Over time, the joints in your body can become damaged due to physical activity, disease, or simply normal wear and tear as you age; as a result, your joints may become painful, stiff, and immobile. This can lead to a reduced quality of life as well as an inability to perform daily tasks, work, or formerly enjoyable activities. In a worst case scenario, total joint failure may occur, which means you’ll likely need extensive joint replacement surgery.
Joint Preservation Techniques
Joint preservation can help you to avoid future joint issues and maintain your current lifestyle. Depending on your needs, age, and any pain you might be in, join preservation may include physical therapy, nutritional support, rupture and tendon repair, minimally invasive surgery, advanced imaging services, or cartilage resurfacing.
Treating Joint Damage
After an evaluation, your doctor should discuss with you the best course of treatment to meet your needs. Joint preservation techniques can be a successful alternative to joint replacement for mild or general joint damage. As a discipline, joint preservation seeks to better understand why joint degeneration is occurs and how other issues, such as a malalignment, can worsen joint damage. Treating those issues can help preserve your joints, helping you avoid (or at least delay) major surgery.
Changes in Lifestyle
Those who have a sedentary lifestyle tend to be more at risk for joint damage and mobility problems; this includes those with heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure. This can start a cycle of worsening joint damage, because pain from movement may lead to further immobility. That’s why it’s important to make efforts to improve your health and lifestyle today so that you can preserve your joints — and your overall wellness — for tomorrow.
Schedule an Appointment
If you’re currently experiencing limited mobility in relation to joint pain, contact Steven Sanders, M.D. to schedule an appointment or learn more information about the various joint preservation services offered.
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