Many people in America are getting older younger, at least in some ways, according to Dr. Hunter Hsu. The wear and tear that men and women put on their joints have been accelerated by early and heavy use.

Year-round, sport-specific training and travel leagues for children at relatively young ages helped produce a generation with more deterioration in parts of their bodies.

For others, injuries brought on troubles with their joints. Maybe they were exercising, being active, trying to lead a healthy life. Maybe they took an awkward step while getting out of their car.

And then there are those who were merely predisposed to joint issues through genetic luck of their draw.

Whatever the cause, no matter the specifics of the journey, there’s no reason anyone should assume that they’ll have to live with significant joint pain for the rest of their lives, according to Dr. Hsu, an orthopedic surgeon at AnMed Orthopedics and Sports Medicine. They should speak to their health care providers, learn all they can and explore their options.

That could include total knee or total hip replacement, or both.

Total knee replacement and total hip replacement surgeries are common

Among the most common elective surgeries in the U.S., total knee and total hip replacements have provided relief and rejuvenation to millions from coast to coast.

“The biggest thing is quality of life,” Dr. Hsu said. “If people feel as though their knee or hip pain is affecting their quality of life, that it stops them from doing things they enjoy doing, then it’s certainly reasonable to consider having their knee or their hip replaced. We have safe and highly effective procedures available that can make big differences in their lives in many cases.”

About 790,000 total knee replacements and more than 450,000 total hip replacements are performed in the U.S. on an annual basis now, according to the American College of Rheumatology.

There were already about 7 million Americans living with knee or hip replacements by 2015, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Joint replacement surgery can ease pain while adding mobility – and joy

Since Dr. Hsu joined the staff at AnMed in 2020, he’s helped hundreds of people discover less pain, more comfort, more mobility and more joy in Anderson.

AnMed is the only hospital in Upstate South Carolina to offer total and partial knee and hip replacement through the Stryker Mako robotic-arm-assisted surgical system.

The system provides immaculate precision – and magnificent results.

“The robotic technology enables us to plan for surgery before it even happens,” Dr. Hsu said. “We can determine the best placement of that implant based on each person’s anatomy, and once we determine that, the robotic technology will help us actually put it where we want to put it. It’s one thing to know this is how we want to put it, and it’s another thing to execute it.

“A lot of times with the traditional instruments, we may know how we want to do it, but we may not be able to put it there with that degree of accuracy. It makes a tremendous difference in patient outcomes and in patient satisfaction.”

Total joint replacement surgery could be key to feeling younger

That’s of the utmost importance, successful outcome and great satisfaction. That matters to a 45-year-old who wants to run 10K races again, and it matters to a 75-year-old who wants to descend aisles to seats at games to merely watch, not play.

Either way, total joint replacement could help. It could be the key to feeling younger at an older age.

For more information, call 864-716-6140 or visit anmed.org/locations/anmed-orthopedics-and-sports-medicine.