Dr. Paz discusses joint pain

Matt Cordspeaks with Dr. Paz, Orthopedic Surgeon at Virtua Health.

Transcript

00:00Hey everybody, it's Matt Kort from Classic Rock 102.9 MGK and today we're joined by Dr. Paz,

00:06orthopedic surgeon at Virtual Health for many, many years. You know, Doc, my question is that

00:11well, we're all getting older and you know, there's the hip, there's the knee, my knees are

00:16shot, ankles. What causes all this joint pain that we're all experiencing? Well, there are

00:23multiple factors. You know, folks ask me that all the time and I see them in the office

00:27and they say, well, how did I get this arthritis? And I tell me, I tell them multiple things,

00:33prior activity, prior sports, prior injury, prior vocation. Believe it or not, family history

00:40factors into it. If your mom or dad had arthritis or needed a knee replacement or hip replacement,

00:46it's more likely that you might. Multiple things factor into joint pain and joint arthritis.

00:53Now that's some good information, but are there other ways to prevent these types of injuries,

00:58maybe like wearing something different or stretching or, you know, what else can we do,

01:02Dr. Paz? It's a good question. Believe it or not, activity and exercise, an arthritic joint,

01:08even a joint with pre-existing arthritis feels better, functions better with regular activity,

01:15regular athletics. So, so activity, number one, keep the joint mobile. Weight loss, I mean,

01:21something's easy to talk about, not easy to do, but keeping your weight down, keeping the less weight

01:28on an arthritic or weight bearing joint, the better it's going to feel. Those are probably two biggest

01:33factors, keeping active, keeping your weight down. All right, Dr. Paz, now let me ask you this one.

01:38So say like the pain's getting worse and the self-care routine isn't working. I mean,

01:43is the next step joint replacement? No, it's never joint replacement. You know,

01:48when I see someone for the first time with knee arthritis or hip arthritis, you know,

01:52I talk to them about some of the things that we've already mentioned, you know, weight loss,

01:57exercise, physical therapy, if they need a little headstart with exercise. And then after that comes

02:03something that is invasive, injection. You know, there are different types of injections.

02:09The unfortunate thing about injections is, you know, I tell folks, we can never predict

02:14how much an injection will help or how long it's going to last. When a patient has pain

02:20and dysfunction, interfering with their activities, their sleep, their hobbies, their habits,

02:25and they can't tolerate it anymore, joint replacement, you know, then it becomes an option.

02:31And really the patient tells me when they're at that point, I don't tell them.

02:36Great, Dr. Paz. Now, also besides pain, like if you're experiencing pain and you're thinking about

02:41what should I do? I mean, when, when is the right time to know that I should see a specialist for

02:46this, for this problem? Well, pain far and away is the most important thing because that's what

02:51interferes with our function. But there are things like swelling, you know, swelling causes tightness

02:55and kind of contributes to the pain, pain, swelling, and really dysfunction. Those are the major

03:03things and they impact you the most. And that's what leads people to come into the doctor.

03:09Dr. Paz, thank you so much for all your information. I think we learned a lot from

03:13one of the best. And also download Virtua's Guide to Healthy Joints for knee, hip, and shoulder

03:19at virtua.org slash healthy joints.