Ii have the identical issue - even the same hip. My doctor told me to stop running and playing tennis. I have ignored him.

Good news is hip replacements are pretty effective. Bob Bryan is back to playing competitive doubles with his brother after a hip replacement. Andy Murray's singles days are probably over, but doubles is still an option for him potentially.

But your advice is good...

Your post made me laugh. Thanks a lot, I really needed that right now. I was wondering if I'm going to have to stop playing singles tennis perhaps I wont.

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"The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do."

I've taken a different approach - get fat and lazy and stop training. My hips and knees don't bother me at all. Sure, I strain my back opening another bottle of wine at times, but I can pay someone to open the bottles when I can no longer do so.

I'll keep you posted as to how my strategy works out.

right now I'd like to trade shoes with you

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"The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do."

Full knee replacement 2015. I hear hip replacements are much easier. At least you've got that!
Sorry to hear. I'm not supposed to run anymore either but I do "jog" a little on occasion.

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

Why didn't you post this before now???

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DFL > DNF > DNS

My mother-in-law has never exercised a minute in her life. Currently has had both knees replaced. She was overweight for about 10 years, but not her whole life.
An employee of mine - same thing.
Overall, I see more people needing replacements who haven't run/biked/etc, than those who have. I don't know if statistics reflect that.

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"I keep hoping for you to use your superior intellect to be less insufferable. Sadly, you continue to disappoint." - gofigure

My wife had her hip replaced. Hurt like hell, or so I am told. But within 3 - 4 months she was doing very well, took around a year to have full function. But once you get past the first couple/few weeks it goes smoother.

But really look for extra help or think seriously about a rehab place for the first 2 weeks.

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I'm beginning to think that we are much more fucked than I thought.

Sorry to hear of your troubles and I get your advice, it I’ve always heard that growing old is better than the alternative.

(Says the dumbass rehabbing an elbow reconstruction that wouldn’t have been necessary 10 years ago)

According to my orthopedist running is not a risk factor for arthritis. He listed three, heredity, trauma and weight. He told me if running causes me to have bad days, don't run. I'll likely need a replacement some day but he told me there is no evidence that running will make that any sooner.

Growing old is not good. The alternative however is worse.

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They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot

The artificial joints still have a limited lifespan and need to be replaced periodically. I'm holding out until they can grow them from my own stem cells.

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"100% of the people who confuse correlation and causation end up dying."

I haven't gone for a run in 6 years. My knees are starting to get sore, though they never did when I was running. I climb lots of ladders. The first climb of the day is the toughest and I have to take one step at a time (not alternating rungs with each foot). I guess it is the price I pay for getting old.

When I was working on my pole barn recently I put in a lot of 8-10 hour days climbing up and down the ladder and walking on a metal roof with a 4/12 pitch. So I guess I'm still in decent enough shape to work hard.

I had my left hip replaced two years ago when I was 47. It was most likely from too many hits when I was young and played football. The 16 years of running and tris just made it worse. It was shocking to see the x-ray and to be told there were no options except suck it up until the pain becomes too much to take.

The good news is that the surgery and recovery are not nearly as bad as you might think, given what they are putting your body through. I was walking, with a walker, two hours after I woke up from surgery. I walked out of the hospital, with a cane, 23 hours after walking in. The rehab was challenging, but in a positive way. I am sure you will crush it coming from an endurance background.

The toughest part is adjusting to a limited life from a physical standpoint. While the quality is enhanced as far as the constant pain being gone, lateral movement, and any type of running that resembles what I used to be capable of are gone forever. Swimming and biking are fine and after the 1st year I don’t even think about my hip when biking.

Good luck with the process. Educate yourself on the available surgical options. I went anterior vs posterior and am glad that I did.