My wife is currently shopping around for doc’s for a THR. For various reasons she may not be a candidate for the new resurfacing technique so she’s faced with a THR. If you could share your experiences with me that would be great. Here are some points she is interested in:
When could you swim again? Can you go hard…like masters hard?
Can you bike moderately hard?
She is young (32) so she may need a second/third down the road and all of my MD buds say this is a real bear and she should wait as long as possible. If you were young too, when did you know it was time and how are you approaching the thought of a 2nd/3rd replacement later in life.
Thanks for the info! She would really appreciate some advice.
Second hand only I’m afraid but I know two people who’ve just had replacements - my father and a friend of my girlfriend who’s 26 (she had the necrotising thing that Floyd had). After the operation the change in my Dad was profound - he went from miserable about his inactivity to optimistic, happy and about half a stone lighter as he immediately started walking again where he’d previously taken the car etc. In terms of rehabilitiation it’s been very rapid - they went through the muscle on the outside of his hip so that is extremely weak post op and you have to be careful which way you twist but even there his strength is coming back rapidly. He’s cycling again and while running may wait a while I’m sure fairly vigorous swimming would be possible.
At a healthy 55 he may need another one in time but couldn’t care less - the question has gone from “Can I eke this out another 6 month?” to “Why on earth didn’t I get this done earlier?”
I had a lot of complications and prior surgeries which lengthened my recovery. I had some severe atrophy that took a long time to rehab.
My surgeon was very conservative. I think it was probably 2 months that I was able to swim some - limited. And about 3 mo before I was able to bike. Of course, the fear of falling was huge…
My surgery was in NYC. If going there is an option for her, let me know and I will PM you my doctor’s name. He is excellent.
Based on my own experience, I really can’t. Like I said, I was dealing with some extreme atrophy since this was my 5th surgery in less than 5 years. I had been barely able to walk at all prior to surgery and had zero ability to lift my leg. I had to relearn how to do a lot of things like balance and walk, so my re-introduction to intense activity was pretty slow. Also, I think this is something that each surgeon feels differently about.
In general, she will have standard ‘hip precautions’ for 4-8 weeks. This means no internal rotation, no bringing the knee past 90 degrees, etc. I did a lot of walking (assisted) for the first 8 weeks.
As for revisions, I was told 20-25 years based on my size and age. But that didn’t take into account my desired activity level. It will probably end up being more like 10 year. Maybe 15 if I am lucky.
I should say, also, that this IS NOT a surgery that most people undergo and expect to return to intense activity… I’m sure you know that. I have been really lucky.
This is what she is trying to gauge right now. She swims with a masters team but is just having more and more pain. She can ride a bike but not aggressively. She hopes that if she has this surgery she can return within a reasonable amount of time back to swimming and perhaps biking with less discomfort. Running won’t happen so no need to worry about that.
What is your experience with this? Especially the swimming part.
Are you sure resurfacing is not an option? My 70 year old father shopped extensively between the various procedures. It pissed him off that NO ONE could give him a devil’s advocate overview, ie: which procedures were best for which conditions. Without fail ALL the total hip docs said resurfacing was a “fad” or worse.
It was like asking a used car salesman if a car on the competitors lot across the street was any good.
Have you sent her x-rays to the guy in Begium, name escapes me, who has been doing resurfacing for over 20 some years?
My father had resurfacing done by a Dr. Boyd in the Portland Ore area.
He had competed in olympic style masters weight lifting (has won nationals in age/weight class) and is back to lifting though not competing. The recovery was much easier than that of my friend who had total hip done. He also had some bone grafting done to fill “pits” in the socket.
I have both a friend and a neighbor who have had repeated total hip dislocation problems. There are loss of range of motion issues with the total replacement operation which you should investigate. My friend also had some issues with added stress to the knee and back after total hip. This could be an individual case.
ALL the people I’ve met, father included, say get resurfacing done right away. Be pain free and active again.
Make sure she’s not a resurfacing candidate. You can always do total hip after resurfacing but NOT the other way around.
when did you know it was time
According to an interview with Bo Jackson on NPR a while back, the answer is “when it (the hip) f***s up your sex life.”
.
I was actually a cross country runner before my hip fractures and took up swimming when I got injured. So, my whole ‘competitive’ swimming experience was while I was injured and going through surgeries (so, I wasn’t very competitive in other words). There were probably 2 years straight that I swam with a pull buoy. And I didn’t have my THR until college when I was no longer swimming competitively.
Once you are past the precautionary period when the risk of dislocation is very high, swimming shouldn’t be an issue. Same with biking. It will just take time to recover from the trauma of surgery.
I was advised to wait to get the surgery until I couldn’t take it anymore. And I was definitely at that point. I would recommend the same thing - this isn’t something you want to do unless you experience a high level of chronic pain. There is no going back once they saw off your femur…
Big week for hip replacement information here this week on ST.
Bi-lateral THR at age 47, seven months apart, ceramic on ceramic Hip #1: On crutches 5 weeks with minimum weight bearing. Cleared for walking in the pool and swimming after 3 weeks (one week after removal of surgical staples) I don’t like wet pool decks and crutches so I didn’t get back to the pool before a threw the crutches in the closet. Because of another medical issue I decided not to bike or run prior to my second THR. Hip #2: Less than a week on crutches, weight bearing as pain tolerant, one week with a cane. Obviously every replacement is different, even with the same patient, doctor, and parts. Back in the pool at 3 weeks, back riding on the road in 3 months.
Her returning to swimming at the masters level should be the easiest. THR surgical restrictions will not limit her in the pool. Loss of general fitness and returning hip and leg strength will be the limiting factors. Initial biking problems are range of motion, and getting over the mental “ oh shit what happens to this stuff when I crash” ???!! thoughts. From recent experience, they hold up damn well. Because the muscles used on the bike and the ones cut during surgery match up pretty good, strength and endurance on the bike take more time to return than in the pool. Also, how much muscle mass has been loss prior to surgery due to lack of use and an altered gait play a significant role in how quickly you can return to a previous level.
Hope this answers some of her immediate, pressing questions. In answering a question I know she has “how long should I wait, before I have surgery", I’ll quote one of my ortho doctors. ” That’s one thing I can’t tell you. Its not like a Thanksgiving turkey, there’s not one of those little thermometer things that pops up when it’s done. That’s up to you. You’ll know when its time.”
I have never talked to anyone that wished they had waited longer to have a hip replacement.
I not sure if the recent family incident that brought on the naming of “Jaws” makes it better or worse for her if/when her mother finds out how much she “jogs”
Ok, I’m bringing up a16 yo thread because after a bike crash on Saturday and fracturing the bone vertically on my left hip. I made the decision based on the best possible information at the time to have a THR.
Back in ‘06, I had an intertroch fracture on the right side. DHS implant has worked flawlessly since then.
I got up and walked yesterday after the surgery, albeit with a walker. Some of my questions are the same ones from the 2006 OP:
Will there be limited range of motion after this is all healed?
Did the replacement prevent you from swinging your implant over the bike saddle, or do you always straddle the bike from the good side?
For masters swimmers, have you been able to post times similar from before surgery? Were there any issues with diving off of the blocks?
How long was it before you could comfortably drive a long distance, say more than two hours?
I realize recovery is totally on an individual basis, but I would appreciate any recent positive stories to help boost my morale. TIA
I am 66 and had my right hip replacement two years ago. Long time endurance athlete I waited till after my six week check up to start swimming and two months to start biking on an indoor trainer. I started back running at 6 months with run walks. I completed my first sprint tri 12 months after surgery and my first half marathon 18 months post. My surgery was done at TCO in Minnesota.
Have her check out the hip runner website for many examples of folks running, biking and swimming following THR. Also a good source for questions and answers.
45-year-old with a Posterior left hip replacement done in 2019. Was walking with a walker the day of the surgery. Released off crutches 2 weeks post. Swimming 4 weeks post. Cycling easy on the trainer 5 weeks post. Skating at my son’s hockey practices 5 weeks, albeit super easy with no dynamic movements of any kind. Running was 6 months later. I did a couch to 5k program so it was a lot of walking at first but it moved the process along slowly and gradually. Honestly, I have 0 regrets. My quality of life was shit before the surgery so something had to change and now, I’m back to triathlons, granted I’m slower than I was but that may have more to do with Covid weight gain than my hip. After volunteering at Placid this weekend I’m going to take another run at an IM in 2023 or 2024 depending on family commitments.
My wife is currently shopping around for doc’s for a THR. For various reasons she may not be a candidate for the new resurfacing technique so she’s faced with a THR. If you could share your experiences with me that would be great. Here are some points she is interested in:
When could you swim again? Can you go hard…like masters hard?
Can you bike moderately hard?
She is young (32) so she may need a second/third down the road and all of my MD buds say this is a real bear and she should wait as long as possible. If you were young too, when did you know it was time and how are you approaching the thought of a 2nd/3rd replacement later in life.
Thanks for the info! She would really appreciate some advice.
My friend (an elite ~50 y/o masters swimmer) finally bit the bullet and had both hips replaced this year. It was 12 weeks between doing the first and second hip, and then another 12 before he could get in the water. The second hip in particular had a very difficult recovery process. But, he’s made it through and is back in the water + on the bike. He’s not nearly all the way up to speed in the water (and he’s still faster than me).
He has not yet biked “moderately hard”. Our group went up to the top of a local mountain on July 4, and he joined in (using an E-bike to be safe). The E-bike was super helpful in allowing him to join the ride and keep the pedals moving. That was just a rental and he estimates he will be able to go up the mountain without E-assist before the snow flies (which is in October around here). SIDE NOTE - It’s really great having a member of a climbing group on an E-bike. He was like a super domestique - bopping from the back to the front, taking video, handing out drinks. Really neat.
Since my friend waited for so long before getting this necessary work done on his hips, the process to get full movement back with take a more extended amount of time. The muscles around his hips have spent so much time dealing with his ailing hips over the years, and now he needs to re-train them. That being said, if he had this surgery a decade ago, the recovery would have been worse, and he’d need get new replacements down the road. With the current technology, he may not need to do this again.
