Gents I hope you are all well....
Long story short I’ve struggled with an arthritic hip for years but it literally cripples me some days now so I’m biting the bullet and getting myself a new one!!
Any experiences, pre or post op tips welcome please, thank you.
Last edited by spuds; 3rd May 2021 at 17:12.
Try to get yourself in the best possible shape beforehand - that's a dilemma as you have to pick exercise carefully or it hurts!
Then follow rehab carefully, they will want you up and active asap.
I can’t offer any advice on this subject, but when I saw the thread title I was hoping it was posted in SC .
My Dad had his done recently aged 70 and I couldn't believe how well and rather easily he recovered. Post Op physio always done and did as he was told. You'd never know he'd had it done now.
Good luck with yours.
My next door neighbour had both his done in his 70s and was right as rain. One of my friends had one done in his mid 40s and it was too loose in the femur implant and had to be redone 6 months later though is now fine. Though he has had to give up running. Another anecdote I know through another friend is of someone in his forties who was a mad keen cyclist and had it done and was able to ride the pre Tour Alpe D'Huez race a month later. So like anything it depends but seems an overwhelmingly positive op to have.
Im unable to offer any advice.
My brother though, has had both his hips replaced.
He has also had a "new" knee..Whilst the knee was quite painful, he said he was really surprised, at how good the hip recovery was. Quite quick and relatively painless was his verdict on the recovery for both hips.
Thanks for the posts Gents, when I saw the consultant my original plan was to book it for the til end of this year, maybe six months so I can shed some weight and get fitter beforehand but he said “I really wouldn’t worry too much, do it anyway by all means but just seeing you walk and looking at your x-rays it must be bloody hard work exercising with that hip, trust me you’ll be running round like a big kid afterwards so I wouldn’t kill yourself beforehand”.
Nevertheless I’m determined to shed a couple of stone and resume at least daily walks between now and August.
I honestly think I’ve forgotten how to walk normally though, it’s my left hip that’s bad and I’m aware that I don’t bend that knee as I walk (I literally swing my leg), I was out with my wife walking the dog the other day and deliberately tried to bend my knee as I walked and ended up looking like something out of Monty Python!!
Flow the rehab instructions to the letter, do not push it if it feels better there’s plenty of time for that when the hip is fully bedded in and the healing process is well under way.
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Flow the rehab instructions to the letter, do not push it if it feels better there’s plenty of time for that when the hip is fully bedded in and the healing process is well under way.
Had my right hip replaced five years ago at age 68. Recovery went fast and I was walking a few miles per day within a month. After about three months I rushed to get out of my recliner to answer the phone and hurt something down there. Ever since, I've had pain both at the joint site and at the outer Great Trochanter (hip bone), which my orthopedist says is bursitis. I'm pissed that my recovery was progressing splendidly until I jacked it up jumping out of my recliner!
I don't have first hand experience of the operation but do have a lot of experience since my Dad designed the most popular implant used in Europe, The Exeter Hip. He would tell you that the two most important things are the skill of the surgeon performing the operation and the implant you have. His implant designs been used for over 50 years and uses bone cement to form a Morse Taper with the polished stainless steel implant, which gives excellent longevity due to the way the implant can creep in the bone cement over time.
The best place to find out about the longevity of the implant you are having is to visit the National Joint Registry at https://www.njrcentre.org.uk/njrcentre/default.aspx. You can also find out about surgeon outcomes there.
Had both mine done at a relatively early age - buggered them up with football and running - arthritis.
Pain free and relatively straight forward recovery. Have much more flexibility now than I had for the previous 20+ years. I have never regretted getting them done.
I found yoga very useful after a period of recovery/physio.
Good luck.
Thanks again Gents, and Sorry to read of your bursitis pacific, will that get better in time or...???
And Phil, my thanks to your Dad obviously, that’s no small claim to fame!
I’m 52 and although overweight I’m healthy enough otherwise so I’m optimistic and my surgeon seems very competent and certainly has good stat’s...
and Mark thanks for the tip, a salesman that calls in at my yard also recommended yoga (as well as Pilates) so I’ll be giving both of those a go.
Last edited by spuds; 3rd May 2021 at 21:17.
Clive Lee is responsible for millions of people walking pain-free again courtesy of the Exeter hip.
In my business that's Bono from U2 or Mick Jagger levels of fame and importance.
I have implanted many many Exeter stems, the engineering and taper slip is wonderful. There are papers out there quoting solid reliability rates at 44yrs of use! Amazing.
Hats off to your dad. An unsung hero of British engineering.
Brits invented and continue to perfect the hip replacement for the world.
Charnley of Wrightington
Ling and Lee of Exeter
McMinn of Birmingham.
The gods of hip replacement
Just had mine done 4 weeks ago.
I'm 59 pretty fit and strong but it's been hard going.
The op is pretty straightforward but the trauma to the leg is huge.
Managing to walk reasonably now without crutches but very limited distance.
Wound and hip site still sore and stiff but getting better by a miniscule amount each day
Do you prescribed exercises religiously both pre op and post but don't overdo it and rest is as important.
Elevate and ice leg if swollen oh and take your prescribed painkillers especially the first couple of weeks.
Any questions feel free to ask
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Noaksey thank you, and I hope yours improves daily mate....
had both of mine done,well in fact i have had 3 done but thats another story,it hurts for the first week,after that the pain starts to lessen then its plain sailing and after a year you dont even think about it.go for it.its made a huge difference to my life.
Last edited by greasemonkey; 4th May 2021 at 07:43. Reason: spelin
My wife (66) had hers done in July last year - best money we have ever spent. Given her a life back. By September all was good, walking and swimming without any pain. At the sports club I belong to, two friends have had theirs done, both cycling within a month,and running (properly) within 3 months.
Now 10 months later, my wife would never even think she had it done unless reminded.
After a misdiagnosis that cost me a few years of pretty ghastly pain, the result of the final emergency hip replacement was amazing. My advice to anyone contemplating the op is to do it as fast as possible, it's brilliant!
I too had the Exeter hip which I've now had in for thirteen years and not a sign of pain or problems since, it really changes your life. Having talked to others operated on in the same hospital, one factor became apparent that contributed to the succesful outcome definitely seemed to be the ability and experience of the surgeon doing it, so do your research!
As mentioned by others, the physio and exercise following the operation is vital to the result too so don't skip it... As I said it's a life changing procedure , you'll be surprised at just how good it is once your rehabilitated, which doesn't take long.
HI Doc
Talking of McMinn, are you able to shed any specialist light on what's the latest with re-surfacing? Last time I looked Cobb was about to start clinical trials using ceramic on ceramic to make it a process that could work for a wider demographic by averting the ion problem and associated testing regime.
Gents thank you again for all the positive and encouraging comments....
I'm paying for mine so can pretty much go whenever I like but have to tie it in around when I can get time off work, and it's booked in for mid-August.
I'm so glad someone said "best money we ever spent" as it's a fair chunk of money and we're off to the Maldives in Feb' (not my own ideal holiday but more of a five-years cancer-free present for my wife), so we're hoping I'll be more or less fully recovered by then (ie: six months after) and able to enjoy walking along the beach and snorkelling as well as not be crippled by the ten hour flight!!
Thanks again Gents....
I don’t have any personal experience to add, but I’m curious about the plans for pre-op exercise. If you’re struggling to walk in a normal symmetrical way at the moment surely there’s a risk of putting a great deal of strain on your other side - hip, knee, ankle, spine etc? From my sporting background this would typically have been the case, where over compensating leads to further problems. Just curious from a medical/biomechanics perspective whether it’s better to have the operation early with a longer rehab, instead of trying to get fit for a few months first.
Hope all goes well with the op either way!
Hello Phil, you're quite right in that I do indeed put a great deal of strain on my 'good' knee etc, and every week for the last year or more I've seen either a chiropractor or a deep tissue masseur (who I also do my 'personal training' with)...
He's absolutely mustard and has given me general as well as isolation exercises which help strengthen and straighten, and he's very much of the opinion that the stronger/fitter and healthier I am going in, the better I'll be coming out.
(To be honest I think this is pretty much common sense and no-one would argue).
The surgeon agreed with the above but also said that it would be best to have the op' sooner rather than later as a) I'm "not that overweight" [his words not mine!] and b) it'll be far easier to exercise afterwards.
There's a six-eight week lead in even self-paying though so that realistically takes us to the end of June and I'm (hopefully) away with the family the beginning of July....
The next time I can get away from work is mid-August which is when I have the op' booked for, so I'll use the time between now and then to lose weight and get fitter anyway.
Tribology eh?
Of the 94,677 hip replacement operations performed last year in the UK, 0.6% or about 600 odd people, were resurfacings.
This down from 10% of the total performed in resurfacing's peak year of 2006.
So it's died a death.
600 people out of 94,000 had a resurfacing, and that's including Andy Murray.
The vast majority of this work is Birmingham Hip replacements, because really the copies became untenable and there are many many lawsuits in the USA. Google search "Hip resurfacing AND lawyer"
The Birmingham is a metal on metal with a very high congruency.
If I needed a hip replacement, I'd go for a Ceramic on ceramic, although the fracture rate is still a possibility. Or just simple ceramic on polyethylene. Justin Cobb has done lots of work on this. Apparently the new ceramics don't fracture as much.
The low surface asperity of the ceramic causes minimal (compared to usual) wear. And it is said if the poly wears out in 15 years, you could just do a liner (poly) replacement and keep the ceramic head.
And I don't even replace hips. I do put the Exeter Trauma Stem ETS in for trauma (Thank you Mr Lee)
If the science of the bearing is interesting to you, this 2018 review paper is good: Full free text https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5994629/
Last edited by The Doc; 6th May 2021 at 16:14.
I was diagnosed December 2019 as needing a hip replacement. January 2020 the X-ray confirmed bone on bone wear on my left hip, with the right hip showing signs. I met with a consultant in May, then it went quiet. Then in September all systems go, operation due 7/9/2020. But a few days before, cancelled as the Consultant said he had found Haemochromatosis ? More tests later and a CT scan to rule out cancer. None found. January this Year, Mr Emmerson the consultant has talked to Mr Carluke who is eminently better suited to perform my hip replacement.
Now just waiting. All the time getting less mobile.
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Last edited by Yorkshiremadmick; 5th May 2021 at 07:10.
That's the plan, fingers crossed and thank you!
Great news that they didn't find any cancer obviously Mick, but that's a pretty crap chain of events for you.
Hopefully you get re-booked in soon but in the interim may I ask just how (i?)mobile are you?
On a good day I can walk (albeit limping/kind of 'swinging' my bad hip/leg) for half hour, even if it's hobbling but on a bad day I can struggle to stand.
(To be fair now that I'm acknowledging it to myself I can rarely stand up and walk without wincing and I generally pause and brace myself for the inevitable 'stab' before setting off to step if that makes sense?)
I'm hardly bed-ridden but I would say I have daily pain to a varying degree (and certainly wake with it most nights too) but I'm sure many people have it far worse than me so I do wonder if I'm being a big pussy and should maybe just man up and live with it, but on the other hand I think even worse than the pain and the lack of mobility, it just makes me feel old.
Quick update
In my 6th week post op now
Much less aware of the new joint now it's improved in the last 10 days
Walking well with no limp
New exercises from physio
Doing approximately 9,000 steps now over a day
Very happy
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Got both done within 8 weeks of each other in 2013/14.
Hadn’t been in pain beforehand just heat but post surgery constant pain afterwards.
Then 6 weeks ago I had to go to A&E as could hardly walk. Turns out I had a trapped nerve which has now ‘died.’ I’ve HAD NO PAIN AT ALL SINCE. UNREAL.
Good luck
My wife gets both knees done on 15 June!!!
Jim
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Got both done within 8 weeks of each other in 2013/14.
Hadn’t been in pain beforehand just heat but post surgery constant pain afterwards.
Then 6 weeks ago I had to go to A&E as could hardly walk. Turns out I had a trapped nerve which has now ‘died.’ I’ve HAD NO PAIN AT ALL SINCE. UNREAL.
Good luck
My wife gets both knees done on 15 June!!!
Jim
Interesting thread. My Mum's in for one in a coupe of weeks, privately as she's not prepared for the 18 month wait otherwise, can't blame her.
She's having an Exeter one so thanks Phil. Chap called Hall is doing it.
My impression is do as your told, don't over do it and don't dislocate it!
Thanks Spuds & Thanks Noaksey, Great to read, Fantastic doing 9000 steps.
I was doing 10,000 then boom.
Can’t wait to get it done.
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Good evening all.
Had a visit to the physio at the GP today as i’ve been in pretty excruciating pain for months now with sciatica and a dodgy hip. I’ve previously had a telephone consultation with a GP and have had to wait weeks for the visit. We went through a few very light stretches and explained what the issues were, namely the inability to walk for more than 5 minutes without feeling my hip/leg/knee were about to implode, along with what’s been like a permanent groin strain for a number of years. I have to say the though that the ‘gentle’ exercises, prodding and pulling have left me eating the Gabapentin like sweets today. It’s been a relief that masks have to to be worn as most days i’m sure my grimace would frighten horses.
Anyway, he’s referred me to the hospital on Friday for a scan as he feels it’s almost certainly the hip that’s the issue, sciatica playing a small part.
I’m the same age as you Spuds, only slightly over weigh and can manage the gym ok as long as i do no impact exercises. I used to run, play badminton, have walks in the country and anything in between, things that have been chopped one by one.
If there’s an operation necessary it will be done on the NHS.
Would anyone have an idea about the likely wait i’ll have and of my relatively young age will have any bearing on this?
Good luck to all those going through the process and thanks for posts.
Regards, and thanks in advance for reading the somewhat long-winded post.
Davidd
Jim, David I hope your wife and Mum’s op’s go ok, please do keep us posted.
Fingers crossed for you Mick and Davidd ‘I feel your pain’ I really do, the ‘permanent groin strain’ literally being a fair description of my last four or five years!
It was actually that permanent feeling of a pulled groin that originally prompted my first visit to the doc’s over three years ago and that’s when I found out I had arthritis, I’d never even considered it until then!
Re: NHS waiting times I think it’s very much area-dependent, I read online somewhere that since Covid hip/knee replacements are now very much down the line and can be three to five years now but on a personal level here in Essex I was told at least eighteen months, maybe two years or so.
I do hope you get yours sooner mate....
Last edited by spuds; 12th May 2021 at 21:29.
Hi Spuds, thanks for the quick reply and best wishes.
I just put the the groin strain down to over doing the badminton, the heavy wear of full on stops and starts etc and old age! Coupled with the sciatica it’s been pretty bad this year and I honestly don’t think waiting anything remotely like 18 months is a possibility to be honest though i’m not in a position to go private. I don’t fancy being on painkillers for that long either.
I’ll see what the people say when they’ve received the results of the scan and will take it from there and will report back.
Thanks again Spud and best wishes.
Good luck and please do keep us posted mate....
Thanks Spuds, will do!
A key problem with a defective hip joint is the referred pain experienced and also tightness caused by other elements compensating. So for me the IT band has always been a problem.
Not saying it will help for everyone, but I have found using a massage gun on IT band, glutes, etc has had a positive impact. Only word of warning is like a good sports massage, it can be a bit uncomfortable to administer, but just wanted to throw it out there as something which can help manage the symptoms.
Hi TGDW,
Just had a look at the list of exercises my physio has sent me, it’s very limited and they’re very much on the gentle side. Only 5 on it and they’re all something i’d have laughed at a few years ago as being too minimal if you know what i mean.
I’ve nly just looked at the list as the pain from yesterday’s examination is still very much there so I won’t be doing these today!