Living a sedentary lifestyle can lead to various health complications. Since you are not physically active, you are prone to musculoskeletal disorders. If this happens, then your body’s mobility would be significantly affected. To fix this, you may seek orthopaedic treatment and surgery in Singapore.
What is Orthopaedic Treatment and Surgery?
Orthopaedics is about treating the conditions related to the joints, bones, ligaments, and other parts of your musculoskeletal system. This includes injuries, mild strains, bone deformities, and body pain. In simple terms, it focuses more on improving our physical ability to move our bodies.
Treatment involves prescribing medications, as well as, rehabilitation exercises. An orthopaedic doctor could also recommend surgery if you were diagnosed with a chronic condition.
Types of Orthopaedic Surgery
Your musculoskeletal system composes both your muscular system and skeletal system. Thus, different types of orthopaedic surgery exist.
- Knee replacement surgery
InSingapore, a knee replacement surgery is also known as “arthroplasty”. The procedure involves replacing the damaged joints with artificial parts. To know which joint parts are damaged, a small camera will be inserted. Moreover, the doctor will use a sterile fluid to fill in the joints. This is to improve the visibility of the joints in the camera.
- Hip replacement surgery
For people with arthritis, hip replacement surgery is a common treatment option. It is almost similar to knee replacement surgerybecause it involves implanting an artificial joint. After the surgery, you should expect that it would now be easier for you to walk.
- ACL Surgery
It is anotherorthopaedic surgerythat is specifically recommended for patients with knee ligament problems. The ligaments on the knee can tear easily during a long or high jump. You could end up landing wrongly on your feet. It can be fixed by putting a “graft” on your knee.
- Bunion Surgery
A bunion is a common condition, especially to individuals who are always wearing ill-fitting shoes. However, this is not the main cause of bunions. It is only aggravated by wearing tight shoes. In Singapore, bunion surgery is a recommended treatment. The procedure involves removing soft tissues and realigning the bones in the big toe.
How to Prepare for an Orthopaedic Surgery
If yourorthopaedic doctor recommends you to undergo surgery, then do not worry. It is a safe and effective procedure, as long as a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon will perform it. However, before the surgery, you must take the necessary preparations to ensure its success. Doing preparations could also help hasten your recovery.
Keep on reading to know how to properly prepare for orthopaedic surgery.
- Consult Your Orthopaedic Doctor
Undergoing surgery may be nerve-wracking for you, especially if it is your first time. To prepare yourself mentally, you have to know what to expect during and after the surgery. Get to know what the procedure is like.
Also, do not be afraid to relay your concerns. Like for example, what are the medications you should avoid before the surgery? Or do you have to undergo any lab tests before surgery? What is the follow-up care needed after it? Your orthopaedic surgeon should be able to answer these in complete detail.
- Prepare Loose-Fitting Clothes
Since it is an invasive procedure, it is essential to bring and wear loose clothes. Something that would make you feel comfortable while you are resting. Examples of loose clothing would be your jogging clothes and sweatpants. You do not want your wounds to reopen or to become irritated just by wearing hug-fitting clothes, do you?
- Stop Smoking
It would be difficult for your body to recover after an orthopaedic surgery if you keep on smoking non-stop. Smoking could affect your body’s blood flow. If this happens, then it would be hard for your wounds to heal. A simple incision may even cause infections. Moreover, you may get pneumonia after surgery if you still choose to smoke. Smoking could affect your heart and lungs, so it would be difficult for your body to breathe during and after surgery.
If you found yourself having a hard time quitting smoking weeks before your scheduled orthopaedic surgery, then consult your doctor about it. They may provide you with safe and effective smoking cessation tips. You just have to diligently follow it to prevent any health complications after your surgery.
- Maintain a Healthy Diet
Since the surgery may take a toll on your body, you have to make sure that your body is healthy. You need to eat right so that your body gets the right nutrients it needs to recover fast. Most likely, after surgery, you would only be lying on your bed all day long, so you can only depend on your body’s natural healing processes if you want faster recovery.
If you are not sure what you should eat before your orthopaedic surgery, then you should only keep in mind to eat protein-rich foods and those that are packed with iron and Vitamin C.
- Be Physically Active
If you have a limited range of motion, then you can’t do your daily exercises. What you can do is to consult a physical therapist. They can help you in staying physically active without further injuring yourself.
No matter what type of orthopaedic surgery it is, you should make sure that your body is properly prepared for it. This is to avoid developing health problems afterwards. However, complications and health issues are less likely to occur if you choose a reliable orthopaedic surgeon.
Do you need to undergo orthopaedic surgery? Consult our orthopaedic surgeons at Specialist Orthopaedic Centre!
