Viewing 26 posts - 1 through 26 (of 26 total)
  • Replacement Hip riders!
  • Stranger
    Free Member

    Anyone out there riding after a hip replacement operation?
    Just wondering how you got on, how the new hip is coping, any issues etc.

    wwaswas
    Full Member

    I had a femoral neck fracture was held with castellated bolts for a couple of years before they were removed. Fortunately I didn’t get necrosis.

    It probably took me 2-3 years to retain full strength and confidence in that leg and I have almost full movement too.

    That was 12 years ago. Now I find that I don’t have much joint discomfort but that leg always cramps first.

    I know there’s a few others on here with various hip related issues so hopefully someone with more direct experience will be along.

    Stranger
    Free Member

    Cheers for that wwaswas
    Glad to hear yours is fixed.
    Snapped my neck of femur 15 months ago and it doesn’t want to heal.
    Back for an x-ray this week and in expectation that it’s not fixed I’m thinking of pushing for a hip replacement – hence the question. 🙂

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    sellisnba
    Free Member

    Stranger
    I had a full hip replacement at 32 about 7 years ago due to a rare bone condition. Was weight bearing on it after 3 days (with crutches) surgeon advised.I was riding light xc after about 2 months and rode afan after 4 months. Its amazing how good the new hips are. I’m still riding to this day anything from uplift days to 100 mile sportives. (it alawys amazes people when you tell them)
    Only thing i will say is try not to crash on it, the muscles around it will bruise easily for a while. When I’m mtbing I tend to wear a pair of padded under shorts.
    One last thing, You’ll have a awesome scar that chicks will dig 😛
    Good luck with your decision it was the best thing I ever did.

    jammiedodger
    Free Member

    I was going to post this exact question next week. I had a hip replacement last Saturday, and in the longer term hope to get back on the MTB. I haven’t been off road for nearly a year pre op,so looking forward to it. I will follow with interest!

    OCB
    Free Member

    This won’t help directly, but it might be worth a thought.

    My mum has had both of her hips [completely] replaced in recent years, and to celebrate (two years ago) she bought herself a new bike for her 75th birthday – which she loves, and which she rides regularly (usually 3 – 4 days a week, as long as the weather is not *too* hideous).

    She was on her feet *very* quickly after each op, pushing herself harder each day to rebuild her mobility & fitness, and she puts that down to being why she is able to ride / walk comfortably now.

    The only [non-] problem she had when we looked for a bike was the stepover height – she’d been rather robustly advised (by her surgeon) not to go articulate too far up the side (I assume due to her particular physiology / post-operative recovery), so she ended up with a very low-stepover bike.

    … but other than getting a bit sore / tired after a couple of hours in the saddle, no problems.

    Anyway, good luck – it can all work out fine.

    Stranger
    Free Member

    Sellisnba
    That sounds pretty good!
    I was curious how the insert coped with the stress of banging downhill – not sure how strong the fitment would be, but if you’re doing uplift days that suggests it’s pretty strong.
    Not too bothered with the scar – not had much interest in the one I already have!
    Thanks for the feedback!
    jammiedodger – look forward to hearing your exploits!

    Stranger
    Free Member

    OCB – glad to hear your mum gets out so much, I’ll bear in mind the comments about side articulation but hopefully that shouldn’t be a problem.
    🙂

    sellisnba
    Free Member

    Stranger
    Just to point out, the uplift days are on a old fashion shortish travel bike (camber 26er) so if you have a long travel bike you’ll be fine.

    whitestone
    Free Member

    I had a total hip replacement 15 months ago. The hospital regimen was to be up and moving about the following morning with crutches. Once the physio had assessed you going up and down stairs you were free to go home, in my case this was 24hrs after the op. I’m not the best person at being a patient so I was doing as much as I could with pain/fatigue being the limiting factor, though there was very little pain TBH, just the surgical scar sorting itself out.

    Follow up appointment 6 weeks later and I asked about driving and riding on the turbo and outside. Got a yes to both (had to be able to press on the brake without pain for the driving). Did a month or so on the turbo as it was icy outside then got going on the roads as the weather improved. Mountain biking by April. Ended up doing over 10,000Km of riding last year so you could say it’s worked!

    Longest ride last year was just over 100 miles and I averaged a ride a day. Last week I did a 96Km (60 mile) off-road ride round the Dales.

    Stranger
    Free Member

    Inspirational!
    Like I said, don’t think my break has healed and it was operated on 15 months ago. Think I might push for the op when I have the X-ray on Wednesday.
    Thanks for all the replies! 🙂

    Bunnyhop
    Full Member

    Stranger – sorry to hear your break hasn’t healed.

    I too broke my hip and had 3 screws inserted 7 odd months ago. The break seems to have healed well, however I’m still struggling with walking and general movement. It got worse when we had lots of snow and I was so tense walking out, fearing I was going to slip and cause more damage.
    The doctor recommended heat (hot water bottle) and pain killers, which I’m loath to take unless it’s properly painful.

    I haven’t properly ridden my mtb yet, only as the stoker on our tandem, however riding doesn’t affect my hip.

    Sorry to hijack your thread but how long did everyone take to recover with out a hip replacement? I seem to be struggling with muscle pain and maybe bruising still.

    Thanks bunnyhop.

    lemonysam
    Free Member

    I have nothing to contribute other than:

    Who was the coolest guy in the hospital?

    The Ultrasound Guy

    ..and after he left, who was the coolest guy in the hospital?

    The Hip Replacement Guy

    wanmankylung
    Free Member

    The first time I did the Snow Roads Audax I rode part of the way with a guy who had just had a total hip replacement 6 weeks previously. He finished it well within the time limit too.

    Bunnyhop – ask for a referral to physio for range of movement and strengthening exercises.

    Bunnyhop
    Full Member

    Bunnyhop – ask for a referral to physio for range of movement and strengthening exercises.

    Thanks wanmakylung.
    I am under a physio atm and make sure I exercise every morning and evening. Maybe I’ll ask for more now and start a bit of weight training under her advice.

    wwaswas
    Full Member

    re: differences between a break and replacement is that with a break;

    1) there’s usually a lot of associated muscle, ligament, nerve and blood vessel damage. Far more than a replacement. You also have other injuries to recover from too – I had a dislocated shoulder.

    2) with a break there’s time to wait for the bone to knit and you’re non weight bearing for that time and have associated muscle mass loss and also loss of mobility. With a replacement as has been said, you’re up and about the next day.

    Bunnyhop the things I can recommend from my experience is to get a decent set of stretching exercises and do them 2 or 3 times a day until it hurts *a lot* (I think the whole physio and stretching thing hurt me more than the original break, tbh) as it’s the only way to regain movement, the other is to join a gym and do some focused weight activity based around strengthening the leg itself but also balancing out any core muscle instability that may have happened due to you favourign that leg for so long.

    And walk, a lot – couple of miles a day at lunchtime or soemthing. The key thing with this is to concentrate on not limping. It almost becomes subconcious that you favour the leg and then it becomes a habit – make a real effort to walk on both legs in the same way.

    Riding is a lot down to confidence – I was incredibly nervous for several years afterwards. Maybe a skills course or something to help get you in the right mindset to be riding solo again. Or a ‘town bike’ and pootle to the shops or along the tow path so you’re not tempted to go out of your comfort zone?

    As I said before, I’m 13 years down the line now and have a few minor issues but nothing major.

    whitestone
    Free Member

    @bunnyhop As mentioned in my previous post it wasn’t that long before I was mobile, after four weeks I could walk a couple of miles with just one crutch mainly for steadying purposes. Bruising wise, I wasn’t too bad but they were deep and concentrated around the surgical incision which is obvious when you think about it. Some discomfort but nothing compared to the hip pain I’d had beforehand. I still get occasional “tingles” around the scar a bit like the sensation you get when a scab on a scar pulls at the underlying tissue, I think it’s just old nerve endings firing, I don’t worry about it.

    The hardest thing for me was having to lie on my back to sleep and not be able to turn on to my side.

    wanmankylung
    Free Member

    To put it bluntly and without pulling any punches wwaswas is spouting a load of rubbish.

    I am a physio in a specialist ward that solely deals with hip fractures. 1) If it’s hurting a lot you’re probably doing damage., 2) in our ward there is either a couple of gert big screws holding the bones together, or half or more of the joint has been replaced so there is no bone to knit together, and I have never seen a patient who has been non-weight bearing after any of the usual hip fixing surgeries.. 3) soft tissue damage in my experience is often about the same with any version of hip fixing surgery. 4) Things have moved on a lot in 13 years.

    wwaswas
    Full Member

    my experience differs from wanmankylung’s.

    my sample of one found that

    1) I only started regaining movement after stretching until it hurt. I fell through the system as I wasn’t originally treated in my local hospital and had no physio for the first two weeks after the accident so just kept the leg as still as possible. By them time I started physio even trying to bend my knee more than a 10 or 15 degrees was quite painful – hooking a strap over my ankle so I could pull it towards my bum made it hurt quite a bit.

    2) I was non weight bearing for 6 weeks and partial for another 6.

    3) again, no comparative experience but I was told by my surgeon that I had a lot of asscoiated damage they wouldm’t normally expect and more scar tissue as a result. When I had the fixings removed after 2 years he cut all the old scar tissue away durign the op as he said there was more than he would like to see. He also had to use some molegrips on the bolt heads when removing them as he manged to round one of them off so I ended up with quit a large scar so he could get access.

    before they came out;

    4) quite possibly.

    I guess the upshot is we all have different experiences and after 7 months I’d be looking to try something different to what Id’ already done to see if it improved things.

    Scapegoat
    Full Member

    Interested in this thread because I have Cam FAI (Femoracetabular Impingement) in both hips. It was diagnosed too late to have an arthroscopic bone shave in the right hip, so I am now simply managing the pain with codeine etc. The advice I was given was to manage the pain and wait until I needed a joint replacement. This is frustrating as I can still exercise in moderation, as long as I stick to cycling. I can’t walk for more than a few miles at a time, and swimming, especially breaststroke is particularly unpleasant. I do however tend to pay for it afterwards, with hours if not days of “I told you so” pain meaning an increase in painkillers.
    However, a bit of reading around and I see that hip resurfacing may be an option. Opinion varies, as some say it’s best for active younger patients (under 60), other say it causes joint debris issues etc.

    I want to speak with an orthopod to see what their opinion is, because I don’t want to wait until I absolutely have to have a replacement, and if the resurfacing needs fewer revisions I’d be happy.

    Anyone had a resurfacing op?

    Bunnyhop
    Full Member

    I have been told by the physio that I shouldn’t push too hard during the exercises, as any pain isn’t actually doing me any good.

    Walking is something I do as much as possible and my job is quite active.

    The key here is finding out how much to push and how hard. Also trying not to limp Is something I’m struggling with.

    wanmankylung
    Free Member

    Struggling not to limp is something I’m struggling with at present too. I find with myself as well as with my patients that if I concentrate of getting the heel strike part correct then the rest follows reasonably easily.

    jammiedodger
    Free Member

    Scapegoat, I had a arthroscopy in July last year to repair a 4cm labral tear and have some bone shaved. My history is probably simplified by that statement, I had surgery as a child and suffered a long time with the hip. Anyway the arthritis was too severe and I did not recover from the scope very well, in fact went down hill! Hence my replacement.
    I investigated a resurfacing prosthesis, but there are supposed to be pretty poor for female patients and also I have an allergy to cheap metals so it is suggested the composition of the replacement would be unsuitable. I was also told success is very dependent on the surgeon. The best surgeon only operates privately at around £15000!
    Just got to look after my THR now and hope it lasts. Whitestone’s story has made me happy, thanks.

    Bunnyhop
    Full Member

    The best surgeon only operates privately at around £15000!

    Mmmm I always thought that all surgeons were supposed to work for the nhs at least for some of their hours.

    Speshpaul
    Full Member

    you know what, i think i might get both done, judging by what been said i’d be looking at an improvement in my riding 😆

    Six years ago i was told i’d get Five years out of my right hip. It gets sore now if i run too much or get my addle height wrong. So hoping for a bit longer yet.

    duncancallum
    Full Member

    Right I’ve got experience of this.

    7 years ago I broke my pelvis after spooning a drop off that was about as difficult as riding of a kerb. It damaged my femour and blew my hip joint out. It resulted in 2plates 12 screws in a 4 hour plus opp.

    For the next 7 years I was on codeine tramadol diclafenac all sorts. I was always in pain and properly pissed off.

    My surgeon kept putting me off having it done until December 2013.

    By Jan I had bought a 600quid 2nd hand full bounce to take the impact out and by the middle of the month I was out on rivington pike.

    I’m not right but I’m a good 95% of where I was. I suffer from cramp in that leg and a large lack of bottle but I’m back and I like to think not doing so badly.

    By almeans drop me a line and I can have a proper chat.

    Cheers

    Duncan

Viewing 26 posts - 1 through 26 (of 26 total)

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