Impending Hip operation

jonesey10

Hello, I suffer from osteo arthritis in both hips and have been told that I will need my hips replacing within the next couple of years. Has anybody got any experience of this either first or second hand, I'm just wondering how long I'll be off my bike and how power/technique is affected after the op?

joshr96

Im not speaking from experience here but once you have it done, make sure you stay off the bike for as long as the doctor says even if you feel ready for it. My dad has always been a big fan of the sport, squash and has been playing it since his late teens. As he grew older, his knees got weaker yet he kept playing anyway. He hurt his knee by twisting it or something and it put him out of the game for quite a while. He went back to the game before the doctor recommended it and has suffered from the same problem about 4 times now. Its gotten to the point where he has just had to give it up which is hard for him.

Let this be a lesson. If you want to carry on cycling, make sure you do what the doctor says!

Hope this helped 8)

anto164

Yep.

Listen to the doc. Your joints will be fine, the only issue is muscle damage when they do the work. You'll probably be ff the bike for at least 3 months. Just listen to the doc and take their advise on board.

When i was in hospital last, i was told that i was going in for surgery to replace my hip socket. I got told that if it happened, i'd have been bed ridden for 4-6 weeks, then it would have taken months to get back walking properly. Luckily i went in for surgery, but got reassessed when under general and didn't need it.

The ward i was on, people were semi weight bearing after a few weeks but weren't walking properly for a while.

BTW, there's a hip operation thread around here somewhere. Loads of people giving their experiences.

Fat-Boy-Roubaix

Not first hand, nor cycling directly related but my wife has had both hips replaced she had total hip ball and socket.

First of all it is a really fast track recovery you tick boxes from the first few hours post op and on both occasions my wife has been out on day three. It seems much more pain free than you would think. The actual op you are not put under like you would be for other ops, I was able to speak to my wife on the phone almost straight out of the op and she was stood up within a few hours.

One thing she learnt was that she left the first op for far too long accepting all other methods of trying to improve her comfort, had she just asked she would have had the op much more quickly, and not have to have suffered like she did, I think you need to ask as it is considered as elective surgery.

You will get told to not to stress or stretch the joint, and not bend over beyond a certain angle, nor sit in certain postions so I would expect cycling will not be an option for the first 12 weeks. But they do encourage you to stay mobile. Depending how bad your hips were before the op you may have learnt to walk wrongly protecting the damaged hip so they will give you physio to test the movement and reteach you how to walk normally again.

Week four she was encouraged to get a excercise bike to improve the muscle strength, but it had to have a sit and beg position. If I were you I would talk to the consultant who approves you for the op, about cycling as their are a few different types of hip and he will advise you on this and post op excercise

brucey72

Hi,
I had total hip replacements of both my hips 15 years ago when I was 25. Mine are the Charnley type replacement with metal ball and plastic socket and have lasted well with no problems since the operations.

I had avascular necrosis which caused the arthritis and at the time of the operation couldn't walk further than about 50yds and was on crutches most of the time whilst trying to do my degree and hadn't been able to cycle for a couple of years. The operation wasn't too bad and I was out of bed after 24 hours. I started walking with a zimmer frame but quickly progressed onto two elbow crutches which I used for about 6 weeks. Physio for me involved learning to walk properly again because, as the poster above mentioned, you try and protect your damaged hip and I was 'throwing' my legs rather than walking properly. I was put on a static exercise bike after about 2 weeks and things just progressed from there.

After about 2 months I rode my bike outside for the first time in a couple of years but obviously used flat pedals as you definitly don't want to be twisting the hip at this stage. The most difficult thing was getting on the bike as I couldnt just lift my leg over the crossbar and even now I angle my bike at about 45 degrees to get onto it.

I now cycle regularly and do 100 mile rides in the summer without any hip problems and use clipless pedals. I have cycled a number of the big alpine cols and have did the marmotte sportive in 2009 and 2010 and don't think the hip replacements have hindered me at all. My surgeon who I see yearly for a check-up is happy for me to cycle as its a non weight bearing/non contact sport and he even signed my medical certificate which I needed for the french sportive.

It will be pretty hard work to get back to physical shape and I found it psychologically quite hard at first as I was so worried about falling off but in the last 15 years I have had two pretty bad crashes (once on ice and once when clipped by a passing car) and both times I landed on my hips and although I was battered and bruised, the x rays showed no damage so the joints are quite tough.

Best of luck and if there is anything else you want to know then please ask.

Brucey

kayakerchris

I would echo what bruce has said, except to say that these days the recovery is even faster. My colleagues now expect patients to be home in 24 hours and have even had same day patients! You need to ask if they have a planned discharge protocol. Also ask about minimal access surgery or small incision surgery. Harder for the surgeon but less damage inside so faster recovery.

jonesey10

Thanks so much for all the responses. I certainly feel a bit more positive about having the operation now. I'm not sure whether to wait until the hip pain gets unbearable or get it done soon.

kayakerchris

Only you can answer that question.

You need to draw up a list of things you can no longer do because of the pain and how bad the pain is and then on the other side put the risks.
First is 0.1% chance of death
Pulmonary embolus
infected joint - may never walk without pain again
heart attack on the table may need to have a stent, be on blood thinners for rest of your life.
etc,......

when the things you can no longer do are more important than the risks then have the operation.

best wishes
chris

Frank the tank

I'm waiting to have a "Birmingham hip" operation whereby the joints are re-surfaced with titanium.

A friend of mine who was a cyclo-cross national champion at veteran level, has had this done to both his hips and was doing 100milers about 12-14weeks post op. :shock:

Frank the tank

kayakerchris wrote:

Only you can answer that question.

You need to draw up a list of things you can no longer do because of the pain and how bad the pain is and then on the other side put the risks.
First is 0.1% chance of death
Pulmonary embolus
infected joint - may never walk without pain again
heart attack on the table may need to have a stent, be on blood thinners for rest of your life.
etc,......

when the things you can no longer do are more important than the risks then have the operation.

best wishes
chris

You're a barrel of laughs aren't ya!

jonesey10

kayakerchris wrote:

Only you can answer that question.

You need to draw up a list of things you can no longer do because of the pain and how bad the pain is and then on the other side put the risks.
First is 0.1% chance of death
Pulmonary embolus
infected joint - may never walk without pain again
heart attack on the table may need to have a stent, be on blood thinners for rest of your life.
etc,......

when the things you can no longer do are more important than the risks then have the operation.

best wishes
chris

:shock:
Well I wasn't worried before...
Thanks for putting my mind at rest.

Slack

A club mate in his late 60's had a hip replacement recently. He's was back in the saddle 13 weeks later.

Fat-Boy-Roubaix

[/quote]
:shock:
Well I wasn't worried before...
Thanks for putting my mind at rest.[/quote]

Everything carries a risk! It seems again due to the elective nature that they are required to read to you minutes before you are wheeled in a long list of what if's, Heart Attack was not one of them lol. The put you to spleep as opposed to fully put you under, you are then given an epidural. My wife was woken on the table as they were finishing off the stitching. They can also do it while you are awake, which I wouldn't fancy!

As far as deciding, my wife through fear of the op staved off the first op with Physio, Steriod injections and just sheer will power. It got so bad she couldn't even lay down in bed and was munchin pain relief all the time.

She had the second op 9 months after the first as soon as her other hip started to play up... She just went to the Doc, asked for a referral, then went to that and said she wanted a replacement the whole process the second time was very quick

grumpyoldbear

Hi Ihad a hip replacement end of sept was back on the bike again new year although very wary about doing so(still suffer slieght pain in groin area).Surgeon said i was ok to start riding after 2 months,i was walking without sticks after 6 weeks(I am 53) and have no problems with it whilst riding hope this is of some help,Trev.