Orthopedic device firm Zimmer Biomet today unveiled “Don’t Let Pain Gain on You,” a multimedia effort targeted at individuals who have postponed urgently needed joint replacement surgery during the pandemic. The campaign seeks to ease conversations around safely and conveniently going forward with the procedure, despite fears of enhanced risk of COVID infection.
Those fears have intimidated many Americans into postponing doctor’s appointments, in orthopedics and any number of other specialties. That caution is even more pronounced, however, when it comes to treatment events like elective surgery. As part of the campaign, Zimmer Biomet fielded a survey which found that 48% of individuals who needed joint-replacement surgery postponed it due to such fears.
While the survey also revealed that the vast majority of people (82%) who had this surgery during the pandemic said they felt safe to do so and 64% didn’t think they risked infection at their surgery site, almost two-thirds of patients (61%) who had waited more than a year to schedule surgery did so because of the pandemic. The repercussions of those delays were serious: 71% reported more joint pain, 58% more limited mobility and 35% more trouble sleeping.
Meanwhile, 83% of the people who had canceled joint surgery due to the pandemic – including the effect it would have on their recovery – didn’t know about virtual solutions to get support for post-operative care.
