CityView Magazine

16 | September/October 2015 Is climbing stairs difficult or do your knees buckle while walking? Do you fall frequently or does hip or knee pain wake you frequently at night? If so, then it may be time to see a specialist. Joint pain is a common problem in the U.S., especially for older Americans. More than 30 percent of U.S. adults say they've experienced some form in the past 30 days, according to a recent survey. Doctors typically recommend diet and exercise first to try to alleviate the pain. But sometimes a visit to the doctor is called for, especially if severe arthritis is the culprit. Arthritis is defined as inflammation of the joint. There are more than 100 forms of arthritis, and they affect more than 43 million Americans each year. The two primary types are Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis. Both can be debilitating, especially Rheumatoid Arthritis, which affects 2.5 million Americans annually. The condition is caused by cartilage break- down after tissue surrounding the joint (Synovium) thickens and begins to erode the cartilage. Cartilage helps soften impacts sustained by the joint. Osteoarthritis is far more common, affecting roughly 23 million Americans a year. This is the type older people tend to get due to normal "wear and tear." Luckily for them, Osteoarthritis is easier to manage and treat. Regardless of arthritis type, symptoms are almost universal. They include joint pain, swelling and stiffness. Symptoms tend to worsen if left untreated, making life miserable for patients. "What really causes people to come see us," said Bradley Broussard, M.D., "is when the discomfort affects their daily life and activities." Dr. Broussard, an orthopedic surgeon with Cape Fear Orthopedics, performs 200 to 225 joint replacement surgeries a year. He says arthritis isn't just an old person's disease. He's had to do joint replacements on people in their 20s. One of them had a joint fracture caused by Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, a con- dition that wears joints out prematurely. "We don't want to replace them that early," he said, "but sometimes you have to." Joint replacement surgery is becoming more common in the U.S. The National Institutes of Health estimates 1 mil- lion Americans undergo a hip or knee replacement surgery each year. If a patient does need joint replacement, he or she may be advised to stay active as possible before surgery. Dr. Brous- sard tells his patients to focus on exercise that helps build up the quadriceps and Cape Fear Valley gets you back in the game... o r t h o p e d i c s a t c a p e f e a r v a l l e y h e a lt h Cape Fear Valley's Joint Replacement Program has achieved disease specific certification by The Joint Commission. It can help restore function and mobility faster and with less pain.

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