I see a lot of young patients with severe hip and knee arthritis in whom the GP or physio didn’t initially consider arthritis as the diagnosis. This may be due to a misbelief that the patient was “too young” to get arthritis. Alternatively they may have tried to initially avoid referring the patient for an orthopaedic opinion out of misplaced effort to “protect” the patient from surgeons.
This thinking is incorrect, outdated and not helpful to the patient. The reality is that severe arthritis in relatively young patients is much more common than people realise.
There are many many young patients, in the supposed prime of their lives who can’t enjoy life or can’t work due to disabling joint pain.
Fortunately, surgical techniques and implants have improved. New technologies have made joint replacement surgery more accessible, more reproducible and more durable for young patients.
Case Study:
The patient in the X-ray shown here is only 40 years old. He struggles with day to day tasks of daily living and with his job.
A Direct Anterior Approach Minimally Invasive Total Hip Replacement with a ceramic-on-ceramic implant has an excellent chance to restore his quality of life. It could keep him gainfully employed as a plumber and provide a long-lasting implant. This will most likely not need to be revisited for well over 20 years if at all.
I advise patients, GPs and physios that it is not normal for a 40 year old to need to walk around with a stick or be unable to kick a football with their son. It is also not normal for a young man to not be able to hold down a job due to severe hip pain.
By all means conservative management should be tried first. This is the case when treating a young or actually any patient with arthritis. However, if you are experiencing pain or range of movement limitations which affect your ability to work, sleep or just perform common functional tasks such as putting socks and shoes, it may be time to seek an orthopaedic opinion.
- Mr Ilan Freedman