In a new study, Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) researchers found that 82% of patients who underwent total hip arthroplasty saw improvements in lower back pain after the procedure.
It is not a guaranteed fix for everyone, they say; it appears still having a flexible spine is an important factor. Physicians should discuss with their patients the likelihood of hip surgery reducing pain in the lower back or if they should have spine surgery first.
“For patients, it is important to know that hip and spine arthritis often coexist, and the majority of the time, an individual’s back pain is better after hip replacement surgery,” said HSS hip and knee surgeon Jonathan M. Vigdorchik, M.D.
The study, “Does Low Back Pain Improve Following Total Hip Arthroplasty,” was online as a part of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 2020 Virtual Education Experience.
In their study, Vigdorchik and his team compared data on 500 total hip replacement patients to see who would most likely see improvements.
Demographic data, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scores, and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores were calculated before surgery at 6 weeks and at one year postoperatively. And standing and sitting X-rays of the hip and lumbar spine were taken before and after the procedure.
Of the 500 patients, 41% had lower back pain before their hip surgeries. Of these, 82% felt better one year later. The average ODI in these patients preoperatively was 32±5% (moderate disability) compared with 9±3% (minimal disability) (p < 0.001).
The patients whose back pain went away showed a more than 10-degree change in sacral slope on the X-ray while those whose back pain remained had a less than 10-degree change in sacral slope which indicated a greater chance of spondylolisthesis.
“There is definitely a group of patients whose back pain predictably goes away after hip replacement surgery, and those are people who have flexible spines,” Vigdorchik said.
“Then there are certain patients who had a stiff, degenerative spine whose back pain did not go away, and that is because their spine arthritis had progressed to the point beyond which the hip was causing an effect.”
Hi
I had a right hip replacement on the 21st April 2021, my back pain before the operation was extremely painful, especially at night in bed and trying to get up from a chair in work, it took a few minutes to stand up straight, after my operation the groin and lower back pain had gone, i do my exercises everyday and i walk for an hr every evening after work, the pain has returned at night and if im sitting for long in the chair or driving, its very hard to get up, i suffer with terrible leg cramps now, is this normal and will the pain go away in time, like everyone i speak too tells me its still early days, should i contact my Doctor regarding the pain.
Yours Sincerely
Hilary
Be sure you are hydrating. Try Pedialyte. That can help with cramping muscles.
Robin