A Brief Introduction of Stress Fracture
It is very common to find otherwise healthy individuals to seek treatment for bone injury at orthopedic clinics. Though there are many kinds of orthopedic injuries, the stress fracture is the most common one. Let’s have a detailed introduction of the same.
As the name itself suggests, the root cause of the fracture is the stress, mainly the repetitive stress on the same joints over a period of time. In simple words, instead of having a big, severe injury at one go, the stress fracture caused due to repetitive impact of a minor injury over and over again.
Stress fracture starts with a very minute crack in the bone and that is why it is more commonly known as the hairline fracture.
The cause can be as simple as running, jumping or exercise. This kind of orthopedic injury is most common among athletes and sportsperson due to their routine workout and exercise sessions. Moreover, it is more prevalent on the weight bearing, which ensures the structure of the skeleton, bones such as the tibia, metatarsals, and navicular bones. However, rarely, it can be found in pelvis, sacrum, and femur as well.
The painful symptoms and side effects associated with stress fractures usually increases with activity level and usually resolves with rest. However, over a long period of time, the symptoms become long lasting and troublesome and needs a thorough treatment to cure it.
To diagnosis, the exact point of onset of a stress fracture is quite tricky. However, an x-ray can show the decay of bone after 3 weeks since the onset of sharp pain. Other diagnostic probes are namely CT scan, MRI, and 3 phase bone scan.
The treatment of stress fracture is offered at several orthopedic clinics all across India, however, it is important to consult the healthcare providers at an early stage itself to make the treatment most effective. Managing early symptoms is the best way to tackle a stress fracture as the advanced stage onsets the recovery time elongates significantly.
Medical probes such as walking boot or sticks are particularly helpful as they provide support to the fractured joints. Also, rehabilitation is recommended for those, who need help for muscle strengthening and walking support on a regular basis. Occasionally surgical approach becomes inevitable to address the fracture. It needs to be done under the supervision of a well-qualified orthopedics to ensure the patients recover entirely after the procedure.
Bone Health and Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a growing global problem worldwide. After the age of 50, bones become weak and fragile especially in case of women. Fractures affect both men and women with age. Strong bones are essential for overall good health. Good nutrition helps in keeping the bones stronger and healthier.
Although, there are hardly any symptoms of detecting osteoporosis at an early stage. Some earlier signs might include receding gums, weak nails, and weakened grip strength. Without a proper treatment, osteoporosis may worsen leading to the higher risk of fractures. Some common causes of osteoporosis are mentioned below:
- Physical inactivity
- Smoking
- Low body weight
- Certain medications
- Hereditary
- Being female and an older adult
- Poor nutrition
- Menopause in case of women
There are many factors which play an important role in keeping the bones healthy. Some of them are as follows:
Bone contains 99% of body calcium and therefore we need to consume foods high in calcium to keep it healthy.
- Vitamin D is needed to absorb calcium and build bones.
- Enough Protein intake is essential to maintain a healthy bone.
- Other nutrients include zinc, Vitamin K, and magnesium.
- Weight-bearing exercises such as climbing stairs, push-ups etc. should be included in the everyday routine.
- Smoking should be stopped.
Apart from these, there are some natural ways to treat bone disease but should be strictly followed under your doctor’s supervision. Some people do get good results with natural treatments.
Osteoporosis can have serious effects. As already mentioned, fractures can be really painful and take a long time to heal leading to other complications. For instance, a hip fracture requires staying in bed for a longer period with other risks involved like pneumonia, blood clots, and other infections.
BMD (Bone Mineral Density) is a type of scan to diagnose the disease. It is done by using a type of X-ray known as a dual-energy x-ray(DEXA) and bone densitometry. DEXA scan includes two devises – a central device which is a hospital-based scan measuring hip and spine bone and a peripheral device which is a mobile machine measuring wrist, heel and finger bone. ILS Hospitals being a multi-specialty hospital provides the treatment for Osteoporosis.
World Osteoporosis Day takes place on 20th October, organized by International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) every year. This concept is launched by the United Kingdom’s National Osteoporosis Society in the year 1996. The main aim of this campaign is to spread awareness on bone health. This annual campaign is dedicated to raising awareness of the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of osteoporosis and metabolic bone disease.
A Brief Introduction of Arthritis
Arthritis is a medical term that can be used to denote any illness or disorder that incur on the joints. The Greek origin of the term literally means inflammation of joints (artho means joint and itis means inflammation). It is mainly characterized by stiffness, numbness, pain, redness, swelling, immobility in the affected joints. Occasionally, it also offers some nearby internal or external organs. Several orthopedic clinics across India provides care and treatment for the same.
Major kinds of Arthritis
There are more than 100 types of joint pain disorders that come under the umbrella term arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis are the two most common types. The prior is an autoimmune disorder which affects predominantly the feets and hands. The latter one is mostly acquired with age and affects the knees, fingers, and hips. Their common types of arthritis include lupus, gout, and septic arthritis etc.
Treatment of Arthritis
To treat a minor arthritic ailment, the weakened joint is exposed to heat and ice pack alternatively. Mild medication with paracetamol and ibuprofen is used for temporary relief, but joint replacement is often the ultimate solution to address a case with severe bone decay and pain. Moreover, several times, a person experience joint pain as they gradually begin to gain body weight. It is an obvious side effect of obesity as the joint begin to endure excessive weight and pressure of excessive weight. In such cases, exercise and weight loss can help with the condition, significantly.
Symptoms of Arthritis
As already mentioned, there are over 100 types of arthritis, so the exact symptoms depend upon the particular type of consideration. However, there are few common symptoms of the same, which are as follows-
- Muscle stiffness or pain
- Difficult to move the hand or feet to full extent
- Fatigue and tiredness
- Tenderness and stiffness
- Inflammation and pain on joints
- Loss of flexibility
- Weakness of muscle
Effect of Arthritis on Daily Life
Most of the arthritis is not a life-threatening illness and gives the patient an immense time to address it. But after living with a prolonged period with an arthritis disorder influences the quality of life up to a large extent.
Thus on this World Arthritis Day, we encourage every individual to make sure to seek treatment for a persistent join pain without delaying for it to become more complex.
5 Most Common Outpatient Surgery Procedures
In several accounts of treatment, the patient needs a surgical assistance rather than a medicinal one. At first, due to several medical reasons, most of the surgeries were executed on inpatient basis only. These days, however, several hospitals in Kolkata execute numerous outpatient surgical procedures as well.
Let’s have a glimpse of the most common outpatient surgical procedures that are being carried out in hospitals of Kolkata-
1. Cataract Surgery
Cataract is a condition of eye when the natural lens of the eye gets cloudy and needs replacement with an artificial one. It is one of the most common surgical procedures performed in hospitals. The success rate is flying high and with very less room for error and other discomfort.
2. Minor Joint Repairs
Bone breakage can be an inpatient procedure as well, depending on the severity. Though most of the minor surgical procedure including tendon replacement and meniscus surgical correction are done on an outpatient basis, most of these treatments are availed by sports persons.
3. Cholecystectomy
More commonly known as gallbladder removal, it is a surgical procedure for removal of gallbladder. This procedure is executed in case of gallbladder stones and any other severe condition of the gallbladder. This procedure is outpatient mainly when executed through laparoscopic approach.
4. Skin Therapy and Grafting
Skin surgical procedures such as correction of wrinkles, sagging skin, acne scars and many other similar aesthetic procedures are often done on an outpatient basis.
5. Abdominal Hernia Correction
Hernia is a condition in which a portion of the internal fat or tissue pushes out through the outer skin. This needs surgical correction to fix the problem permanently. Earlier, these were carried out through open surgery, thus the patient needed to stay for a couple of days in the hospital. These procedures are mostly done on outpatient basis.
Even though almost in each of these, the patient is allowed to go home from the hospital on the same day as the procedure, it is subjected to the overall health condition of the individual and as per the recommendation of the doctor. In case the doctor finds it best for the patient to stay overnight, it must be carried out without any protest.
Also, an outpatient and his family members are advised to take proper care and to watch out for any discrepancies. In case any trouble arises, the concerned medical staff must be consulted and if necessary, the patient must be taken back to the healthcare facility for help.
A Brief Introduction of Osteoporosis
Our body is made up of bones, muscles, nerves and lots other. We all must have a healthy balanced meal in order to ensure that our body function properly. But several people discover their health, especially in terms of their bone strength, starts degrading with time. You can find several people dealing with bone diseases and discomfort in Orthopedics clinics.
And osteoporosis is one of the most common disease affecting numerous lives all across the world. The term osteoporosis, is self-explanatory as, it is derived from the Greek language, literally meaning ‘porous bones’. Thus, osteoporosis is a disorder in which, the bones of the individual lose its strength, becomes porous in nature and thereby the chances of broken bones increases significantly. Several orthopedic clinics specialize and focus on this particular disease to help people dealing with osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis is clinically defined as a condition of low value of peak bone mass and usually defined as less than 2.5 bone density. This is estimated with the help of a screening called dual energy X-ray absorptiometry of the hip.
Osteoporosis can affect individual of any age group, but usually the chances of occurrence of the same is greatly higher among people of the elderly age group. The calcium content of the bones drops beyond what is considered as safe or normal. Thus, leaving the bones highly susceptible to breakage or damage, up to a point where even a minor slippage can cause hairline fracture or more.
The bones that are more likely to suffer the consequences are usually the backbone, hip bones, and forearm. Recognizing osteoporosis is often too tricky, mainly because there are no early symptoms of the same. Most people only come to realize after a bone breaks and the individual is likely to suffer from chronic pain and lose the ability and agility to carry out routine work.
In order to mitigate or at least delay the entire event of osteoporosis, an individual must be careful since their mid age itself. Mostly because once the bone starts to lose bone density, its recovery becomes tricky. Apart from changing into better diet and exercise, one must also be careful and avoid slipping or falling. Also, making changes in lifestyle and habits such as to quit smoking and drinking is also recommended by several Orthopedics.
Why Taking Care of Surgical Wound is Essential and How to Do it?
In today’s disease-stricken world, every individual undergoes at least one surgery in his lifetime. Some have to make round trips to the operation theaters multiple times in their lifetime for the surgical treatment for diseases of several domains.
The surgical wounds are the spots on the body where the incisions are made to carry out the surgery. Hospitals these days use the laparoscopic surgery to minimize the area required to make the surgical cut. But no matter the size of the wound, infection can still be imminent, if proper care is not practiced.
The skin starts to heal on its own within a day or two post operation. This varies from person to person depending on the overall health condition and type of surgical procedure. Closing the cut with clips or stitches enhances the healing process significantly.
The size and the sensitivity of the incision depends upon the type of disease and its surgery. The wound can be closed either with clips, stitches or surgical glue, depending upon the size, location and the intensity of the bonding needed by the cut.
In case the surgery was a minor one and the doctors have used surgical glue, it is the best alternative one can imagine. In case, it is the dissolvable stitches, the work of patient becomes comparatively easy. But in case it is the non-dissolvable stitches, clips or staples, much more caution and care is needed to ensure sterility. Clips, stapler and stitches are removed by the doctor or a skilled nurse after 3 to 15 days after the surgical procedure.
What to do to ensure everything is alright?
Keeping the wound covered all the times ensures that the wound does not get contaminated with environmental pathogens. A covered wound is likely to heal three times quicker as compared to uncovered wounds. Use of antibiotic cream is also recommended, this further diminishes the risk of infection up to 18 percent.
Keeping the wound out of any contact with water is very vital, especially for the first 24 hours. Usually dressing for a major surgery is usually recommended to carry out by a professional. However, sometimes the patient himself might need to address it personally.
Removing any fluid coming out of the wound and keeping it dry is the optimal condition for healing. It reduces the overall risk of infection. Sometimes, exerting some pressure to the wound might also be needed to keep the stitch intact.
Everything You Should Know About Partial Knee Replacement
Partial knee replacement, also referred as uni-compartmental knee replacement, is a surgical approach to cure severe arthritis of knee. Earlier, almost every patient suffering from arthritis went for total knee replacement; wherein the entire portion of infected cartilage along with a layer of functional one is carved off the knee and replaced with metal and plastic implants.
But in case of partial knee replacement, only the infected portion of the knee is removed and resurfaced. It is ideal for those patients whose osteoarthritis is restricted to single compartment.
Structure of the knee
Need of knee surgery arises when the cartilage protecting the knee wears off gradually. This can be observed either in the entire knee joint or merely in single area. The knee is comprised of three major compartments, namely:
- Lateral compartment, which is the outer part
- Medial compartment, which is the inside of the knee
- Patellofemoral compartment, between kneecap and thighbone
How diagnosis is carried out?
The doctor estimates the extent of damage of bones and cartilage either by X-rays or Magnetic Resonance Imaging.
How partial knee replacement is carried out?
In this surgical approach, the surgeon diagnoses each bone and observes the limit of the osteoarthritis; and replaces the damaged compartment with plastic or metal implant called prosthetic, which can mimic the natural movements up to a large extent. The partial knee replacement aims to restore as much as healthy bones and cartilage as possible.
Advantages of partial knee replacement over total knee replacement
Partial knee replacement is gaining popularity among doctors and patients because of the numerous benefits it offers. Due to smaller incision, the patient needs shorter hospital stay and experiences lesser pain after surgery. The recovery period becomes comparatively faster. Since a large extent of healthy bones and cartilage is left intact, the patients experience more natural movement of knee as compared to total knee replacement.
Ideal candidate for partial knee replacement
As per doctors of ILS Hospitals, if an individual is suffering from osteoarthritis and no other medical treatment is helping to soothe the pain, then this orthopedic replacement can be considered as the ideal solution. In order to qualify for it, the arthritis must be finite to only one compartment. If a patient is suffering from knee stiffness and ligament damage, they can also be considered for this treatment.
With proper diagnosis and treatment, partial knee replacement demonstrates successful and long lasting result for patients of several age groups.
Orthopaedic Replacement – Which One Should You Opt For?
Orthopedic department deals with diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal system disorders, this includes bones, ligaments, tendons, joints, muscles and nerves.
Continue reading Orthopaedic Replacement – Which One Should You Opt For?
Total Knee Replacement – What, When, How, Who And Where?
Knee replacement is a type of joint replacement surgery performed on people suffering from severe knee damage. In recent times, orthopaedic clinic in Kolkata is gathering several patients round the year as it provides long lasting relief from knee joint pain. Let’s understand in details the various aspects of total knee replacement.
Continue reading Total Knee Replacement – What, When, How, Who And Where?