Patients are waiting longer for surgery since the pandemic – and sometimes significantly longer. A report commissioned by Independent Age – Patiently Waiting – examined the experience of older people waiting for surgery. It points to the fact that 5.6 million people are currently waiting for hospital treatment but warns that the actual picture could be even worse. Millions more patients are likely to be waiting in the wings, deterred from coming forward for diagnosis or treatment due to fear of catching Covid-19 or concerns about not adding to the pressure on overstretched NHS services. As the pandemic starts to ease and these patients join those already waiting, numbers will increase still further.
Impact of longer waits for surgery
The longer people wait for orthopaedic surgery on damaged joints, the worse their symptoms are likely to become and the greater their levels of pain and disability. This can lead to an increased dependence on opioids which can cause addiction. Added to this, repeated lockdowns may have led to weight gain or an increase in unhealthy habits, such as smoking, drinking or eating an unhealthy diet. People with chronic conditions may have missed their routine medical check-ups and in the cases of diabetes this may result in poor glycemic control and a greater risk to health. All these factors can have an adverse effect on the final joint surgery outcomes, even after successful surgery and rehabilitation. Whats more, they also increase the risk of patients having complications after surgery, which can affect both short term and longer term recovery and the overall surgery success.
Use the time to prehabilitate
Although the picture can appear bleak, we are encouraging patients facing longer waiting times to use the time to prehabilitate – which means to optimise their health and wellbeing prior to surgery to improve their chance of good outcomes.
Taking a proactive approach not only helps patients to regain a sense of ownership in their own care, but it can also make a significant difference to lowering their risk of developing complications and to how well and how quickly they recover after surgery. Making healthier choices helps to relieve pain in the interim and can help people to feel fitter and enjoy better quality of life while they are waiting for surgery. It really is a win win.
5 ways to optimise your health before surgery
If you are waiting for orthopaedic surgery, here are five ways you can optimise your health and fitness and maximise your chances of making a good recovery.
- Maintain a healthy body weight – In a healthy person, the knees absorb around 1.5 pounds of force with every step. Carrying as little as 10 pounds of excess weight increases the pressure on your knees by as much as 50 pounds. If you have a degenerative condition like osteoarthritis, this can exacerbate your symptoms and speed up the deterioration of cartilage. One of the most important ways to prehabilitate, therefore, is to reduce excess weight. Your surgeon can put you in touch with dieticians who will be able to support you to develop a healthy eating plan if you need one.
- Get moving – As well as supporting any weight-loss goals, exercising helps to keep your joints supple and flexible and reduce stiffness and disability. Low impact exercises such as walking and swimming are ideal if you have painful joints. Exercise is also good for your emotional wellbeing as well as your physical health.
- Get support for chronic conditions – While you may have been unable to attend routine appointments during lockdown, it is important now that services are opening up again that you get conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, chest and heart disease under control before undergoing surgery. This can reduce your risk of complications and poor health.
- Quit smoking – Smoking greatly increases your risk of developing complications during and after orthopaedic surgery. Quitting smoking six to eight weeks before surgery can reduce the risk of complications by as much as 52%. If you need help to stop, ask your surgeon who can signpost you to free support services.
- Ensure good levels of nutrition – Patients who are malnourished have a higher risk of surgical complications than those who eat a healthy, balanced diet. If you have osteoarthritis, certain foods may be particularly beneficial including fatty fish which is high in omega-3 fatty acids, as well as garlic, ginger, walnuts, broccoli and berries.
Contact us for advice about diagnosing or treating orthopaedic conditions as well as information about optimising your health and wellbeing prior to surgery.
Talk to an orthopaedic consultant | Cambridge
Please be reassured that despite the ongoing UK Covid-19 pandemic, orthopaedic treatments are now again being routinely offered to patients. Having the vaccine does not mean that your treatment won’t go ahead. However, in some circumstances, such as for planned surgery, it is advisable to delay it by a couple of weeks to ensure your body responds in the optimum way to the vaccine. If in doubt, please talk to your orthopaedic consultant or contact us for more guidance to help get your orthopaedic treatment back on track.
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For your convenience, we offer appointments at both Nuffield Hospital Cambridge and Spire Cambridge Lea Hospital.
