Anyone had a hip replacement?

If so, how has it affected your mobility?

Are you still able to ride etc?

How long is it meant to last if you are being sporty?

How old were you when you had it done?

Long shot, but I’m after some info as my Wife may be having one and she is only 32. She would like to still be able to snowboard and things afterwards though, the doctor said she could, but it would wear out much quicker.

Thanks.

Friend of my GF’s had a double-hip replacement at 32. She was told that they would wear out (not really a problem when you have them as a OAP really) but the replacement of the replacement is not good. It wears alot of material away. I wouldnt snowboard to be honest!

Cheers.

Know what you mean, but it’s finding a balance of still having a good quality of life.

Only found out today so it’s still a bit of a shock to be honest.

All sounds pretty grim!

I wonder why the new replacement wasn’t as good?

Thought it would be the same really.

It would be worth checking to see if she is a suitable candidate for a ‘Birmingham hip’ – this is a resurfacing op with a longer recovery period but can give better results & I think means that the first revision is the equivalent of a first ‘normal’ replacement. If she has deformed femoral heads or hip sockets this is unlikely to be possible.

No, resurfacing is not possible.

Doc said she would need a new stem, which goes into the top of the leg bone.

The only alternative he gave was to stay on loads of Tramadol and anti-inflammatory tablets, yet still have pain and immobility.

It’s something she has had since birth, congenital hip dysplasia, but she has had no problems until around 3 years ago. Been trying to cure it since, but we thought a hip replacement was a loooong way off yet!

If she has the ability to extend her hip (test by lying on back, bring the other knee to chest whilst keeping the ‘bad’ leg flat) I would put up with it for as long as possible. If she can’t do that it’s probably worth getting done – you need to extend your leg to walk, if your hip doesn’t do it your low back will – cue early wear & tear in the lumbar spine, hips can be replaced, spines can’t.

When she tries that test her bad leg comes up about 6 inches or so, but only when the leg is pretty near her chest. She has started to get back pain, pain in both hips, groin pain, basically that whole area.

If the limitation to movement is boney it should be done soon (IMHO), if it is soft tissue stretching may help for a while – where are you?

Yeah think she is going to have it done fairly soon.

Just to get away from the nagging pain, loss of mobility and loads of tablets.

Think Im more worried about it than her!

The specialist said it was the next step, but she is going for another opinion in a couple of weeks.

We’re in Stafford.

Stock up on hand wipes antiseptic type and always wash your hands until the scar has healed , buy some matress covers as the wound, is quite big and make leak,follow physio advice a nd stay mobile, oh nd it hurts, from experience, not mine , but my dads.

My brother’s in the same position (early 40’s). He’s been told that cycling should be ok but any impact sports (skiing, martial arts etc) should be avoided.

The biggest risk after hip replacements, apart from overall wear & tear, is dislocating the joint – it’s not as strong as the original.

Yeah the Doc said they could fit an oversize ball to help prevent that, when we mentioned snowboarding.

She has already had a ‘Z Plasty’ to try and cure bursitis in the other hip (which Im pretty sure was misdiagnosed!), and that was a 6″ wound.

Thanks for ur replies.

A good mate had it done about 3 years ago. He’s about 54/5 and very fit. Particularly like running and other active persuits.
He had it done and is very happy. For ~ 18moths before ot was getting progressively worse. He had it done, had time off work to recoup. now he’s back to where he was…..bloody fit!
best of luck
Q

It might be worth you asking this question on some of the roadie or triathlon forums. A lot of the roadie people are older, but very active in sports, so may have more long term info.

Its a shame if she is not able in the end to continue snowboarding, but it could be a chance to take up other sports that might prove to be lots of fun.

We have been discussing it and researching other people who have had it done, and there are so many stories where people say it has improved their life no end, and why didn’t they do it sooner, think our minds are getting made up.

Scary though, it’s a pretty big operation, wish her luck, here goes………

🙂

It might be worth giving David Evans a call – he’s an osteopath I trained with. Stretching the area may reduce the pain & disability, delaying the op for a while. Good luck.
Dr David Evans
River Brook Medical Centre
3 River Brook Drive
Stirchley
Birmingham
West Midlands
B30 2SH

Phone: 0121 443 5500
Web: http://www.backpainclinic.co.uk

Thanks for your help.

She has been doing lots of physiotherapy for months now, which has helped mobility, but not really with the pain.

I broke my hip at the age of 35 and whilst didn’t have a replacement my experience may be relevant. The break was fixed with 3 castellated nuts (between 90-100mm long) and I ended up with a wound about 6 inches long on my thigh. If I’d been about 5 years older they’d have gone straight for a replacement as broken hips don’t heal well.

anyway, experience post op;

it **** hurts immediately post op. A lot. even with lots of pain relief. obviously I had impact injuries and some issues with the sharp end of my femur having flailed around inside my thigh a bit but the actual site of the op hurt a lot too.

I was on crutches for 3 months (about half of that time was partial weight bearing). I ended up just walkign around for 2-3 hours a day to keep the leg working, get strength back.

physiotherapy needs to start asap – this will hurt even more than the immediate post op stuff.

You need to have a positive approach to the whole thing – push your body during physio and do the exercises given a lot – they seem to be designed for the over sixties not fit young peple.

Research on joints – there’s lots out there and some have a better long term prognosis than others – the US seems to be further ahead in this respect than the nhs. If there’s a better joint available it might be worth considering private treatment (or going to France, maybe – they seem to do a good job and the EU says you can get treatment there for free…).

Not relevant but – You’ll get more sympathy domestically if you don’t have a 3 month old child at home when you phone up from a ride saying ‘Errm, I’ve hurt my leg and I’m off to hospital’ although I did add ‘I’ll come home when I get my breath back’ which was probably a bit optimistic.

Luke

All the best though. Our friend has three young children. The longterm prognosis isnt good. The Doctors have said due to the detoriation at such a young age she will be permanently in a wheelchair in the future. Thing is, her medical/deterioration may be different/different situation.

For the past few years my right hip has been quite sore after long rides. TBH, a couple more years and I’m going to shift over to 100% road rides. I want mobility/longevity rather than lots of offroading!

Yeah I have had one coming up on 12months ago, following septic arthritis within the hip. Your wife is the same age i was. Once I made the decision to have the op (Birmingham) I then went about getting the core stabilising muscles around the hip as strong as I possibly could, albeit under extreme pain. But by under taking this strategy, under the encouragement of both the surgeon and physio who both agreed that you can’t break whats already broken!! Aided the recovery period post surgery significantly. I was out of hospital in 4 days, on the stationary bike (starting at 1 min,)within 10 days back riding my mtb bike on the rode (for 5 mins) driving my car within 3 weeks and working just after 7 weeks post surgery. All of this was due to the short turn pain pre-surgery exercising in the gym and determination to get back to some sort of normality post the op.

At present I can ride 5-6 hrs on either the mtb or road bikes without problems with the hip. The only limitations that the surgeon has recommended to me is that I don’t run on it, as I was a competitive runner prior to the degeneration of the hip, other than that its game on with whatever I want.

cheers

Rich, from a point above ^ regarding subsequent replacements further down the line…..

As I understand it, each replacement brings further removal of natural material. They have to cut back further into the bone to make a secure fix for the replacement.

Someone I know had one done @ 40. In no time at all he was back on his bike and pasting us same as ever.

I think they do some that are designed to have a removable/replaceable ‘head’ so that they don’t have to remove further femur on subsequent replacements – spefcifically designed for the young who are likely to need 2 or more replacements in their lifetimes.

(I looked into this as I was thought to be having the same problem Floyd Landis did of poor blood supply through femoral neck following pinning – fortunately I got away with it).

Yeah Stratobiker, that’s why a resurfacing would have been ideal, but because the bone is pretty deformed she was told it was not an option.

We are going to get another opinion on this though, not taking the decision lightly.

The most worrying thing is when this hip replacement wears out in 10/15/20 years at best, the next one wont be as good and will be lucky to get 10 years out of it. So MrsRich might only be around 55 ish.

If she then needs another revision there can be lots more complications, and even a bone graft may be needed.

Ive been doing as much reading and researching as possible.

wwaswas, I havent come across anything mentioning a replaceable head, sounds interesting.

Input gratefully received. 🙂

Thank one of the regulars on another forum for pointing this thread out to me 🙂

My story – I had a displaced hip when I was 13 (I’m now 34) – the soft part of my femur had collapsed and buckled under the strain of me growing, and this caused the hip to dislocate. Cutting a long story short, they relocated it and pinned it, with the pins themselves being removed a couple of years later.

Over the last 20 years, it deteriorated slowly at first, and then far faster. By last summer, it had got to a point where the hip and socket had virtually completely fused, and the pain and discomfort was getting out of control. I couldn’t drive for more than 30 mins or so without needing a break to “free” it, walking for more than one hour was not possible, I was looking for excuses to not do the various hobbies I have (diving, 4x4ing, etc – I’m an ex-mountain biker but we’ll get to that!) and basically I had had enough. Plane journeys were torture, sitting down for more than 30 mins at a time was agony – it went on and on.

I had a full hip replacement at the end of August and would recommend it without reserve. Timeline – I was up and walking with a walking frame 2 hours after the operation, and was told I could come home the day after.

I was only using one crutch 2 days after the operation, and then one week later was using a walking stick. Within the next couple of weeks I was walking unaided. OK, I was limping as the muscles were weak from a) being cut and b) not being used in the last few years for support (the joint had fused, it was self-supporting!) but they’re far stronger now.

The improvement in quality of life has been incredible – all the activities that most people take for granted have now been returned to me after a long time, and it’s negated any need to consume anti-inflammatories en masse like I used to, so that’s good news for my stomach.

The hip is not a particularly difficult item to replace – it’s a fairly basic hinge, if you like, and is very accessible. I think my operation took 2 hours or so but my condition was very severe.

The technology is now so impressive that there is every chance the hip will not need replacing. Surgeons are reluctant to say this but it’s true. Previously, the hip balls used in the implants were undersized compared to a normal hip, and would wear and get loose, then need further replacement. In the last few years, the large-head metal-on-metal hip has made this far less of a concern – the hip ball is larger than a fist and is stronger than the ones you were born with !

It should also resist wear very well – previously implants would have their own lubrication which could wear out, but this one uses your body’s own fluids so it shouldn’t be an issue. I was concerned about dislocation as this was one of the reasons I was reluctant to get the operation done – the surgeon told me that if I really, really wanted to, like pushing my left foot against my right thigh in an effort to dislocate it, even when the operation was just complete it would be next to impossible, and now it’s set (i.e any time after 4 weeks) it’s as close to impossible as makes no difference.

Impact sports ? They’re not recommended but within reason shouldn’t be a problem (one person I know with the same type of hip implant as me is a serious triathlete, and it hasn’t slowed her down at all, which also answers the question of whether you can run on it). Cycling is fine as it’s non-loadbearing but to be honest I would be hesitant to ski, snowboard, etc on it – but that’s just me. I want to look after it a bit !! I can’t see a couple of weeks snowboarding each year doing that much long-term harm to it.

Seriously – the game has moved on – these implants are not to be compared to old technology, and that’s one thing I would advise people to be mindful of when they research this operation. Concerns that were relevant as recent as 5 years ago may simply not be relevant any more. Ignore the internet and speak to a reputable surgeon.

Cycling is one of the main things I had to give up with my previous hip issues, and that is no longer a concern, so I might be back on here looking for buying tips having been out of the game for so long !

Any questions – let me know. But the whole experience has been nothing but positive.

Hi Jayell, thanks very much for your input, its just what I need to hear, feeling pretty worried about it all tbh.

Apparently the new hips are titanium, though I don’t know if that’s true? If so, what more reason to get it done! 😉

My Wife has joined some forums with people in the same position, and they are really good and helpful. Pretty much all the stories from people who have had it done are like yours, ie positive and wish they’d done it sooner.

All the best for the future.

🙂 Rich.

Ah good to hear that titanium is still the lust-object du jour in bike world !! 😀

I think mine is part-titanium, part-cobalt chrome or something, like that – or possibly something even cooler sounding. 😉

Keep posting with your experiences, and take some of people’s reports with a pinch of salt. I heard some horror stories when doing the pre-operation net research and some of it wasn’t particularly encouraging, so I’m trying to set the record straight.

Also bear in mind how screwed mine was – my lower back was doing all of the bending for it, so to speak, it was that solid. Thankfully I’ve escaped any long-term back problems but that was just me being lucky. Don’t put if off for as long as I did !

Best of luck with it all 🙂 – without sounding all TV-doctor on you, it’s far better to put your time into something that will improve, rather than something that can only get worse……….