Orthopaedic Surgery FAQ
- What are Mission Peak Orthopaedic Medical Group’s joint replacement specialties?
- What are the most common causes of foot and ankle pain?
- What are the benefits of minimally invasive surgery?
- What are common sports-related injuries?
- What is the most common cause of joint pain?
1. What are Mission Peak Orthopaedic Medical Group’s joint replacement specialties?
Joint replacement is a surgical procedure recommended for patients suffering from advanced arthritis, those unable to manage pain symptoms through conservative treatments, and those unable to complete basic daily activities due to joint pain. The Mission Peak Orthopaedic Medical Group joint replacement specialties include:
- Total Knee Replacement
- Partial Knee Replacement
- Total Shoulder Replacement
- Reverse Shoulder Replacement
- Total Hip Replacement
2. What are the most common causes of foot and ankle pain?
The most common causes of foot and ankle pain are Achilles tendonitis, stress fractures, bunions, plantar fasciitis, and hammertoe.
- Achilles tendonitis and stress fractures are overuse injuries commonly associated with sports-related activities.
- Bunions are formed by the expansion of tissue and bone on the base of the big toe, often leading to severe foot deformity.
- Plantar fasciitis is the most common cause of heel pain caused by the inflammation of the plantar fascia ligament.
- Most often affecting the little toe, hammertoe is the inward bending and stiffening of the toe joint due to an imbalance in the surrounding muscles and ligaments.
Additional sources of foot and ankle pain include ankle sprains and instability, fractures of the ankle and foot, and arthritis of the foot and ankle.
3. What are the benefits of minimally invasive surgery?
The surgeons at Mission Peak Orthopaedic Medical Group specialize in the use of minimally invasive techniques, such as arthroscopy, to treat a variety of joint conditions. The potential benefits of minimally invasive surgery include:
- Less scarring due to smaller incisions
- Shorter hospital stay and quicker return to daily activities
- Reduced pain post-surgery due to decreased tissue and muscle disruption
In addition, the use of minimally invasive surgical techniques during joint replacement surgery will often allow the surgeon to achieve a more natural placement of the prosthetic implant, creating a more normal joint movement after surgery.
4. What are common sports-related injuries?
Sports-related injuries are most frequently the result of overexertion or trauma; the most commonly treated sports-related injuries are ligament tears. Tearing is the result of a ligament being stretched beyond its normal range, often due to awkward movements, such as twisting of a joint. Ligament tears are classified as either partial or full tears, depending on the severity of the damage. The most commonly torn ligaments include the ACL, the Achilles tendon, and the rotator cuff.
Other commonly treated sports injuries include meniscal tears, labral tears, Achilles Tendonitis, and tennis elbow.
5. What is the most common cause of joint pain?
The most common cause of joint pain is arthritis, or the inflammation of one or more joints in the body. Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are the forms of arthritis that most frequently affect the joints in the body.
Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease that typically affects the larger weight-bearing joints, and rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that commonly develops in the smaller joints in the body, such as the joints in the hands and feet.
As either form of arthritis progresses, the cartilage that protects the bones of the joints begins to wear away, allowing the bones to rub directly against one another and increasing friction during movement, leading to pain, swelling, and joint stiffness.
