Improving My Foot Health

Posted on: 7 February 2018

Arthritis in your shoulder joint can be a very painful condition that worsens over time. The cartilage in the joint wears away and that causes your bones to scrape together when you move your shoulder, which creates pain. While medications may help for a while, you may eventually need to have your shoulder joint replaced. A shoulder replacement can relieve your pain and possibly improve the range of motion in your shoulder. Here is some information about the procedure.

A Hospital Stay Is Required

A shoulder replacement is a major surgery and you'll probably stay in the hospital for a few days to begin your recovery. You'll typically have general anesthesia so you sleep through the procedure, but it's also possible to do this operation with a nerve block to your shoulder. Although the pain from arthritis clears up with your new joint, you'll have to put up with discomfort from the surgery until the incision heals. One reason you need to be hospitalized after the surgery is to receive pain medications and antibiotics by IV.

Physical Therapy Begins Right Away

You'll start physical therapy while you're still in the hospital. Movements are gentle at first and may only involve exercising your fingers and wrist until you are ready to begin moving your shoulder. The physical therapist will teach you the exercises you need to do daily when you go home. You may also need. to go to an outpatient clinic for physical therapy treatments during your recovery phase. Physical therapy sessions may last for several weeks. The exercises help prevent stiffness and they work to improve the range of motion in your shoulder.

A Full Recovery May Take A Few Months

You'll need to limit your usual activities until you've been cleared by your doctor. This includes driving, which you may not be allowed to do for several weeks. Your arm will be in a sling while it heals. The sling can be removed when you do physical therapy, but you'll need to wear it the rest of the time. In addition to providing support for your arm, it reminds you not to use the arm for lifting and doing household chores. You'll probably need to take off work for a few weeks, but it depends on the type of job you have. If you can work without putting stress on the recovering arm, you can go back to work sooner than if you use the arm for heavy lifting all day.

Although surgery can be an ordeal to go through, it is worth when you resume daily activities without relying on pain medication and suffering from constant shoulder pain. For more information, visit a website such as christophercschmidtmd.com.