Joint replacement in arthritic seniors cuts pain, boosts independence

Seniors suffering from the pain and disability of arthritis enjoyed greater independence and fewer of the condition’s limitations through total joint replacement, according to a new scientific report.

Arthritis is the number one cause of disability in seniors and the most common reason for hip and knee replacement. The popularity of total joint replacement for arthritics has grown substantially over the years, with four times more procedures annually today than in 1982.

Researchers from Stanford University recently conducted a series of thought exercises (which use a hypothetical scenario to study reality) to estimate the impact of total joint replacement – known as TJR – on national disability in seniors over 65.

These thought exercises were completed by combining estimates of the one-year impact of (TJR) on seniors’ disability as measured by the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) with estimates of the increasing use of hip and knee replacements across the United States. HAQ is a measure of functional ability in which patients assess themselves.

A total of 483 patients who underwent TJR were selected from the Arthritis, Rheumatism, and Aging Medical Information System, and researchers reviewed their pre-and-post surgery HAQ scores.

The results showed that TJR offers improvement in HAQ scores and an approximate 20% reduction of pain at one-year after surgery. After reviewing the results, researchers were able to conclude that increasing TJR use accounts for approximately 4% to 5% of the national decline in disability among seniors.

“We were surprised that the impact of pain was so impressive, even over that of the change in disability in people who have had a joint replacement,” said Dr Liza Chakravarty, assistant professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine and an investigator in the study.

“This data would not be captured in the nationwide observations of the decline in disability over the past few decades, but is consistent with our clinical observations of the dramatic effect of pain relief associated with total joint replacement.”

The research findings were presented this month at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Boston.