Osteoarthritis Hip Diagnosis
 

Hello Gents:

Has anyone here in this forum been diagnosed with osteoarthritis in the hip?



Thanx........ Stv

Not in the hip, but some severe osteoarthritis in right knee since early 40's, now 54. I'm not sure that applies as the knee is significantly different, but I would be happy to share my experiences.

NEVER GIVE UP

Stv,

I was diagnosed with the same condition with the quote "you need a new hip", with no other options. My daughter, a Physical Therapist, advised not to wait, I'd only have more pain and get weaker. I had to wait three months until the surgery date and I trained with miles and weights as if for an event. Cycling never was painful, and preferable to walking, and the miles kept me in shape. I did as much with the Cybex machines as I could, mindful that my upper body would be my main source of power for awhile.

My non-medical opinion is to do as much as you can without pain. I would expect that you are going to need a new hip too, and that's not a bad thing. One year later, my leg strength and flexibility is greater than before the surgery and I am pain free. So stretching, lifting and cycling are all good for you, in my opinion as long as there is no great pain. In my case, the pain of walking increased sharply over just a few months, and that was the best indicator that it was time for a new hip. The doctor confirmed after he had taken it out that it was in bad shape.

Best of luck. My advice is keep doing all you can do if only to keep up your morale and mental health. None of us reading this are meant to be "couch potatoes"!

Jax and Mono ...
 

...... thank for your responses.

Mate, having had both knees replaced due to osteo I can tell you that the stronger your muscles are
the better you will get along and , this is really important, the better faster you will heal after surgury.
So go with the advice your trainer wants you to do. As to cycling....follow your doctors advice there
also and cut back. That's not the same as quitting.

As to the time frame you're dealing with.....That depends on your body. I went 5 years from first
pain to surgury table on my knees. Some folk's live in pain for a long time before they get new joints.
The really important point on hips & knee joints is "service life" of the implant joint which is another
reason to have very strong muscles to take the strain instead of the joint. Strong equals longer joint
life all things being equal. One thing you DON'T want to do is out live a new joint as the second time
on the surgury table is not a good thing.

Best of luck,mate. Follow the very good advice you are getting from your caregiver's. They really do
mean to help you.

My advice is if you need a new hip, get it. The pain (from the ailment, not the surgery) goes away and you soon forget you are the 60 million dollar man. My daughter needed a hip at age 25 and when she had her 13 year checkup this year, the doc announced there was no wear. Muscles are what holds that whole assembly together and the stronger the muscles the shorter the recovery. So, assuming materials and methods have progressed over the last 13 years, a surgery done today will last many more years. Good luck.

Stv: I've been diagnosed with the same in both hips. Told I'm looking at both being replaced. Was advised to wait as long as I could bear the discomfort/pain. In terms of cycling I did find that my hips (right more than left) would flair up from time to time. I worked with a physical therapist to get my saddle height and tilt right, because if it is slightly off and my hips rock at all I'm in agony the next few days. With my seat dialed in, I can pedal for hours at a time with less ill effect than a simple one mile walk. If I can hold off for a few more years, they may continue to make advancments on the surgical technique and the replacement parts themselves. Being in my 50s I think this is the route I want to go. I might think differently about it if I were in my mid 70s or 80s... Then I'd assume that getting it done sooner would be better than waiting.

A strong cardiovascular system will help you through the anesthesia and other trauma of the surgery. As long as you can maintain an aerobic exercise program, do so, but once the pain starts to compromise that, strongly consider going ahead with the surgery. Having said that, I do concur with NOS88 that tomorrow's technology will be better than today's, but that is always going to be the case with any medical procedure.

Well Gents, thank you all for your input ...........

+1, my thoughts on joint replacement, in my case a kneee. I was told at age 40 I should consider knee replacement, and too old to repair an ACL less I wanted 2 years of rehab. PT and weight loss helped. At age 49 I had an ACL replaced and knee rebuilt and was walking the next day. All due to advances in medicine.

Thanx Mono,

Stv,

I think you are getting good advice from all replies. I am in your camp with moderate weights and higher reps, along with aerobic exercise. I was 63 and 165 lbs the year of my surgery (2005). In my case, it was about three months of hip pain before I went to the doctor, and by then the joint was totally opaque on the x-ray. By the end of another three months waiting for my surgery, it was very painful to walk, still painless to bike.

I had in-home physical therapy for four weeks. I used a walker to get around for that time and went to a cane at the end of the four weeks. I lost 10 pounds in the month, mostly muscle atrophy. I could not lift my leg one inch off the bed for the first two weeks. After the therapist left for the last time, I immediately got on my bike to do very slow rides around the block to start shaking out the cobwebs. I also resumed workouts in the gym and was able to regain full leg strength in four and one half months. I continued to increase weights to 125% of my pre-surgery level to further strengthen the leg muscles. Climbing stairs was the last challenge during that period. I'd climb the steps into a regional jet one step at a time hoping no one would notice!

I received a ceramic coated hip. www.stryker.com has great info on hip replacments. As one poster said, the new hip will easily last the rest of your life. If my experience is typical,and I don't know if it is, I would get on line for that new hip ASAP. Find a doc that only does joint replacements, that is critical. It is very specialzed surgery and you want a minimally invasive technique. I was left with a four inch scar that healed very quickly. AS before the surgery the obvious care you take in evaluating your workouts now is key to a quick and complete recovery. You read about all these stories of people not being able to function after joint replacement and it is my belief that most just don't work as hard as we do to get back in shape. It is work, and it can be painful, and you have to have a positive attitude to persevere, something all of us a cyclists seem to have in abundance. The hip is the easiest joint to replace and to recover from, so that is a blessing over the knee and shoulder problems. I hope you can get it done ASAP if it is needed.

Jax,

I agree, good advice all around and well taken I might add.

Hi,

Looks like you've got plenty of replies and good info. FWIW, I'll go ahead and add mine. I was diagnosed with OA in my right hip in 1998. Dr said I'd need a new hip within 5 years. Well, it's been 9 years and it's no worse. If anything, I think cycling (any distance) actually helps me. The only real pain I have is from what I call "flair ups" that aren't always linked to any specific activity. I can do a 50 miler on the bike and walk around like a normal person, or push the mower in the yard for 30 minutes and limp around for a day.

I do have less mobility/flexibility on the right side due to what I think is a spur in the joint. Even though it's painful, I still stretch hip flexors as much as possible. When I do have pain I take 1000mg of Ibuprofen, the same dose the Dr. prescribed for pain long ago. This may only be several times a month.

I do work out in the gym, but nothing specific to this problem. I used to do the Glucosamine business but can't really say it did anything at all.

Wish you well!!!
-Milt

Thanx Milt,

I should be so lucky !

Stv

Stv,

Most of your report was over my head, but the great news to me was "slight to modererate OA of the right hip and very slight narrowing of the left". If I understand the situation correctly, you have a long way to go before total replacement is needed. As I said, I had what looked like severe OA on the X-Ray plus the physical examination of the removed hip confirmed that.

Having no medical training, I suspect that the old injuries present you with more problems than the hip by itself. I have found that old injuries cause new ones as our bodies and our behaviors are altered to compensate for them. This causes imbalances and stress in other places and they ultimately fail.

I remain a proponent of the "use it or lose it" philosophy for those of us over 50. Do what you can, have fun and make the best of what God gave you. I think that is all we can do!

Jax,

Thank you again for your input and your support.