How do you get longevity from your new hip?

321Evie

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I want to hear from all you experts on what NOT to do. I've been warned I will most likely need a second hip replacement later in life as I'm in my late 40s, but want to make sure I get a really good shelf life on the first one. I'm quite active, obviously not so much over the past year. I'll be happy if I never have to run again! Are there certain movements that wear it out more?
 
Hello @3211Evie - and :welome:

Please will you tell us the full date of your hip replacement and which hip it is, so we can make a signature for you? Thank you.:flwrysmile:

Hip replacements can last a long time nowadays, some of them as long as 30 + years, so a revision is not a certainty for you.

The idea of having a hip replacement is so you can resume your normal activities once you've recovered. You shouldn't have to spend your future life always thinking about how to preserve your new hip.

It's a good idea not to run or jump, because doing that might jar your hip, but most everyday activities will be OK.

Here's the recovery reading that we give to everyone with a new hip:
Hip Recovery: The Guidelines
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary
2. Control discomfort:
rest
elevate
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​
3. Do what you want to do BUT
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.​
4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these
5. At week 4 and after you should follow this
6. Access these pages on the website

Pain management and the pain chart
Healing: how long does it take?
Chart representation of THR recovery

Dislocation risk and 90 degree rule
Energy drain for THRs
Pain and swelling control: elevation is the key

Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it

Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

BIG TIP: Hips actually don't need any exercise to get better. They do a pretty good job of it all on their own if given half a chance. Trouble is, people don't give them a chance and end up with all sorts of aches and pains and sore spots. All they need is the best therapy which is walking and even then not to excess.

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.

While members may create as many threads as they like in a majority of BoneSmart's forums, we ask that each member have only one recovery thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review history before providing advice.
 
Thank you @Celle! That is good to hear. I've been taking is so easy this past year and a half so I don't do anymore damage. I suppose it's just embedded in my brain. I read somewhere someone had dislocated their hip crossing their legs?!?!

My surgery date for my left hip is Sept 17.

Also, Am I able to edit my subject line as I have a grammar error? Should read "How do you GET longevity from your new hip?"

Thank you!!!
 
Don't do anything dumb, what can I say?, it's mostly common sense. If you read posts you'll see that sometimes it's not something someone did, they just needed a revision. Not falling down is #1. It's more or less up to you and your body how far you want to push it. Most of this all relates to dislocation or breaking something not wearing anything out.
 
I've been warned I will most likely need a second hip replacement later in life as I'm in my late 40s
This is a bit of old school thinking. These days surgeons are talking about forever hips. Technology is on our side!

My only restrictions are no bungee jumping or parachuting. Since I am not interested in either activity I have no restrictions.
 
Thank you so much @Layla! I will make that article my bible :loveshwr:

@Jaycey I actually want to go hang gliding! Maybe I do it before the surgery? hmmm

Thanks @Eman85, I worry about falling now as I feel so unstable.
 
@321Evie, such a great question, one that consumed a lot of my time as I prepared for surgery. My surgeon literally gave me no restrictions other than stop doing something if it hurts. Oh ... for the first 8 weeks, he told me to resist the temptation to test the hip or see how far it can stretch and so on. But after that, do as I please. I was on the treadmill multiple times last week--running! ... I'm 8 months out from surgery and it took me a while to get some strength ... so I actually mix running and walking ... Literally I had and have no restrictions.

BTW: my surgeon made it clear that he couldn't guarantee that I would be able to run as I once did. He said for some of his patients, running just feels odd ... And he doesn't like to operate on people just to help them run again. He said he's pretty confident that the new materials (especially the cross-linked polyethylene liner) will last quite a long time.
 
@Going4fun that is amazing you are running! The thought of it now freaks me out. I miss yoga so much, I have always been hyper flexible which may or may have been a contributor to my wear and tear.

I already know I'll be getting the polyethylene liner, that was one of my first questions. My sister had the metal poisoning a few years ago :(
 
Great question @321Evie I used to love Pilates, but I think I will give it at least a year. After the investment of time, patience and money I also want to get out there and enjoy it all.
 
I can say that there are certain movements and stretches that I would be afraid to "push" too far. It still gets an odd feeling if I test it too much. At 6 weeks when I was able to reach for my feet there was an odd feeling when you felt you were going too far. It's much slighter now but it's still there.
 
Rest easy, science is on your side! The average life span of a modern hip replacement is reckoned to be around 35 years. But that's on a device that was made and inserted in 1980 +/-. For hips that are created these days, who knows what the longevity will be. And in any case, even given the life-span of 35 years, you will be almost 80+ before you even need to think about a revision! There are an awful lot of things can crop up before then, including big red buses with no driver at the wheel!
 
@Josephine I hope I get that much time out of it!

What's this about busses with no drivers?! :shocked:
 
That cracked me up [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]


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