Hip and Knee

Diagnosis and treatment of hip issues

Treatment for your hip injury or condition begins with an accurate diagnosis. Your specialist may use several medical imaging technologies and in-office exams to determine the exact location and cause of your hip pain, instability or movement issues.

Nonsurgical treatment of hip issues

Orthopaedic surgeons at Bothwell Medical Rooms take a conservative approach to treating hip injuries and conditions. They begin by exploring non-surgical therapies and techniques that may help minimize pain, increase stability and restore function.

Your consultant may try non-surgical treatments and therapies such as:

• Rest
• Heat or ice therapy
• Lifestyle or activity modification
• Over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medications
• Prescription medications
• Steroid injections
• Regenerative Medicine
• Physical therapy

Although prescription medications are not appropriate for the treatment of arthritis pain, if you rely on these medications to help control your hip pain, it might be time to discuss surgical treatment options. Your consultant will work with you to assess the risks and benefits of surgery and will often require decreasing the dosage of these medicines before surgery in order to adequately control your pain after surgery. Daily use of medications often comes with side effects and the risk of addiction, and makes it much more difficult to control your pain after surgery

Surgical treatment of hip issues

If nonsurgical options aren't effective in relieving your hip pain or other symptoms, or if your condition has progressed to a point where it's negatively impacting your quality of life, hip surgery may be needed.

Bothwell Medical Rooms orthopaedic surgeons use the latest surgical robotics and advanced techniques to deliver the least invasive and most precise surgical treatments possible. These technologies can help surgeons better align prosthetic implants, resulting in greater surgical accuracy and improved outcomes.

The goal is to alleviate your pain and get you moving again. At Bothwell Medical Rooms, orthopaedic surgeons perform various types of hip surgery, including:

Hip arthroscopy to diagnose and sometimes treat hip injuries and conditions affecting the soft tissues that surround, protect and allow your hip to function properly

Partial hip replacement surgery to replace a fractured femoral head (the ball-like top of the thighbone). This procedure only replaces the part of the hip joint that was damaged, making it a partial hip replacement.

Total hip replacement surgery to treat the degenerative effects of arthritis or severe injury by replacing the worn out/damaged cartilage and bone in the hip joint with metal, plastic and/or ceramic components

Revision hip replacement surgery to replace failed components from a previous hip replacement surgery

After hip surgery

Today's surgical advances mean shorter post-surgical hospital stays. In most cases, you'll be able to go home within 24-48 hours of surgery. Before you're discharged from the hospital, your care team will ensure that you're able to:

• Use the bathroom without assistance
• Walk with an assistive device on level surfaces
• Climb up and down two or three steps
• Perform exercises that your consultant wants you to do at home

Your recovery plan probably also will include comprehensive outpatient physiotherapy at an Bothwell Medical Rooms associate facility. Therapy will help you regain strength and improve movement and function, helping you get back to doing the activities you love.

Throughout your treatment, your orthopaedic surgeon will work with your GP to make sure you receive the best care and treatment. Your surgeon also may collaborate with a physio, anesthesiologist,  orthopaedic nurses and others in the hospital to provide the treatment you need.

Knee treatment and surgery

• Do you have pain, swelling, or instability in your knee?
• Does it lock up when you move it?

If so, it might be time to have it examined by an Bothwell Medical Rooms knee surgeon in Lanarkshire.

Your consultant will meet you to diagnose your knee condition or injury. Your consultant will also discuss any underlying conditions or causes that may be contributing to your knee pain.

Nonsurgical treatment of knee pain

After evaluating your knee carefully, your orthopaedic surgeon will create a treatment plan customised for you.

Treating your knee injury or condition will likely begin with a technique known as RICE:

R: Rest the injured area and discontinue the activity that caused injury.

I: Ice the injured area two to three times a day for 20 to 30 minutes at a time.

C: Use compression on the injured area with a brace or wrap.

E: Elevate the injured area as much as possible.

Your knee specialist also might recommend:

Immobilization: Bracing the knee to prevent movement and give the bones, ligaments, tendons and cartilage a chance to rest and heal. Crutches may be used to help keep weight off the knee.

Anti-inflammatory medications or injections: These help reduce pain and swelling

Physical therapy: Done to slowly and appropriately help restore knee function and strengthen the supporting muscles

Surgical treatment

When the structures of your knee become injured or diseased, surgery may be needed to ease your symptoms and restore function. When appropriate, orthopaedic surgeons at Bothwell Medical Rooms may use a technique called arthroscopic surgery of the knee. This is done on an outpatient basis, meaning you'll probably go home after the procedure. This minimally invasive surgical approach can be used to treat knee injuries and conditions while offering benefits like:

• Smaller incisions
• Less scarring
• Reduced need for pain medication
• Quicker recovery

Bothwell Medical Rooms orthopaedic surgeons use modern techniques and technologies to deliver the most precise surgical treatments possible. Because many knee injuries require surgeons to have greater access to structures and components within the knee, open knee surgery is still common practice.

Regardless of the type of knee surgery that's recommended for you, the goal is to alleviate your pain, restore function and get you moving again. At Bothwell Medical Rooms, orthopaedic surgeons perform various types of knee surgery, including:

Total knee replacement surgery, also called total knee arthroplasty: It treats the degenerative effects of arthritis or severe injury by replacing the worn out/damaged cartilage in the knee. Total knee replacement surgery is a common method of treatment for end-stage arthritis of a knee, regardless of its cause.

Partial knee replacement surgery, also called unicompartmental knee replacement, replaces only the damaged part(s) of the knee, if the damage is more isolated and other areas of the knee are normal

Revision knee replacement surgery due to wear, loosening, injury, or in some cases, infection of the original knee replacement

Arthroscopic knee surgeries to diagnose and sometimes treat knee injuries and conditions affecting the soft tissues that surround, protect and allow your knee to function properly

After knee surgery

Today's surgical advances usually mean shorter post-surgical hospital stays. In most cases, you'll be able to go home within 24-48 hours of knee surgery.

Your recovery plan will probably also include comprehensive outpatient physiotherapy. Therapy will help you regain strength, improve movement and restore function, helping you get back to doing the activities you enjoy.

Throughout your treatment, your  orthopaedic surgeon will work with your GP to ensure that you receive the best possible care. Your surgeon also may collaborate with a physiotherapists, anesthesiologist, orthopedic nurses and others in the hospital.