Can I Run Again?

[Kari]

I am 52, and used to routinely jog/run up until pain (in knee actually) became severe. I need a THR and my orthopedist has told me that I would be able to jog again, but everything I have read says no more "high impact" exercise.
Can any runners give me some guidance? Thanks, Kari

 

[wizzard]

i am almost 7 weeks out from thr.i am a former runner.i ran a few marathons and really relied on running as part of my life.i have not run since 2003 because of my hip condition.now that i have had my replacement i could not see the point of wearing down a perfectly good new joint.the way i look at it it will last longer if you do'nt abuse it .

 

[Josephine]

Have you read this thread?

 

[wizzard]

like the story said she did some swimming and biking.thats much different than running.do'nt get me wrong i love to run and i would love to believe that i can again.but the impact and jarring of distance running cannot be the best thing.for me personally i have a 3 year old and a 1 year old.i believe it would be selfish and irreasponsable to do it.plus today you can get a good workout with an eliptical machine with no impact.again i never thought i would say that because i hated those machines and scoffed at the idea of biking.i'm not sure if that thread by josephine was encouraging running or discouraging it.i really can't tell.

 

[ripanco]

HI Kari,

I am ususally hesitant to answer posts like this, cause I know it will cause a big brew-ha....but here goes.

I had simultaneous bilateral THR in May '05 at 53yrs of age. At that point in my life, I was an avid athlete, running, skiing, biking, rollerskiing, hiking, yoga, weight training ect. But it got harder and harder to enjoy my passions as the pain in my hips progressed. I tried every alternative for 3 yrs with little relief and saw multiple 'specialists'. I finally was sent to one of the top hip surgeons in the country who told me the bottom line was both hips needed to be done within the year!

My good doc spent a lot of time with me and my DH asking us just what we wanted out of the surgery and of course I told him I would love to be able to return to all my athletic endevors. He was pretty comfortable with just about everything but not thrilled about me running. We kinda came to a compromise where I would do only short distance, soft surfaces, cushioned shoes and sock and such. Good enough for me!!

Thanks to my fitness, I breezed through the surgery, setting a record for shortest hospital stay for bilateral THR (2 days), and recovered faster and easier than expected. I did work hard at it, but it paid off. I have been able to return to everything I want. I have also returned to horseback riding, after a 25 yr hiatus, and now own, love and show a lovely Hanovarian mare in eventing.

I certainly do not run like I use to and I do miss those LSD runs with my DH, but I am not afraid to put in 20-30 min a few times/week. At my 2 yr checkup, my hips looked so very good that my OS lifted all restrictions and told me "Go for it!". I have a good friend/neighbor who just had 1 hip done in April and he is back to soft surface running 3-5x/week with his surgeon's blessing. Obviously, not all surgeons would agree with this, but there does seem to be a fair amount of OS who are pretty confident in their work to feel it is acceptable. Sounds like you found one! I think a previous level of fitness is an important point. There is something to be said for a high level of muscle, tendon, ligament involvement in supporting and protecting the prothesis. If you look hard enough, you can find many athletes in all fields with THRs, still going strong after many good years.

A lot also depends on what you want out of life and your new hips. For most folks, running just is not that important. But for some, it is a passion, a way of life. And, NO, swimming or biking cannot replace it. So it is a choice we have to make. It may or may not lead to a shorter life span, but the quality of that life may make the risk worthwhile. I have only to look at my own parents. Dad at 85 with a 35 yr old hip. He continued to professionally ski, mountain climb and be very active until several mini strokes and an arthritic back slowed him down, but hip is still good! Mom at 83 with 2 TKR also very athletic but now sits in a bed with Alzheimers and Parkensons, unable to use her still functioning knees. Yea, genetics!

At any rate, after my long winded speech, you and your surgeon have the final say. I can tell you there is life after THR, wonderful life. If I can give you a bit of advice it would be to get strong before your surgery. Really strong. Cut back on your cardio training and concentrate of strength training your entire body. Best of luck to you and if you can, come back and let us know how you do.

Andrea

 

[Josephine]

Kari, I was talking to my chiropractor this afternoon and told him of this quandary of yours. He suggested that you would be better with Pose Technique of running as it reduces impact on the knee (and therefore the hip) by as much as 50%!. That sounds like it's right up your street!

broken link removed: https://www.posetech.com/library/dr-02-04-004.html

BTW, I didn't mean to suggest that the lady in that post was like your situation, merely that it was a great testimony that hips can and do take a lot more punishment that we sometimes give them credit for - which ripanco's post has just confirmed!

 

[BCOLE]

any guess-timates on HOW LONG before (short distance) running is possible??

 

[Josephine]

Hmm - at a wild guess, I wouldn't want to test it until at least 4 months, maybe even more.

 

[ripanco]

any guess-timates on HOW LONG before (short distance) running is possible??

I do not think there is a definative answer to that question. There are so many variables. Age, physical condition, type of device/surgery, your surgeon's advice and of course what do you consider short

I tentatively tested the waters right after my 6 week checkup, but VERY short (2-3 min) on perfectly level mowed grass. It felt sooooo good! But, most of my training to get back in shape was less impact such as pool running (the VERY best!), rollerblading, hiking, biking. My surgery was in May so I had summer activites to work with. I still have lowered the amount of running and increased my less impact activities. I just can't totally give up the urge to run at least some.

Now my more dedicated (obsesed) friend is back to 4-5 days/week of 30-45 min runs. He had his surgery in April '07 and was starting to run in about 10-11 weeks post. But then he is crazy However, even tho he is a former multiple marathoner, he has decided to forgo that type of distance and training so that he can balance the need to run with the need to stay out of surgery.

I think Josephine's estimate of about 4 months is a good average goal. Certainly nothing serious before that.

Josephine: You hit an important part of returning to athletics following surgery. I had to totally relearn how to walk then run since I had made so many bad compensations in my gait from the hip pain. It meant dealing with knee and back issues until they got use to the new hips too. I have learned how to run with less jarring, and I do a lot of hills which is less pounding (up). Chi running is another way of moving smoother.

Andrea

 

[Swright]

For those of you who still run even short distance, what type of THR surface did your surgeon use?

 

[ripanco]

For those of you who still run even short distance, what type of THR surface did your surgeon use?

I was convinced by my research that I wanted ceramic/ceramic. However, my OS, who I have full trust in, and uses all materials, suggested metal/poly for me! I was at first very sceptical, but he spent a good amount of time with me and DH going over the pros and cons and showing us actual prothesises. He felt that the new highly x-linked poly would hold up better and actually provide a small amount of shock absorbtion. He was slightly leary of ceramic in high impact just because of the very low but present chance of breakage, which would be a mess. So I have a shiny titanium alloy/highly x-linked hip! My crazy runner friend has ceramic/ceramic from a different surgeon who uses this on many runners.

At my 2 yr checkup there was absolutly no sign of wear and the hips were nice and tight. Two years is not long, but he still felt I could get a good 20 yrs. Fingers crossed!!

Andrea

 

[Swright]

This is good to hear since my OS wants to use the X3 cross-linked poly with a ceramic head.

Not sure I would ever run, but I am looking forward to walking without pain, and doing some weight lifting without pain, and being able to walk down stairs at the gym when I watch my 13 yr old wrestle without thinking I might take a tumble.....

Amazing how many places have bleachers with very few hand rails. I almost feel like I have to yell "look out below" before I head down.

 

[DannyR]

Kari,

I miss running so much. I'm 52 and competed in many triathlons where training took upwards of 20 hours a week. I had three hip operations in 07, an arthroscopy, an osteotomy and finally THR. All the surgeons recommended no running.

My friends have made different choices, those with THRs. One of them won a 1/2 Ironman this fall (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 1/2 marathon). We all have to make the choice for ourselves. There is no question at 8 weeks post op I think I'll run again. We'll have to see if common sense takes over.

Best of luck with the procedure

Danny

 

[Flluffycat]

I wouldn't do it. I figure if my joints were bad enough to be replaced, I'm not going to further abuse them and the replacements by engaging in a high-impact exercise. In my case, I also have severe (oseto) arthritis in my neck so that colors my judgement--the last thing I need is to be jolting that area.

 

[Ginny]

Hi Andrea,

How long after surgery did you start yoga? I

~Ginny

 

[ripanco]

Ginny,

Since we do yoga/pilates/stretching on a daily basis, I just started resuming the easiest poses (salutations) right away. I just stayed away from anything that would involve increasing flexiblity in my hip joints and certainly anything that would break my restrictions. At this point, I have no restrictions, but there are still some poses that I will not/can not do such as pidgeon. I still do not do many things to make my hips joints more flexible, I like having them a little tight, seems to help keep things stable.

We started going to a new class geared to riders, that was devised by a Physical therapist who is also a Grad Prix dressage rider. She used a mixture of yoga/pilates and strength training. Absolutly fantastic. I was so please to be able to tell a difference within just a few weeks. Strong core with flexiblity. It was not long before we had skiers, sailors, runners as well as non athletes joining us.

Andrea

 

[Kari]

Thank-you to everyone who has responded to my original question about running.
Your comments were helpful - and I do intend to jog again,just not as far, as frequent, or as fast.

I am now one month out of surgery, and concenrating on biking and walking distances at the moment. I had cermaic/ceramic, as well as the anterior method of THR, which meant no restrictions.

There are days I feel so great I want to break into a jog, but am resisting.
Kari

 

[phoggie]

Run??? I just want to be able to walk with limping and pain. I am 8 weeks out and my knees and back are hurting badly. I get so impatient wanting to just be "normal" again. I see others who have bounced back so quickly, and then there is "me". I sure hope this can is not my permanent partner.

 

[DannyR]

We all go through the, "why am I slower to heal" syndrome. I'm a week under 4 months out from THR and here are my observations.

Take 1 day at a time. You will progress but not in a straight line. Day 30 may be worse than day 25. It is a very gradual recuperation. Remember when you could not roll over in bed, and now you are on a cane. That is progress.

Do not press the PT. Stop before your body says "I hurt". You've had major muscles cut in the operation and it takes months for these to heal, let alone function properly to support your hip. Remember we all were compensating prior to the operation, overusing some muscles and underusing others. Your abductors are now firing on all cylinders, which in most cases were comprimised/underused prior to THR. Not only are you working muscles that are healing, you are retraining muscles you have not used properly for years and have atrophied. THEY WILL COME BACK.

GET IN THE POOL. Movement in the pool is much less demanding, and you can do 1000% more in the pool than on land.

Walk........the best all around exercise once you can move with some discomfort.

You will roll out of bed one day and forget that your hip was repaired!!!

You can run again. Should you run, will be an individual decision. I had completed a Half Ironman prior to surgery - 1.1 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run. At 4 months I can do the swim, and took my first bike ride yesterday. One mile! It was the most enjoyable mile I ever rode.

 

[Josephine]