You wake up with knee pain, ignore it for a few days, and then start changing little things. You take the stairs less often, stop your evening walk, or avoid lifting anything because your back hurts.

At first, these changes seem harmless. But when pain starts deciding what you can and cannot do, it is worth finding out what is actually causing it.

When Should You See an Orthopedic Doctor?

Orthopedic problems are not limited to broken bones. Orthopedic doctors also treat conditions involving joints, muscles, ligaments, tendons, the spine, and movement.

You should consider a consultation when pain lasts longer than expected, keeps coming back, or affects your normal routine.

Common Signs You Shouldn't Ignore

An orthopedic assessment may be useful if you have:

Persistent knee, hip, shoulder, or back pain
Swelling around a joint
Stiffness that limits movement
Difficulty walking or climbing stairs
Pain after a fall, twist, or sports injury
A joint that repeatedly feels unstable
Numbness or weakness associated with a musculoskeletal problem
Pain that interferes with sleep
Symptoms that haven't improved with basic treatment

You don't need to wait until the pain becomes severe. Early assessment can sometimes prevent a small problem from becoming a much bigger limitation.

A Common Mistake: Assuming Every Pain Needs Surgery

This is one point we strongly believe patients should understand.

Seeing an orthopedic doctor does not mean you are signing up for surgery.

Many conditions can be managed with exercise, physiotherapy, medication, activity changes, weight management, injections, or other conservative treatments. Surgery is considered when it is appropriate for the specific condition.

We often tell our clients that the best orthopedic consultation is not the one that gives you the biggest treatment plan. It is the one that gives you the right treatment plan.

A Real-World Example

One patient came to us after several months of knee discomfort. He had stopped walking regularly because he assumed the pain was simply part of getting older.

After an assessment, the focus was on understanding the severity of his joint problem and how much it was affecting his daily life. The next steps were based on those findings rather than immediately jumping to surgery.

The important lesson was simple: don't make treatment decisions based only on how frightening the pain feels. Get the cause checked first.

What About X-Rays and Scans?

Patients sometimes arrive convinced they need an MRI before they even see a doctor.

But more testing does not always mean better care. A good orthopedic evaluation usually begins with your symptoms, medical history, physical examination, and movement assessment. Imaging is then used when it can actually answer an important clinical question.

For example, uncomplicated joint pain may not always require advanced imaging at the first visit.

A 2024 Statistic Worth Knowing

A 2024 study using global disease data estimated that osteoarthritis affected around 607 million people worldwide in 2021, with knee osteoarthritis accounting for more than half of the overall osteoarthritis burden.

That matters because joint pain is extremely common—but it should not automatically be dismissed as something you simply have to live with.

How Do You Choose the Orthopaedic Doctor?

If you're searching for the Orthopaedic Doctor in Pitampura, don't rely only on advertisements, ratings, or claims about being “the best.”

Look for a doctor who listens to your symptoms, performs a proper examination, explains the diagnosis clearly, and gives you realistic treatment choices.

We believe patients should understand why a treatment is being recommended, how long improvement may take, and what they can do themselves to support recovery.

Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Singhal

Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Singhal is an orthopedic specialist who evaluates patients with bone, joint, spine, and movement-related problems. Patients can discuss persistent pain, injuries, stiffness, or mobility concerns and understand whether conservative care, further investigation, or specialist treatment may be appropriate.

FAQ

1. When should I see an orthopedic doctor?

See an orthopedic doctor when pain persists, keeps returning, limits movement, follows an injury, affects sleep, or makes everyday activities difficult.

2. What conditions does an orthopedic doctor treat?

Orthopedic doctors treat problems involving bones, joints, muscles, ligaments, tendons, and the spine. Common examples include arthritis, fractures, sports injuries, back pain, knee pain, and shoulder problems.

3. Do I need surgery if I visit an orthopedic doctor?

No. Many orthopedic conditions can be treated without surgery. Your treatment depends on the diagnosis, severity, symptoms, and response to non-surgical care.

Don't Keep Working Around Your Pain

If you've started changing your daily routine because of knee, back, shoulder, hip, or other joint pain, don't simply accept it as normal.

Book an orthopedic consultation, understand what's causing your symptoms, and get a treatment plan that fits your condition—not someone else's.

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FAQ

Joint replacement is a surgical procedure in which a worn-out or injured joint, most often the knee or hip, is replaced with a metal, ceramic, or plastic joint. This surgery has been widely used for many years with excellent results, especially with knees and hips. Other joints, such as shoulders, elbows, and knuckles, may also be replaced.

Arthritic Knee If you have severe Knee pain that limits your mobility and affects your daily functions, you may benefit from Knee replacement. The following three are the most common causes of joint damage due to arthritis: Osteoarthritis: A disease that involves the wearing away of the normal smooth joint surfaces. Rheumatoid Arthritis: The bodyâ€™s immune system attacks and destroys the synovial lining covering the joint capsule, the protective cartilage, and the joint surface. Trauma-related arthritis: Resulting from damage to the joint from a previous injury. It also results in joint damage, pain, and loss of mobility.

Total knee replacements are usually performed on people suffering from severe arthritic conditions. Most patients who have artificial knees are over age 55, but sometimes procedure is performed in younger people also. The circumstances vary somewhat, but generally you would be considered for a total knee replacement if: â€¢ You have daily pain. â€¢ Your pain is severe enough to restrict not only work and recreation but also the ordinary activities of daily living. â€¢ You have significant stiffness of your knee. â€¢ You have significant instability (constant giving way) of your knee. â€¢ You have significant deformity (knock-knees or bowlegs)

Knee replacement is removing the edges of the joint that have been diseased by degeneration or trauma. Knee resurfacing is like a retread. The only part of the joint that is resurfaced is the side of the joint that is diseased.

Most of the patients with severe crippling arthritis have severe affection of both knee joints and deformities. The advantages of replacing both knees simultaneously in one stage are : â—‹ Single anaesthesia and hospitalisation â—‹ One time medication and rehabilitation â—‹ More economical The patients who undergo simultaneous bilateral TKR must be medically fit and should not have other co morbid conditions, otherwise staged (one knee at a time) should be considered

I try to take an individualized approach to my patients. For patients who havenâ€™t had any other treatments, I want to see them try some of the simpler things first â€“ anti-inflammatory injections, physical therapy, maybe even arthroscopic surgery. At the same time I will follow them closely, checking them every couple of months, maybe with X-rays, to see if they are losing bone, because I canâ€™t in general make the bone come back. If a patient comes to me who has tried other options and still has problems â€“ they canâ€™t walk where they need to go and have a lot of trouble getting around and doing the things they want to do â€“ then thatâ€™s when we start looking at a joint replacement.

Some pain will accompany it as it does with any surgical procedure. Anesthesiologists and pain management specialists, also part of the Joint Replacement Centre team, work with each patient to control pain. Many factors, including your tolerance for pain, physical condition and level of activity prior to your surgery will impact the level of pain you may experience.

Major surgery on a joint may take two or three hours in the operating room. Getting full range of motion, strength and flexibility back in that joint after surgery usually takes months. Thatâ€™s where pre-operative exercise and education and post-operative physiotherapy programs come in â€“ to ensure youâ€™re physically and emotionally prepared for surgery, and to maximize your recovery after surgery.

Itâ€™s impossible to predict how long a new joint will last, since factors such as age, weight, activity level and bone strength determine the final outcome. Itâ€™s likely that your new joint will bring you years of pain-free activity. With the new materials and components, most people have a 90 percent or greater success rate at 20 years after surgery.

If you look in the literature, generally around 95 percent of people do very well with hip or knee replacements. These are some of the more reliable procedures we do. Still, I like to try the conservative things first because there can be some complications.

If a knee component loosen or gets infected then original components are removed and new components are implanted. In case of infection, it's a staged procedure.

Any surgery has risks. There are many risks associated with knee replacement surgery. However, in the hands of a well-trained, dedicated orthopaedic surgeon, these risks should be quite low. It is fair to say that you have about a 96% chance that you will go through the operation without any significant complication occurring. The most common complication is blood clots in the legs. The most serious complication is infection. The most important long-term complication is loosening.

You may feel some numbness in the skin around your incision. You also may feel some stiffness, particularly with excessive bending activities. Improvement of knee motion is a goal of total knee replacement. The motion of your knee replacement after surgery is predicted by the motion of your knee prior to surgery. Most patients can expect to nearly fully straighten the replaced knee and to bend the knee sufficiently to go up and down stairs and get in and out of a car. Kneeling is usually uncomfortable, but it is not harmful. Occasionally, you may feel some soft clicking of the metal and plastic with knee bending or walking. These differences often diminish with time.

Even though you may increase your activity level after a knee replacement, you should avoid high-demand or high-impact activities. You should definitely avoid running or jogging, contact sports, jumping sports, and high impact aerobics. You should also try to avoid vigorous walking or hiking, skiing, tennis, repetitive lifting exceeding 50 pounds, and repetitive aerobic stair climbing. The safest aerobic exercise is biking (stationary or traditional) because it places very little stress on the knee joint.

With newer minimally invasive technologies using FIFO (fast in Fast out), post surgery you need to be in hospital for 2-3 days in single knee and 3-4 days for both knees.

It depends on your profession. If a patient has a sedentary or desk job, they may return to work in approximately 3-6 weeks. If your work is more labor intensive, patients may require up to 3 months before they can return to full duty. In some cases, more or less time is necessary.

Yes. For the first several days or weeks, depending on your progress, you will need someone to assist you with meal preparation, housekeeping, etc. If you go directly home from the hospital, family or friends must be available to help. Preparing ahead of time, before your surgery, can minimize the amount of help required.

Using FIFO coupled with modified anaesthesia techniques and improvised pain control techniques, you will be made to walk next day after surgery in majority of cases.

Most patients require an assistive device (walker, crutches, or cane) for approximately 3 weeks after knee replacement surgery although this varies significantly from patient to patient.

You can manage stairs around a month after surgery if itâ€™s both knees and much earlier if its single. A good rule of thumb to remember when deciding which leg to lead with is â€œup with the good, down with the bad.â€

This varies from patient to patient depending upon oneâ€™s comfort and confidence. Typically, patients may drive when they are using a cane comfortably and not taking narcotics. Some surgeons do not allow the patient to drive until after they have been seen in the office at 4-6 weeks after surgery.

After several months you may try to kneel or squat. It may be painful at first, but will not harm or damage your knee replacement. Much of the discomfort comes from healing on your recent incision and the healing local tissues. These activities generally become more comfortable as time passes. Avoid sitting cross legged on floor.

People can travel on an airplane six weeks after their surgery. During flying, exercise your calf muscles and ankles frequently. Check with your surgeon about taking a blood-thinner medication before flying. Wear your white anti-embolism stockings to reduce the risk of blood clots.

For a replacement operation on the right leg, it is wise to wait a four to six weeks and after you have stopped taking medications that impede your driving ability. By that time, you have control of your reflexes, making driving safe.

If your waterproof dressing has been unstained for a 24-hour period and there is no drainage, then you can shower. You should avoid immersing your incision under water. When drying the incision, pat the incision dry, do not rub it.

Implants are made of metal alloys (chrome cobalt or Titanium alloy), ceramic or ceramicised material, and strong plastic parts. Up to three bone surfaces may be replaced in a total knee replacement and two surfaces in partial.

Joint replacement surgery for arthritis is considered a treatment of last resort. But even though replaced joints may not last forever, the weight, activity, and implant type have the most significant impact on how long a knee replacement will last. Some strenuous activities, including impact sports, and any activity requiring running and jumping can create stress on the implants that may lead to early failure of the implanted joint.

When Should You See an Orthopedic Doctor?