broken hip recovery advice needed...............
Comments
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MARK311069 wrote:this what i have done to my hip this is exactly the same as my xray
I had that done in 1988, it lasted until about 5 years ago when the pain got that bad that i needed painkillers on a daily basis to function. I never got my full range of movement back though i could play football and ride a bike alright, the main problem was that my left hip would move out in an oval montion and would'nt go straight up and down.
Did he say how long it would last before you need a total replacement?0 -
He never said anything about needing a hip replacement. As long as I can play with my kids, ride my bike, and by able to work I will be happy0
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I was able to do all that after i had my pins inserted, they took them out 18 months later. The surgeon told me on his rounds that i would be needing a hip replacement later on in life. But when you're 16 you don't look that far ahead, if your surgeon didn't say anything then happy days. My hip was diseased as well and that caused the break, so maybe that's why i was told i would need one.0
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They will check you periodically for signs on AVN using x-ray (as presumably your pins will stainless steel). You cant have an MRI with steel implants like me, so its xray only. MRI is the preferred method for AVN detection. The MRI scanner magnetises the stainless steel screws and causes 'scatter' on the image, rendering it useless in the locality where you want to see. I believe titanium implants dont do this and MRI is possible.
At 2 years now myself, there is no obvious compromise to the cartilage between the hip ball and socket, and no degradation to the hip joint, so it doesnt look like ive been affected by AVN (so far) but the period which it is checked for ranges between 18-36 months in general by the NHS.
So it doesnt look like i will need a hip replacement right now, and the surgeon hasnt said i will need one. But as i get older, and perhaps he hasnt correctly aligned the ball on the neck of femur where it was, could cause premature wear or AVN strikes late stage and need a hip replacement in the future.
The stats are something like 44% of all internal fixated hip fractures result in future intervention (implant removal, non union, hip replacement etc etc).
So time will till if you need a hip replacement. Just be thankful at such a 'young age' you still have your own ball and socket.0 -
Just a quick note, my original operation to pin my hip lasted 24 years. I'm 40 now and i was a lot more active way back then. So it would be safe to assume that it'll be a while yet before either of you will be going under the knife or indeed the saw to get a Hip replacement.0
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24 years is a long time on a repaired hip!! i hope mine lasts that long!! I'll be in my 60's by then
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well 6 weeks in now and i think things are moving forward pretty quick, hip feels strong am able to walk without crutches if i want to, ( dont worry iam being carefull) i have been using the bike on the turbo trainer for the last week 30min sessions nice and easy, and doing leg extentions with ankle weights, hoping to find a physio private as my surgeon says i dont need it yet,( think hes trying to save the nhs some money), hopefully i will be back outside on the bike soon0
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Ha! Physio on the NHS? I never got offered it... The only sniff of an NHS Physio was when they discharged me, made sure i could use the crutches, go to the loo, and climb/descend stairs safely. Then kicked out of the hospital.
I went to get a private physio as soon as i left. I think it helped immensely. They even contacted the surgeon for the best way forward regularly for exercises etc regularly.0 -
I got a dislocated fracture of femoral neck 7 weeks ago as a result of a skiing accident. The fracture was fixed within 24 hours in a surgery using three cannulated titanium screws. No weight was allowed on the limb for the next six weeks. In the 6-week check, the limb was upgraded to full weight bearing, which I think is a good thing
I'm 45 years old.
Walking without a cane or a crutch is still a bit painful, so I'm using one when I need to walk. Light exercise on a stationary bike is completely painless so I'm doing it now, typically 10 minutes at a time, few exercises per day. It is truly astonishing, how completely the leg has lost its power in just a few weeks. If everything goes well, I should be back on both road bike and MTB when the season starts here in a couple of months. I don't have too big expectations about my level of performance this year. I'm happy, if at the end of the season the hurt leg has about the same power as the other one.0 -
Thought I would add to this topic, didn't want it to fizzle out... It's 2 weeks now since going over like a sack of spuds after not releasing from cleats, been on them for 25 years so put it down to old age, 46 yo. Thought it was a groin strain so left it 8 days before going to A&E, yes it was hurting a bit!! Xray showed intracapsular break to head of femur (broken hip) and the 8 day gap hadn't done me any favours. Chances are the ball is dead due to loss of blood supply. It took a bit of convincing the surgeon not to have a hip replacement there and then and go for a fix instead. As they said they are used to dealing with 80+ yr old women with this injury who are unlikely to want to do a time trial soon after. I think they said I have had some nails a plate and some screws put in but hopefully get more info next week when I go back to the hospital I was only in 24 hours so didn't get chance for too many questions. Was told a replacement was inevitable at some point in the not too distant future though.
I have an impressive 20cm cut in my thigh with 29 staples so quite a bit of muscle cut away. Doing my exercises religiously so hoping for some good physio when I can weight bear after 3 months on crutches to get me back in the saddle asap.
Worst thing has been making the calls and sending the e-mails cancelling sportive entries and putting off my LeJog ride until next year with discover adventure, brings it home a bit. Climbing the walls so happy to share how I get on with it all over the coming months.0 -
Hi LeonF
It's not inevitable that the bone will have died. I was 10 days before getting an intracapsula frature of my left hip fixed. I was told exactly the same that there was no way the bone would have survived, I'd need a hip replacement, not to expect to be able to ride a bike again, etc. Luckily the surgeon decided to give it a go with screws rather than a prosthesis. 18 months down the line it's still good. No signs of AVN, riding regularly and planning some long distance rides and TT's later in the year.0 -
Hi Tom G,
Thanks for the positive encouragement and well done with the recovery. Irony is at 46 I finally got time to get some decent riding in and had a full 2013 calendar of rides and events planned having lost a couple of stone in the last 12 months. In the shape of my life with nowhere to go so bit sorry for myself. Can almost see the weight going back on as I sit here in my chair!
Probably unfounded but my main worry at the moment is that our hospital only sees around one broken hip a year in someone under the age of 80. All post op physio seems to be directed towards the needs of the elderly so reckon a lot will be up to me on that front.
Anyhow it's early days and I have too much time on my hands to think and search the web at the moment, just ordered Floyd Landis' book to get his perspective on this type of injury despite the doping stuff etc.0 -
Tom G wrote:Hi LeonF
It's not inevitable that the bone will have died. I was 10 days before getting an intracapsula frature of my left hip fixed. I was told exactly the same that there was no way the bone would have survived, I'd need a hip replacement, not to expect to be able to ride a bike again, etc. Luckily the surgeon decided to give it a go with screws rather than a prosthesis. 18 months down the line it's still good. No signs of AVN, riding regularly and planning some long distance rides and TT's later in the year.
There wouldn't be an issue of you never riding a bike again after a hip replacement. I'm waiting on my operation for a total left hip replacement and was told that there won't be an issue at all. The only problem would be running or lifting weights and any other weight bearing activity.
I had the pins inserted in my hip 24 years ago when i was 16, that fix lasted until around 5 years ago when the hip started to get really painful riding the bike. That's when i started getting it looked at, my operation is down for sometime in Mid April early May.
Like a few others on here i haven't been able to do anything the last year almost and the weight is just slowly creeping on me. I've penciled in August for being back on the spin bike i have in the house and then being able to get out on the mountain bike on the road.....HOPEFULLY.0 -
Hi Leon,
Everyone seems to jump in and out of this thread as they need. Injuries like ours arent very frequent as they normally opt straight for the hip replacement than internal fixation. I asked my surgeon back in January how often he would see someone of my age with similar injuries, and he said roughly 1 in every 18 months (ish). Mostly all only people with falls going straight to hip replacement. Which is quite funny considering he did my Mother in Laws hip replacement late last year after she fell over putting the shopping away in the kitchen. She fell over a bag of shopping.... crack.
As for the delay? I wouldnt assume the bone has died. In the many hours of worrying for my prognosis, i have read quite a few studies which seems to suggest the delay isnt as crucial as you may think, but its the surgeon skill, quality of fixation, displacement, etc etc. So many other factors into play, and others have went longer than you according to studies and still not developed AVN. My odds after surgery were 33% risk, from a fully displaced intracapsular fracture, operated on 14 hours post accident.
Its just a waiting game now, do your exercises, get your xrays/scans, visit your surgeon and take his advice, dont do anything stupid and get a good physio.
I broke my hip on February 4th, i did a 10 hour in the May and the Kielder 100 in the September, so dont think your year is ruined. You wont be that competitive, but you will still be able to 'compete'.
Like others on this thread, one of the ironies is my hip has more latent pain if i dont actually exercise it.....0 -
Hi All,
New recruit here, 52 year old, neck of femur fracture (intra-capsular), DHS-DS fitted @16 hrs, I am now 12 days in and only finding my way with this. I am glad I found this great resource and have taken the time to read all 21 pages of it and hope to contribute in due course. I am reasonably happy with my lot thus far but my main concern is AVN and was given the wait 2 years and a 10<30% failure rate by the surgeon. I notice it is discussed quite a lot here but I don't recall anybody logging an AVN problem other than a possible 16yo after 24 years, and not even by contributors with 8 to 10 day delays in going in for surgery. Is it possible that the fixing techniques have improved over the years, the average age of contributors on here or something else that has all but eliminated this complication or am I missing something?0 -
Perhaps we are all part of the 66% who dont suffer from AVN, or our AVN struck and was not on the complete surface of the ball, or the main weight bearing parts, therefore 'mild' enough to have struck but not detected?
I wouldnt know myself without an MRI but cant have one because the steelwork, and xray only detects late stages.0 -
victorcarrera wrote:Hi All,
New recruit here, 52 year old, neck of femur fracture (intra-capsular), DHS-DS fitted @16 hrs, I am now 12 days in and only finding my way with this. I am glad I found this great resource and have taken the time to read all 21 pages of it and hope to contribute in due course. I am reasonably happy with my lot thus far but my main concern is AVN and was given the wait 2 years and a 10<30% failure rate by the surgeon. I notice it is discussed quite a lot here but I don't recall anybody logging an AVN problem other than a possible 16yo after 24 years, and not even by contributors with 8 to 10 day delays in going in for surgery. Is it possible that the fixing techniques have improved over the years, the average age of contributors on here or something else that has all but eliminated this complication or am I missing something?
I don't think the techniques have changed that much. I had 3 pins inserted in 1988 and removed 18 months later, then 24 years i'm getting a hip replacement. Todays operations are more or less the same from 24 years ago, but i'm sure they will have improved their technique over the years, well you'd like to think so anyway.
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Sorry to see Victorcarreras post and wish you well for a speedy recovery, you must have been in theatre more or less the same time as me! Anyway thought I'd post an update on my progress.
It's 13 days now since surgery and staples came out of the hip yesterday, 28 in all. Had a proper read of my notes with the district nurse and I also have a DHS with another screw to prevent rotation it seems. I have my first appointment with my consultant next Friday so will broach the subject of AVN along with the rest of the list of questions that are building up, when can I weight bear, walk, drive, ride etc. Not the most patient person in the world with these things unfortunately. Trouble with AVN it seems is that you won't know until x-ray shows bits of bone crumbling, as you say MRI no good as image is scattered by metalwork. Told likely 6 months to a year before it could show up so my posts could go on for a while as I'm keeen to share my experience either way for others.
Doing my exercises like a man possessed and funny thing is my broken right hip feels stronger than my good left one so looks like I have probably always favoured the right leg on the bike. Feels good to me but not doing anything silly so fingers crossed. Getting a bit of discomfort on a night through lack of movement otherwise the daily self administered Fragmin injections are the most painful aspect of the recovery at the moment.0 -
A quick update: I've been now off the crutches for two weeks (8 weeks from the accident). I've been happy with the speed of recovery so far. Riding the stationary bike with low resistance seems to be a good exercise once you've allowed to apply full weight on the leg. I've tried to get all the muscles of the leg involved. It's a bit harder than you might think. One thing that seems to work is to keep the cadence as high as possible without feeling any pain. I'm now riding at about 110 rpm without problems. The other possibly useful exercise I've found is to pedal at zero resistance using the hurt leg only. In the beginning, it is VERY hard and you want to stop pretty quickly. However, that exercise tells you, which muscles are still inactive in your leg.
As for walking, I'm still limping quite a bit and the max. walking distance per day is limited to less than a mile. I'm hoping to get back to (near) normal walking in the next month or two. Then it might be time to try the real bike on a real tarmac 8)0 -
Hope all you guys have a speedy recovery!!
Keep us posted of how well you get on.0 -
Quick update from me - First out patient consultant visit yesterday 3 weeks from op, pretty positive, told to carry on with crutches at 20 - 30lb weight bearing until next appointment in 3 weeks. Referred to physio for some muscle building work so looking forward to getting on with that. Third different consultant I have seen during the whole process so only worry is consistency of approach as this latest guy really shared my desire to get me back on the bike asap. X-rays every 8 weeks for 2 years to keep an eye out for the dreaded AVN, told DHS will stay in forever unless I need "intervention" at some point. Moved my LeJog ride across to May 2014, Laura at Discover Adventure transferred my registration fee over no probs so thats my big recovery target. NHS taking a bit of a knocking at the moment but all the staff at Hull Royal Infirmary have been great throughout.0
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Well i finally got my date for my Hip replacement, 12th April is D day. So all being well after that i'll be starting my comeback on the bike, 5/6 weeks non weight bearing and then building it up from there.
End of a very dark tunnel all being well.0 -
Good luck with that Liam.
Can I ask if you looked into, asked for or were offered hip resurfacing?0 -
Yes, good luck Liam, bet thats a relief, finally get rid of the pain and get you up and about again, will be really interested to see how you get on. Keep us posted.0
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simonfr wrote:Good luck with that Liam.
Can I ask if you looked into, asked for or were offered hip resurfacing?
I didn't look into it, nor was i offered it. I went for my 1st consultation last year and the doc just looked and asked how the hell i could manage with a hip that bad, he told me it was the hip of an 80 year old
. His only option in his opinion was replacement, nothing else in his mind would help me with the pain.
I was passed along to Musgrave Park here in Belfast where they do all the replacements, the surgeon there Dr O'Hagan had the exact same opinion. He had one look at the X Ray and MRI and recommended replacement, nothing else would have fixed the pain issue there. I'm getting before and after x rays done so i'll post them up when i'm back at it.0 -
Cheers Liam, Hoping its all going well on the run up to the Hip Replacement.0
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3 months! I got on my bike after bi-lateral hip replacements due to avascular necrosis both times in six weeks - just pedal piano piano with the saddle up an inch or two, but for christ sake don't come off. I found the turbo was torture because it doesn't allow you to freewheel case you get into difficulty or need a break - get a set of rollers with a T-Bar attachment and it provides much gentler and smoother resistance without having to put an Argos catalogue under the front wheel.
I found it easier to cycle than to walk. 16 years since my left hip was replaced and 10 years last month since my left was revised (long story). Right hip has been good since 1998.
I'm praying I have a while to go before no. 4 and 5 as they only last 15-20 years although I hope that the regenerative hips developed at a Glasgow University will be available by the time I need revisions.
If only Campagnolo made hip...
Good luck.seanoconn - gruagach craic!0 -
exactly! if you do need a new hip do your research about the surgeon and the manufacturer of the prosthetic hip.
i decapitated my femur in italy 18 months ago and fortunately my surgeon was quite brilliant. It helps that he is the leg/vertebrae surgeon for the Italian national rugby team. He gave me a 10% chance of success when all other consultants decreed only a new hip would do. O how they enjoyed discussing a borderline case!
it is a hard road to recovery and noone really understands the internal torment, but the determination to return better and stronger is a necessary virtue that one can always refer to thereafter.0 -
pinarello001 wrote:3 months! I got on my bike after bi-lateral hip replacements due to avascular necrosis both times in six weeks - just pedal piano piano with the saddle up an inch or two, but for christ sake don't come off. I found the turbo was torture because it doesn't allow you to freewheel case you get into difficulty or need a break - get a set of rollers with a T-Bar attachment and it provides much gentler and smoother resistance without having to put an Argos catalogue under the front wheel.
I found it easier to cycle than to walk. 16 years since my left hip was replaced and 10 years last month since my left was revised (long story). Right hip has been good since 1998.
I'm praying I have a while to go before no. 4 and 5 as they only last 15-20 years although I hope that the regenerative hips developed at a Glasgow University will be available by the time I need revisions.
If only Campagnolo made hip...
Good luck.
I've a spin bike in the house that i'll use to get the legs spining again, wouldn't go anywhere near my bike for the next 3 months. I've also built up an old mountain bike with slick tyres that will allow me to get up and down the hill to my house. Certainly need a more relaxed position before i get on my Venge and start putting the miles in again.
The hip that i'm getting is Titanium with a Creamic bearing, the shaft itself will be cementless0 -
LiamW wrote:pinarello001 wrote:3 months!..blah..blah...Good luck.
The hip that i'm getting is Titanium with a Creamic bearing, the shaft itself will be cementless
Thats good - my infection of the left femur was in the cement. 1 in 25 contract bone infections post replacement and these odd are cut down with cementless.
Try get a picture of the post op x-ray for us seanoconn - gruagach craic!0
