Originally Posted by
rex615
The doctor never actually said that cycling had caused his problem, he said it was arthritis.
Also the spin portrayed in the show was that Tom didn't want to get the surgery because it meant not being able to ride for the several month required for the recovery from the surgery.
Reality TV is still just entertainment. Unfortunately I admit I find it entertaining.
It's hard to say whether his osteoarthritis was caused by cycling, but it certainly is making it worse. The constant movement of his hip joints is just causing further damage and is at least speeding up the degenerative process from osteoarthritis. And as the surgeon mentioned, these things do not get better over time.