One consequence of a population whose average lifespan has increased 10 to 15 years over the past quarter century is the question if the machinery, particularly the joints, can take the extra decade or two of work. That explains the continuing increase in joint replacement as the U.S. population ages; our joints need a little help keeping up.

At Pinehurst Surgical, Dr. Moore is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon, so you couldn’t be in any better hands for your total hip and total knee replacement surgeries. Of course, replacement surgery is always the last treatment option, but it is a treatment that is becoming more and more common.

Here’s some information on joint replacement trends.

More frequent

Joint replacement has become a common surgery and it comes with low complication rates. In most cases, pain relief and functional improvement are nothing short of night and day. More and more of these surgeries are being performed as outpatient procedures, such as Dr. Moore performs at our Surgery Center. Twenty years ago, many of today’s surgery options didn’t even exist, and if they did recovery was measured in weeks, not days.

Last year in the U.S. roughly 700,000 knee replacement procedures were performed. Add to that another 400,000 total hip replacements. That combination is projected to swell to 3.5 million annual procedures by 2030 as the population ages.

The trend is to move these surgeries and their initial recovery out of the hospital setting and to outpatient centers, such as The Surgery Center of Pinehurst. Pain management protocols must be followed, but almost all patients would rather be in their own bed rather than the hospital. Home health (following our instructions for movement and the like) and physical therapy are both crucial to facilitate successful outcomes.

Joint procedures performed

At Pinehurst Surgical, Dr. Moore specializes in total knee and total hip replacement. They are the two most popular joint replacement procedures. These are the other common joint replacements:

• Total shoulder replacement
• Reverse total shoulder replacement
• Total elbow replacement

If you have continuing joint pain, call us at Pinehurst Surgical Orthopaedic & Joint Replacement Center, (910) 295-0224.