loss Surgery Has Lasting Impact
  • Can you Find Joy in the Holidays When Sick?
  • Coping with Holiday Depression
  • When Quitting Smoking You May Need to Try and Try Again
  • Vaginal Birth after C-Section
  • New Tool to Assess Breast Cancer Risk
  • Migraines: How to Treat Them
  • Vestibular Care: It's All in Your Ears
  • Prepare for a Healthy Trip Abroad
  • New Moms Encouraged to Breast Feed
  • Language Diversity Important to Healthcare
  • Latest Advances in Joint Replacement
  • Vaping and Nicotine Addiction
  • Urgent Care or Emergency Department
  • Free Medicare Wellness Visit
  • Rehabilitation from Stroke Onset
  • Life Threatening Stroke Can be Prevented
  • Mammography and MRI for Women with High Risk of Breast Cancer
  • Breaking the Silence on Kidney Disease
  • Stop Mindless Eating
  • Hospitals Working to Improve Heart Health
  • Your Healthy Gut Bacteria
  • Give Up Smoking in 2018
  • Healthy Resolutions for 2018
  • Healthy Giving for 2017
  • Concussions: Myths and Truths
  • Celebrate a Thankful & Healthy Holiday
  • Don't Die of Embarrassment: Get Screened for Colon Cancer
  • Don't Let the Flu Get You This Season
  • Advanced Cardiac Imaging
  • Chronic Wound Care
  • What is a Hospitalist?
  • Healthy Heart Rhythms
  • Wellness Coaching
  • Men's Health In Crisis
  • Prevent Stroke or Respond FAST
  • Walking to Good Health
  • Healing Through Acupuncture
  • Self Care is Our Future
  • Family Wellness - Play Together Stay Healthy Together
  • Rewriting Your Book of Life
  • Pre-Diabetes: A Wake-Up Call for Better Health
  • Overcoming Crisis With Resiliency
  • Stepping Off the Slippery Slope
  • Sleep & Wellness: Learning to Cherish Your Sleep
  • Kicking the Habit and Ending the Fear
  • High Blood Pressure: One of the Few Things in Life We Can Control
  • Friendship is Powerful Medicine
  • It's Flu Season: Get the Vaccine!
  • The Healing Power of Gratitude
  • Where's the Joy?
  • New Year's Resolutions to Live By
  • Preventing Falls: A Leading Health Risk for the Older Population
  • Staying Healthy in the Office
  • Exercising at Home and Staying Fit in the Winter
  • Cardiac Rehabilitation: Regaining a Healthier and Better Life
  • Nutrition & Exercise: Two Great Gifts for Children
  • A Screening That Has Saved More than a Million Lives
  • How Walking Can Change Your Life
  • Injury-Free Sports & Activities
  • Have a Healthy Summer
  • Head to a Farmers' Market
  • Just Breathe
  • Lyme Disease Facts
  • Mindful Eating
  • Empathy in Healthcare
  • Preparing Your Family for an Emergency
  • Helping Someone to Cope with Opioid Addiction
  • Breast Cancer Awareness: Mammograms Save Lives
  • Antibiotic Resistance
  • Lung Cancer Screening
  • Giving Thanks
  • Healthy Holidays

Latest Advances in Joint Replacement

Deciding on Joint Replacement Surgery: Advances in pain management and surgical technology are making the decision easier
SAGE.jpg
By Daniel Sage, MD

People have always weighed the benefits and risks of joint replacement surgery before deciding whether to undergo the procedure. Will the pain associated with surgery and recovery outweigh the pain they’re living with every day? For some people, the answer is a resounding yes. A deteriorating knee or hip joint can make every step excruciating, taking a lot of the joy out of life. But others hang on for as long as they can, hoping to avoid what they think may be a very painful experience.

Over the last several years, dramatic changes in pain management for joint replacement surgery, improvements to the surgical procedure itself, and new technology designed to enhance accuracy and precision are making joint replacement surgery a less difficult choice.

Today, we attack pain from a variety of angles, beginning with the anesthesia used during surgery and on to a full arsenal of pain management modalities including intra-articular injections, nerve blocks, IV acetaminophen, anti-inflammatories and other non-narcotic medications. All of these options mean that patients, on average, require less narcotic medications.

Joint replacement surgery is still painful - I don’t want to mislead anyone on this point. But generally, people are not suffering like they once did. Good pain management enables patients to get out of bed and start moving their new hip or knee – often on the same day as surgery. Movement is an essential first step to recovering, and better pain management not only makes the experience a lot more comfortable, it’s also helping to speed recoveries.

The advent of more reliable cementless knee implants over the last decade represents another big improvement in the surgical procedure. Traditionally, the gold standard in knee replacement surgery was the use of cement to bond the implant to the bone. Yet, cement could break down over a period of time, sometimes requiring additional surgery to revise the implant years later. Today, cementless knee implants are performing very well – with growing evidence to support its use in many patients. The great advantage to this technique is that the bone will grow into the implant and become part of the body. It also eliminates a potential cause of revision down the line.

In my opinion, one of the most encouraging advancements in joint replacement surgery is robotic technology, which supports greater accuracy in bone cuts and more precise placement of the implant. Before surgery, a CT scan enables surgeons to plan how much bone will be removed to make way for the new implant. The image also guides the exact placement of the new joint. During surgery, the robotic arm makes sure that this plan is followed exactly, allowing us to consistently give a patient a perfectly balanced and aligned knee replacement.

Robotics in joint replacement surgery is relatively new and definitive studies to support its use are not yet available. However, early literature suggests improved pain scores, physical function scores, and overall patient satisfaction. Robotics also enable surgeons to accurately place implants in patients who are considered outliers – meaning the alignment of their legs fall outside of what is considered average.

Orthopedic surgeons diagnose when a patient reaches the point when joint replacement becomes necessary. But only patients can decide when they’re ready. Hopefully, it’s an easier choice these days. And waiting on the other side of surgery is a better quality of life.

Dr. Sage is an orthopaedic surgeon at Berkshire Orthopaedic Associates, an affiliate of Berkshire Health Systems

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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