Alternative Treatments Available for Hip Osteoarthritis

Alternative ways in treating hip pain besides undergoing a hip replacement operation are being sought after by patients, health surveys show, this may be a result of the increasing reports regarding the failure of hip devices. Hip osteoarthritis treatments may vary, according to the article from the Formulary, they may be pharmacologic or non-pharmacologic in nature. There is still no treatment for osteoarthritis, however, it remains to be the most common form of arthritis.

Medical studies are continuously being conducted by orthopedic experts to understand and prevent the progression of the disease. The goals of each treatment may vary and most of them work well together. Undergoing a surgical procedure to treat the hip pain may not be the first option for most patients. Patients who are looking for other alternatives have tried various treatments such as ice massage, herbal medications, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), acupuncture and supplements. These treatments also have different risks and benefits that have been determined through continuous research. If the problem is left untreated, the pain might worsen and the hip may incur more damages.

- Acupuncture – small and thin needles are inserted in various point in the body to illicit pain relief. This is an ancient Chinese practice that has spread in different parts of the world.

- TENS – an analgesic effect is created by the use of electrical current placed on the damaged area. An electroacupuncture treatment is also possible when the physical therapist stimulates nerves in different acupuncture points.

- Ice massage – the cold helps in decreasing the pain and swelling of the joints.

- Supplements – some nutritients may help in decreasing the symptoms of osteoarthritis. Several men and women have responded positively while using chondroitin sulfate, glucosamine, S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe), cetylated fatty acids, and avocado/soybean unsaponifiables (ASUs).

- Herbal medications – these medications are made from natural herbs but there only a few are approved for use with significant data to back up their positive effects.

It is important to consult the attending physician first before using any of the abovementioned treatments as there might be some contraindications. Visit the DePuy Hip Recall News Center to know the benefits and risks of undergoing a hip implant operation.

URL References:

med.nyu.edu/content?ChunkIID=21505#ref204

umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/condition/osteoarthritis

orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00404

formularyjournal.modernmedicine.com/formulary-journal/news/clinical/clinical-pharmacology/osteoarthritis-review-treatment-options

First ASR Multidistrict Bellwether Trial vs. DePuy Postponed Again in Ohio

A second pushback order for the first ASR bellwether trial has been announced by Judge David Katz, according to court records, highlighting the postponement of hearings from June 3 to September 9, 2013. The first order was issued last April, moving the original trial date from May 6 to June 3 of this year, court depositions say. The judicial panel believed that these delays are caused by the pretrial motions that were filed by DePuy and its lawyers.


One of the recent motions that were filed by DePuy is the dismissal of the 2010 worldwide recallfor admission as evidence in court. DePuy insists that the recall is not relevant to the issue at stake in the lawsuit. A motion like this entails further thorough discussion, debriefing and oral arguments, causing delays in proceedings.


The changing of trial dates may only not bring about disappoint from the plaintiff side of the first bellwether case but also to those pending ASR lawsuits who are waiting for their turns. Some plaintiffs are old enough and advance in years that they may not be able to make it on their own trial schedules.


For more information, please visit First bellwether Trial Postponed Again in Ohio’s DePuy ASR Multidistrict Litigation

DePuy ASR Recall Lawsuit Update: Rottenstein Law Group Anticipates Verdict in 2nd DePuy Hip Trial

The Rottenstein Law Group represents clients in metal-on-metal hip lawsuits and maintains a website at http://www.depuyrecallnewscenter.com, which provides news and information on hip lawsuits and the DePuy hip implant recall.

(PRWEB) April 12, 2013

The jury in the nation’s second DePuy ASR trial is expected to deliberate next week in Chicago to determine if Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary DePuy must pay plaintiff Carol Strum damages for injuries she allegedly suffered from her DePuy ASR metal-on-metal hip implant, according to court documents (In Re DePuy ASR Hip Litigation, No. 2011-L-009352, Cook County [Ill.] Circuit Court). The Rottenstein Law Group represents clients in metal-on-metal hip lawsuits and maintains a website at http://www.depuyrecallnewscenter.com, which provides news and information on hip lawsuits and the DePuy hip implant recall.

Strum, a 54-year-old nurse from Illinois, alleges that Johnson & Johnson failed to warn of the risks associated with the device’s defective design, according to Bloomberg.* Strum’s husband testified that his wife’s 2009 DePuy ASR implantation and 2011 revision surgery have left her unable to participate in the activities she once enjoyed, according to court documents.

Read full story at PRWeb.com: DePuy ASR Recall Lawsuit Update: Rottenstein Law Group Anticipates Verdict in 2nd DePuy Hip Trial 

DePuy Hip Recall News: Second ASR Trial Begins, Rottenstein Law Group Reports

A new DePuy ASR metal-on-metal hip replacement trial was scheduled to begin this week in Illinois state court in Chicago, according to court records. Carol Strum, a 54-year-old nurse from Illinois, alleges that Johnson & Johnson failed to warn of the risks associated with the device’s defective design.

Chicago (PRWEB) March 11, 2013

A new DePuy ASR metal-on-metal hip replacement trial was scheduled to begin this week in Illinois state court in Chicago, according to court records. Carol Strum, a 54-year-old nurse from Illinois, alleges that Johnson & Johnson failed to warn of the risks associated with the device’s defective design.* The Rottenstein Law Group, a hip implant law firm, will monitor news and provide analysis over the course of the trial. News and updates are found on the firm’s website, depuyrecallnewscenter.com.

This is the second ASR lawsuit to go to trial at a state level (In Re DePuy ASR Hip Litigation, No. 10-L-10506, Cook County Circuit Court). The first trial just concluded last week, resulting in an $8.3 million verdict in Los Angeles Superior Court against Johnson & Johnson and subsidiary Depuy Orthopaedics. The first trials in the federal multidistrict litigation (MDL-2197, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio) are set to begin later this year, according to the New York Times.**

Read full story at PRWeb.com: DePuy Hip Recall News: Second ASR Trial Begins, Rottenstein Law Group Reports

DePuy Recall News: J&J Expert Alleges Plaintiff’s Pre-existing Conditions—Not the ASR Hip Implant—Caused Metal Poisoning

Los Angeles, Calif (PRWEB) February 27, 2013

As the nation’s first DePuy ASR trial—of potentially thousands—nears its end, an expert for Johnson & Johnson, the company whose subsidiary made the now-recalled ASR metal-on-metal hip replacement system, testified that it was the plaintiff’s various health problems and not his since-removed ASR hip implant that caused him metal poisoning and infection.* The Rottenstein Law Group, which represents clients in lawsuits related to the recall, is closely following the trial and maintains a website on cases at http://www.depuyrecallnewscenter.com.

Gonzalo Ballon-Landa, a doctor of infectious diseases, testified on Feb. 26 during the trial of In re: Loren Kransky and Sheryl Kransky v. DePuy, Inc., et al. (BC456086, Los Angeles Superior Court) that Loren Kransky, 65, of South Dakota, acquired an infection through a port used to administer chemotherapy drugs for his kidney cancer, and not from the hip implant, which he received in December 2007 and had removed in February 2012, according to Bloomberg. In addition, DePuy’s counsel alleged that Kransky’s health problems, which include diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol, strokes and the cancer, combined with the angle at which a surgeon implanted the ASR, is what caused infection and metal poisoning.

Read full story at PRWeb.com: DePuy Recall News: J&J Expert Alleges Plaintiff’s Pre-existing Conditions—Not the ASR Hip Implant—Caused Metal Poisoning

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Artificial Hip Recipients' Lawyers Reject J & J Settlement Pay-off

Johnson & Johnson, which is  facing  more than 10,000 lawsuits over its recall ASR hip systems manufactured by its DePuy Orthopedic Unit, is  bargaining for a possible settlement with patients over more than $2 billion in payoff, legal experts say. The bumper-to-bumper lawsuits began after patients announced that they were suffering  from the defective implants and seeking compensatory damages. A DePuy director gave an internal report indicating nearly  40 percent ASR failure rate.

Considered the world’s biggest seller of health-care products, Johnson & Johnson is willing to pay more than $200,000  per case -- in deals that may reach more than  $2 billion if most plaintiffs accept the terms.  However, lawyers for hip recipients have been declining  the offer as being too low.

In 2010, Johnson & Johnson recalled 93,000 all-metal hips worldwide, including 37,000 in the United States, saying more than 12 percent failed within five years. Patients who sued contend that they suffer pain and are immobilized by joint dislocations, infections and bone fractures. They alleged metal debris from the hips causes tissue death around the joints.

The settlement talks probably might not end until after the first trials of the lawsuits begin, starting next week, with more set for next month and May.

According to John M. Fitzpatrick, a defense lawyer in Denver, Johnson and Johnson can not afford to defend these lawsuits case by case and it needs  to shut down. The only way they can do that is through a global settlement. Plaintiff’s lawyers know that. That’s why everybody has to push to see what they can get.

The company is currently facing 10,100 lawsuits over the hips through September, according to the November filing. Most pretrial collection of evidence has been consolidated in federal courts  in Toledo, Ohio, where 7,240 cases are pending, and California State Court in San Francisco, where more than 2,000 cases are filled.

Three of these cases set go on trial in the next few months may offer lawyers guidance on potential liability and damages. First case that went on trial was Loren Kransky's, a retired prison guard which has undergone a ASR XL hip implant in 2007.

Kransky accused DePuy Orthopeadics for endangering his  life with the implant which may possibly poisoned  him due to  the presence of metallosis. Toxic metal is produced when debris from the metal ball sliding against the metal cup caused metal ions to enter Kranky’s bloodstream. One of his doctors said the poison might kill him if no replacement surgery is performed in due time.

Johnson & Johnson is considered among the world’s biggest seller of health-care products which has caused DePuy ASR problems which is being recalled in 2010.

URL REFERENCES:

Bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-25/j-j-failed-to-warn-of-hip-implants-s-risks-jurors-told-1-,html

Bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-18/j-j-said-to-offer-implant-pact-that-may-reach-2-billion.html

DePuy Hip Recall Lawsuit Update: Both Sides Will Call Dozens of Witnesses in Los Angeles DePuy ASR Trial, Rottenstein Law Group Reports

Rottenstein Law Group previews the forthcoming DePuy ASR trial in Los Angeles, focusing on the witness lists of plaintiffs Sheryl and Loren Kransky and defendant DePuy Orthopaedics. 

(PRWEB) January 17, 2013

The Rottenstein Law Group, a DePuy ASR hip law firm, is closely monitoring developments in the run-up to the nation’s first trial of a DePuy ASR lawsuit, set to begin on Jan. 22 in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Both the defendant, Johnson & Johnson subsidiary DePuy, and the plaintiffs, Loren and Sheryl Kransky, plan to call dozens of witnesses, according to court documents for the case (In re: Loren Kransky and Sheryl Kransky v. DePuy, Inc., et al., BC456086, Los Angeles Superior Court). Witnesses include several current and former DePuy employees, doctors, other experts and family members, besides the plaintiffs themselves.

“Because this is the first of possibly many DePuy ASR hip replacement trials, it is likely to be a good indicator of the type of defenses DePuy might assert in future trials,” said Rochelle Rottenstein, principal of the Rottenstein Law Group.

Read full story at PRWeb.com: DePuy Hip Recall Lawsuit Update: Both Sides Will Call Dozens of Witnesses in Los Angeles DePuy ASR Trial, Rottenstein Law Group Reports