Source: Consumer Reports
More than half of all older adults in the U.S. have arthritis. Most often it’s osteoarthritis (OA)—where the cartilage between joints wears down, causing swelling, pain, and disability in some.
Since the 1960s, people with severe OA have had the option of surgery to replace certain painful joints with prosthetics made of metal, ceramic, and plastic. Knee and hip replacements are now the third and fourth most common surgeries, respectively, in U.S. hospitals, behind cesarean sections and circumcisions.