Anyone had HIP REPLACEMENT out there?

[dnb]

Okay, so I am facing definitely one hip replacement in April, and will probably
do the other by early next year. No regrets, I just seem to have various
joint issues. So it goes....

Anyway, is anyone doing squats after hip replacement? What are you NOT
able to do anymore?

In my case I will get the 'new and improved' metal on metal 'big ball' joint.
WOO-HOO! At least I know it won;t wear away for the rest of my life.

Thanks Mucho!

Dan

[sybaris]

My wife just had that done last September. She had developed a pronounced limp and I made her get it checked out last July. The X-ray's came back and showed that she was born with one socket higher than the other so over her 46 years it deteriorated to the point where something had to be done.

The procedure took about 1 1/2 hours. She was walking with crutches the 2nd day, with a cane the 3rd day. Within 2 weeks she was walking unassisted but stairs were a challenge. She still has to be kinda cautious with stairs. Her surgeon said her recovery has been faster than normal mainly because she does her rehab exercises religiously, and due to her age, and her athleticism. Most people who have hip replacement are 20 to 30 years older and generally overweight. Her situation might be a little more extreme than others though cause her leg was lengthened by almost 2 inches and her muscles and nerves have had to adjust.

Squats? (sucking air through teeth sound). I'm not a Dr. but from our experience and from what our surgeon and therapist has said, I'm gonna say you probably won't ever do squats again. Hip replacement is wonderful technology but it doesn't duplicate the original design. If you do them you run the risk of popping it out of socket. A lady my wife works with has had both of hers done and popped hers out playing golf.

There is a different replacement procedure (resurfacing) that professional athletes (and those that can afford it) have done that is not authorized in the U.S., yet as far as I know. It's done in India and doesn't involve cutting off the end of the femur. Apparently this greatly lessens the risk of popping out and provides greater mobility.

One piece of advice though, if you have to have them both done, do them both at the same time. My wife said that she would have done them both, her surgeon recommends it, and anyone else I know that has had it done has said the same thing, just better to get it all over with cause it's still major surgery, still painful, still a lot of rehab, and takes about a year to fully recover.

Good luck.

http://www.georgetownuniversityhospi....cfm?id=555811

http://osteoarthritis.about.com/od/o...eplacement.htm

[Minotaur]

Squats? (sucking air through teeth sound). I'm not a Dr. but from our experience and from what our surgeon and therapist has said, I'm gonna say you probably won't ever do squats again. Hip replacement is wonderful technology but it doesn't duplicate the original design. If you do them you run the risk of popping it out of socket. A lady my wife works with has had both of hers done and popped hers out playing golf.

Yes indeed. My partner had a total hip replacement 5 or 6 years ago. You have to be extremely careful and aware of the angle you put the hip into or it can very well pop out.

[dnb]

*sigh*

[gbg]

This is something your Dr. will go over with you, you will be limited in certain angles that run the risk for displacement.
From the hip replacements that I have seen, many have been very successful with proper rehab and stretching.

[LyingSac]

Okay, so I am facing definitely one hip replacement in April, and will probably
do the other by early next year. No regrets, I just seem to have various
joint issues. So it goes....

Anyway, is anyone doing squats after hip replacement? What are you NOT
able to do anymore?

In my case I will get the 'new and improved' metal on metal 'big ball' joint.
WOO-HOO! At least I know it won;t wear away for the rest of my life.

Thanks Mucho!

Dan

hey Dan,aren't you kinda young for one of those....you musta gave it hell in your younger days eh?I'll put it this way,if it can be done,you will be the man to do it.......carry on....Roy

[dnb]

darn, missed replying earlier.

I had a 'slipped epiphysis' when I was 15. That is (in a nutshell) where the
rounded cartilage head of the femur starts to slip off the growth plate of
the bone. To stabilize it, docs put three pins thru the upper part of my femur
and into that head to hold it in place but.. the damage was already done. The
slippage casued the hip joint to wear abnormally, and as I had this all happen
while I was still growing, my entire hip structure is off-kilter. I expect that
I will end up having the 2nd hip done as well at some point.

You can read/see more about this at:

http://www.aafp.org/afp/980501ap/loder.html

[dnb]

okay, I am bumping my own post to say I am now in recovery from hip #2. been 3 weeks
since I had it replaced, and it is going much better than hip #1 did. Due to the tight
schedule of two hips within 5 months, I have been off the weights for the most part,
but look forward to getting back on them in about 6-8 weeks.

If anyone has questions about the whole hip replacement and recovery process feel free
to contact me.

[gbg]

okay, I am bumping my own post to say I am now in recovery from hip #2. been 3 weeks
since I had it replaced, and it is going much better than hip #1 did. Due to the tight
schedule of two hips within 5 months, I have been off the weights for the most part,
but look forward to getting back on them in about 6-8 weeks.

If anyone has questions about the whole hip replacement and recovery process feel free
to contact me.

How's rehab going?

[dnb]

How's rehab going?

I got hip #1 to about 80% when i went in for hip #2. at three weeks, hip #2 is doing
fine so far, but 'real' rehab doesn't kick in untill you can get to where the muscles are
strong enough to walk w/a cane or no implements, and that is some two weeks out
or so. what i find is the abductors seem to be the hardest to get back in shape, and
end up doing a lot of hip tilts sideways on a stair to work them.

[rocketman44]

dnb,

I'd like to follow your progress. I worry about my hips, especially the left. Wear and tear from my job of walking on hard surfaces.

When I do squats for example, the biggest limiting factor is what my hips can take. If I do treadmill before hand to warm up, squats and deadlifts can be brutal. Ditto for any exercise that requires bending at the waist.

When I bench press, I can't position my feet back far enough to get into a good power-pressing position because my left hip feels as though it's coming out of the socket.

I've wondered whether, in time, I'll need a replacement. I plan to hold off as long as practical, but I'll be looking for updates on your progress - keep us posted please.

[dnb]

dnb,

I'd like to follow your progress. I worry about my hips, especially the left. Wear and tear from my job of walking on hard surfaces.

When I do squats for example, the biggest limiting factor is what my hips can take. If I do treadmill before hand to warm up, squats and deadlifts can be brutal. Ditto for any exercise that requires bending at the waist.

When I bench press, I can't position my feet back far enough to get into a good power-pressing position because my left hip feels as though it's coming out of the socket.

I've wondered whether, in time, I'll need a replacement. I plan to hold off as long as practical, but I'll be looking for updates on your progress - keep us posted please.

happy to do so!

btw, if you are experiencing hip pain, the two best bits of advice i can give you are 1) do it
sooner than later, because the time you think you are buying yourself is ridiculous and 2)
the younger you are, the easier and faster you heal up. and with today's big-ball metal
technology, a hip done in your 40's will easily last the rest of your life.

so, goget an x-ray and asessment asap.

[DeathtoToasters]

My father had both hips replaced over the past 10 years. The most important thing for him was rehab........that helped him get back to normal stuff within a few months!

My fathers friend thought he knew better and skipped rehab....he has never been normal since....

[dnb]

My father had both hips replaced over the past 10 years. The most important thing for him was rehab........that helped him get back to normal stuff within a few months!

My fathers friend thought he knew better and skipped rehab....he has never been normal since....

rehab is a personal thing. if you know the exercises and DO them, you do not need
rehab. just like following a good diet or exercise plan. if you skip what needs to be done
you never get back 100%, same as a diet or exercise program.

[gbg]

rehab is a personal thing. if you know the exercises and DO them, you do not need
rehab. just like following a good diet or exercise plan. if you skip what needs to be done
you never get back 100%, same as a diet or exercise program.

You obviously have no idea what your talking about, I wouldn't make such claims because God forbid there's someone out there that just had a a hip or any other replacement done and reads this, it could be the biggest mistake they make.

Rehab is necessary after replacement surgery stretching has to be done very soon after and everyday followed by exercises that pertain to the surgery.

Please don't offer an opinion unless you know what your talking about especially with medical issues such as these.

[Arlecchino]

Deleted name calling.

[dnb]

Deleted name calling.

understood, but you deleted the rest as well...

[dnb]

You obviously have no idea what your talking about, I wouldn't make such claims because God forbid there's someone out there that just had a a hip or any other replacement done and reads this, it could be the biggest mistake they make.

Rehab is necessary after replacement surgery stretching has to be done very soon after and everyday followed by exercises that pertain to the surgery.

Please don't offer an opinion unless you know what your talking about especially with medical issues such as these.

given i do the prescribed exercises from my DOC, and that I could do two hips in less than 5
months time (earlier if i had chosen but the kids were out of school), and that my DOC is
happy with my progress, I think I am FAR MORE qualified to ascrtain what goes on with
my body and recovery than you are...

[V4kerker]

dnb glad to see you made it through both hip surerys.
I'm getting a RTHR and core decompression on left fermur head(got bilateral AVN of both hips) in Dec '09 was suppose to be Oct '09 but OS sergeon broke his arm ice skating.
Are you close to get to 90 degrees at the waist yet?

I found out I had bad hips after I hurt myself liting weights.I thought I had a hyrnie but after MRI said other wise.

dnb I think there's a guy(TBONE) on the BONESMART.org forums thats doning leg workouts again.There's another guy 6 months out and is riding his bicycle.The forum sight is ok and there's some personel blogs also.

I've been doing leg workouts everyday I go to the gym(3-4x a week) to have myself preped for post-op PT and a speedy recovery.

dnb did you get rear or front incisions?

Soon to be a hippie V4kerker

[dnb]

dnb glad to see you made it through both hip surerys.
I'm getting a RTHR and core decompression on left fermur head(got bilateral AVN of both hips) in Dec '09 was suppose to be Oct '09 but OS sergeon broke his arm ice skating.
Are you close to get to 90 degrees at the waist yet?

I found out I had bad hips after I hurt myself liting weights.I thought I had a hyrnie but after MRI said other wise.

dnb I think there's a guy(TBONE) on the BONESMART.org forums thats doning leg workouts again.There's another guy 6 months out and is riding his bicycle.The forum sight is ok and there's some personel blogs also.

I've been doing leg workouts everyday I go to the gym(3-4x a week) to have myself preped for post-op PT and a speedy recovery.

dnb did you get rear or front incisions?

Soon to be a hippie V4kerker

both surgeries were rear, full replacement, big-ball metal hips. today you have three
choices, the old small ball w/plastic liner, big ball, or ceramic. the small ball has really
fallen out of favor as an active person can wear out the plastic bushing in 15 years and
need to do it all again. Ceramic shows almost NO wear, but when it fails it tends to
fail spectacularly and you need to get a new hip again. i also hear they are noisy.

I was riding a bike on the first hip at around 3.5 - 4 months, up to 15 miles on relatively
flat terrain. i could do this ever other day. (then i got sick with the Seattle Crud and
that plus some trips sidelined me the 5th month). I was on a treadmill, and a stationary
bike around 5-6 weeks on the first hip as well. the doc feels the ellipse is maybe one of
the better machines to use overall.

my doc feels fine that in the future I could easily do half-squats again, maybe more
depending on time and muscle development. and he is no cowboy kind of guy either.

the better your shape going in the easier the time will be afterwards. and here is my
biggest hint: STRONG tri's are a must. You will need them to get in and out of bed.

I will put up a post soon on all the biggest hints I can give people facing this -- where
sometimes the littlest things mean the most.

[bikes4u]

Dads longtime GF had hip replace about 4-5yrs ago. I can't imagine learning how to walk again without rehab.

[dnb]

Dads longtime GF had hip replace about 4-5yrs ago. I can't imagine learning how to walk again without rehab.

it's funny but i thought that as well. and when i was in crutches i thought 'how will i ever
get on a cane?', and then when on the cane I wondered how i would wean off that too.
you just do it. you do the exercises, you walk a lot, you get on bikes and ellipses and it
all coomes back. by a year later, you should be 99% if you are diligent.

[bikes4u]

it's funny but i thought that as well. and when i was in crutches i thought 'how will i ever
get on a cane?', and then when on the cane I wondered how i would wean off that too.
you just do it. you do the exercises, you walk a lot, you get on bikes and ellipses and it
all coomes back. by a year later, you should be 99% if you are diligent.

she's back to better than she ever was (birth defect in hip) and doesn't have to take pain pills for it which to me is simply amazing. I don't think she got the big balled hip though, I'll have to check but it seems they said it could wear out after 15yrs or so. That would suck.

[dnb]

she's back to better than she ever was (birth defect in hip) and doesn't have to take pain pills for it which to me is simply amazing. I don't think she got the big balled hip though, I'll have to check but it seems they said it could wear out after 15yrs or so. That would suck.

you really have no 'bone pain', everything tends to be pretty musculature related.
after all, they pretty must sprain a number of muscles around your hip to dislocate
it for the surgery.

[dnb]

Hip Replacement Hints #1 -- The Hospital

when you sign up for hip replacement, there is generally a class you can attend to tell
you what to expect and how to prep for it. but there are things in the hospital you
will encounter that you cannot expect, so here are a few hints from my TWO hip jobs:

1) you will get hit with some pretty heavy drugs for the surgery, including a lower body
pain blocker that lasts pretty much most of 24 hours post surgery. when you come out
you will have a foam triangle between your legs holding them apart in a v-shape. the
foam ITCHES mightily because it is hot. If you are like me and can stay put, you can
have it removed by the next day and not use it anymore. If you will be unable to stay
put, you will need the foam in place. either way, have the nurses get you something like
Benadryl for the itches, as the sedatives make your skin crawl as well.

2) the hospital will give you a bunch of pills every day. mine included blood thinners, iron,
and stool softeners. I declined the stool softeners until I could get out of bed to go do
my duty without a bed pan. the drugs will block you up a bit, but i find i have little appetite
post-surgery (friends say the same) so you won't have to worry too much about blockage
if you are like me. stool softeners, when they finally hit, can lead to some 'explosive'
action on your part.

3) pain management is very individual. I take pretty much nothing after these surgeries,
but I have a very high pain threshold for these kind of things. (then again, ripping the
bandages off my skin makes me wanna scream -- go figure). I find the pain tends to
feel like a bad paper cut on top of a bad hip bruise like you fell off your bike clipped in
to the pedals. what drugs I tood (Vicodin) were usually to make me drowsy as sleeping
on my back is NOT comfortable. I 'like' the pain in that it tells me what is happening.

4) walking post surgery. Hospital PT will come by the day after surgery and try to get
you up and walking on a walker. My first surgery was a bust. I went on on Tuesday,
out on Saturday, and did not make it up to 'walk' until that Saturday. My biggest problem
was my system would not clear all the drugs and my BP wouldn't get high enough to
keep me from getting lightheaded and almost passing out. Second surgery I discussed
this with the gas passer and I think he changed what I got, as I was up the next day
on a walker with no problems, though my BP was still fairly low.

5) when you are moved, it is CRITICAL people who move you follow YOUR lead. Post
hip one, a CNA moved my leg too fast & it hurt quite a bit.

6) when you leave the hospital you will need at least crutches of your own, and maybe
a walker. I don't like walkers, so I stick to crutches. In the hospital I used the walkers to
start and switched to crutches before i left. what you use will be your comfort level.

7) hospital beds are hot and sticky due to plastic matresses. have a nurse put a folded
up sheet behind your back to absorb sweat and get your skin further than one layer
from the matress and you will feel much better.

8) be nice to the staff and they will be nice to you. both times I was a low maintenance
patient. never ask for help around shift changes, as that is the busiest time.

9) if you get student nurses around you, let them poke and prod -- they need to learn
somehow, and the ones I let work on my were VERY thankful. for one it was her first
real 'hands on' patient experience.

10) I find a pillow under your knee is more comfortable than lying flat, BUT... you need
to stretch that leg periodically as well.

[halogenic]

Hi dbn, sorry if this sounds like a naive suggestion, but could you wear some sort of customized weight-lifting belt around your hips, for extra protection when doing squats?

[gbg]

given i do the prescribed exercises from my DOC, and that I could do two hips in less than 5
months time (earlier if i had chosen but the kids were out of school), and that my DOC is
happy with my progress, I think I am FAR MORE qualified to ascrtain what goes on with
my body and recovery than you are...

So your Dr. didn't recommend rehab after the surgery?

And you might be at yours but that doesn't automatically qualify you to give medical advice.

Rehab is an important process after replacement surgery do as you wish and leave it at that.

[AndroShock]

I had my right one done 2 years ago. I was 38. My left needs to be done but it has to colapse first. My right knee needs total replacement now, and my left one is also going. Im not even 40 yet. I wont go into specifics, but this is what happens when you don't do what the docs tell you, combined with a very reckless lifestyle. I know people that have had both hips replaced and still squat, heavy. I am not one of them and I dont know how they are doing it. Glad your doing well, and although the procedure has come a long way, its never the same. Airport security just loves me.

[gbg]

Just spoke to one of the Dr's I work with, asked him about Dr's not having patients do rehab after replacement surgery he said there are Dr's out there are not pro rehab although he woulld NEVER recommend it and it's not a wise choice.

[Tofino]

Everything in this post is either my personal experience or what I was told by my 2nd replacement surgeon (the one that wasn't 74 years old) about how fast you heal and the things you should and shouldn't do.

Both my hips are artificial. Had the replacements 8 and 9 years. For the first three months after the surgery, you're on a bit of restriction on the bending you can do -- bend the hip joint over 90 degrees and it can pop clean out, meaning more surgery. Realistically after a month or so if you're healthy (!) the muscle and such have grown back enough to allow for pretty normal movement.

Things to expect from the surgery:

- the first day post-op is no freakin fun whatsoever. Expect to be drugged up and in a lot of pain.
- the second day post-op, you'll be trying out crutches and desperate to get the hell out of the hospital. You'll probably go home third day post-op.
- you get scars. Nasty looking ones. Mine were quite bad looking for a good 2-3 years after. They're about invisible now.

Go to your post-surgery physio every single time. These folks are specially trained in recouping you from this specific injury.

Looking down the road, I currently have no major restrictions or limitations. The artificial joint is just a metal version of what was there before, and the cartilage and muscle have all grown back. The only notable restriction is against impact exercise. Lifting is fine. Squats are fine (granted, I don't do them with a ton of weight). Jogging/running is bad. Using a trampoline is definitely bad, as I was told several times "don't use a trampoline!" OK then.

There's also no pain once things have healed up. As I mentioned up top, the doc who did my first replacement was old and apparently not that with it, and both my original replacements were botched to a degree. One of them was re-replaced, and in the other, I have what now seems to be a permanently damaged hip flexor which causes occasional ouches and restricts my motion, but oh well. Trust your doctor. In my case, I was in a ton of pain and just sick of doctors and medical care, and the old Italian dude SEEMED nice enough... Yeah, don't be me here.

Best wishes on the surgery and the recovery!

Also, after reading the thread: blah! I want a big ball hip! Oh well, mine'll need replaced in the next 10 years anyway. :|