THR For those who REALLY want to run or jog or similar ......

[Mamarey]

I cannot imagine the thrill of being able to run again. I found out almost two years ago that what I thought was a pulled groin muscle, was actually my hip without cartilage. Today, I am now scheduled for anterior left hip surgery at the end of May. I am on a cancellation list for an earlier date. It is not recommended to run post surgery, but maybe it is something I can do on the treadmill on an occasional basis. I miss it so much. I just look forward to being able to resume my normal physical activities without pain. I am maintaining my treadmill walks of 5 miles as well as my elliptical and weight workouts. I had to give up yoga, as I could no longer do most of the poses.

 

[rider1960]

Mamarey, did you check into hip resurfacing? It generally has no restrictions and there are people running without problems. Not every hip surgeon does resurfacing, so it's important to get a consult with one who is experienced in doing it.

Dorothy

 

[hokieminer]

Z, I was surprised that you can never run on roads again. Is this based on your doctors advice or your own personal experience? I am scheduled for a THR next month and my doctor encouraged running after my recovery. He said nothing about restricting it to off road only.


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[Z15]

Hokieminer,

You may or may not know...most docs (I won't guess at a %) say no to impact sports post THR including running. My surgeon is ok with it but advised me to stick to trail running, which is more shock absorbing than asphalt or concrete. As I tend to blame road running for a fair share of my cartilage loss, I was totally ok with the advice and am happy to comply.

You're right....that is not a universal rule.

Mamarey, I totally know how you feel about the desire to run. I'm 7 weeks post revision and 2 weeks before my next and as I started to head out on a mountain hike the other day I thot...WHAT THE HECK, I FEEL LIKE RUNNING. But after 30-40 strides I remembered that I need to get a particular kind of metal out of me due to a corrosion issue (hence the next revision) and I backed off. But the 30-40 strides still felt good...

And I have been on some treadmills that are VERY cushy. Unfortunately, I would tend to say that the more expensive high end models tend to be built (and feel like running on) tanks.

Z

 

[Butterfly]

I, for one, will never run on asphalt again, as I believe, and my surgeon agrees, that the impact of running on non-yielding surfaces like asphalt and concrete contributed greatly to the failure of my native hips. I am not sure I'll ever really try to run again on any surface, because, though I loved running, it just isn't worth jeopardizing my ability to have a mostly pain free life with my new hips. Sure, I miss running, but I missed the other things more (like walking across my kitchen without pain, walking my dogs, shopping, just plain living) WAY more. I do hope I can get back to riding my bicycle around the neighborhood, though.

I'm still relatively early in recovery (hips are 9 and 3 weeks old, respectively) and I'm presently rediscovering the joy of doing ordinary things -- today my DIL took me to the grocery store and I was able to WALK (by leaning a bit on the grocery cart) through the store and get my groceries!! WOW -- I felt like shouting to the crowd of other shoppers "Look at ME!! I am WALKING!!" My much-loved DIL took a video of me on her phone to send to my son who is out of town so he could see me walking.

Peace and love to all.

 

[Z15]

Hi folks,

Updated piece of advice on this old thread.

I ran a 5K a few weeks ago...something I do occasionally. I stick to "Trail Races" to allow me to stay off roads. This race was a fund raiser for the animal shelter where volunteer and I learned that the first 3/4 mile was on pavement before it went off the road. I figured, no problem.

And in the end, it wasn't a problem. But I had a few sore weeks where I was not entirely sure of that. My fake hip ached more than it has in quite awhile and I was reminded of how things felt pre-THR. Just a smidge "scary".

I just wanted to say that following the rules that we follow is for a good reason. I won't do a race where there is pavement involved again...or if I do, I'll walk that part. Discretion *IS* the better part of valor...

I ran OFF ROAD on the trails behind my cabin yesterday and the Vermont colors could not have been prettier. Made me grateful for what I can do...

Z

 

[aprilc]

4. MANAGE YOUR ENDORPHINS - It's easy to ignore warning signs of trouble. I mean, WHY should you worry about that Achilles that seems tight, it was your HIP that you had surgery on, silly!
You certainly don't want to mess up your hip...but pushing too hard (due to adrenaline and endorphins) will lay you up no matter which muscle/tendon/joint you beat on. AND other parts may have the additional challenge of adjusting to a new geometry, or (I hate to say it) may be being forced to compensate for a weak something else. In my own case I think my hamstrings were getting abused cuz they were somehow doing double duty. Listen to your body with your brain, and not your heart, for awhile.

Boy did I need to hear that today. Wanting to feel those endorphins and since I'm not, and not breathing heavy and not feeling any type of burn in my muscles I feel like I'm not doing anything. So at 3 months I find I'm doing too much and actually prolonging my pain. I'm not a runner but I love to work out and walking a mile isn't working out to me but it's all I can do right now and I HAVE to get that through my thick skull. Josephine's been telling me to cool it but I HAD to go to the pool yesterday and do some swimming (the weight I've gained since surgery - well before surgery is making me crazy!) so I went swam a measly 500 yds - 1/2 of it just pulling (no kicking) and, of course, I paid for it afterwards and last night was a tough night sleeping. I may have finally come to accept the fact that I need to cool it for about a month. Endorphins and the work outs will be there waiting when I'm ready.

@Knitter4444 Actually you do need a PhD to be a therapist now in the states. It changed recently, the already practicing PT's were grandfathered in with their masters.

 

[Jaycey]

@Z15 John, it's great to see you back here. Thanks for the tip. We get this question constantly so it's good of you to share your experience. There is indeed life after THR (or multiple THRs for some of us) but we need to go carefully on that new hip.

Gorgeous image of the fall colors! Thanks for sharing! Please do keep in touch!

 

[sharonslp]

Always a joy to hear from you, Z, and love your Vermont colors. We haven't hit peak in my part of Michigan yet, although it's always a toss-up as to whether the weather will play havoc and knock the leaves off the trees before they reach perfection. I'm enjoying trails from the comfy seat of a recumbent trike this fall, and loving every moment. So glad you are finding ways to return to your beloved running.

Sharon

 

[waterman1]

Hey Z, great stuff my man. I may have missed this, but I suggest to all my adrenaline junkies on here to jog in the pool for a while. Get waist deep or more, find the right depth that works for you and jog. You will be surprised how low the impact is, and how good it feels!

 

[alexthecat]

John, it's good to see you again. I do about 80% of my runs on trails. I love being out there in nature, especially this time of year. Autumn has always been my favorite season and I'm trying to make the most of the opportunity for trail running, backpacking, and mountain biking, before the weather turns colder. I had an awesome ski season last year, so there's always that to look forward to as well.

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[Z15]

Waterman,

Due to a variety of mishaps I only had one pool session and loved the feeling. It was pretty early on, I wore a flotation belt and "ran" around the pool upright using just my legs (and NOT touching the bottom). REALLY good feeling and would recommend that everyone give this a try. Mine was an issue of insurance clearance causing a delay followed by some nasty winter weather closing the facility near me otherwise I would have done more.

 

[lovetowalk]

I am just happy to be able to walk for a hour without pain! My husband is a cross country coach and runs a large running camp for high school athletes every summer. At camp we use Aqua Joggers for athletes who need the training without the pounding. They first clear that with their docs, but the water jogging provides an excellent workout.

 

[Z15]

Hi folks,

A Bonesmart friend of mine suggested that I share a recent activity I did. Since I purchased my cabin back in 2007 I had imagined that a hike to a mountain peak across the valley would be a fun thing to try starting at my front door.

In the pictures I show the peak from my front porch and a GPS capture of the trek I did. (I went out the red to yellow line and came back the purple to red line...)

It covered about 13 miles and gained about 3600 feet and I did it in just under 5 hours.

My fake hip was totally fine on some fairly rugged and occasionally steep trails. My knees and quads were less ok with the trek. We *CAN* remain active!

Be well all,

Z

 

[Jaycey]

@Z15 Hi John! As always great to see you here. Thanks for your inspiring post. It's great to hear from someone who has been through the journey and come out the other side enjoying life. Well done!

 

[sandiegomom]

Really fantastic post, I'm going to print it and re-read it as I recover. Thank you!

 

[Hip Hip Hooray!]

Thanks for the post. It's very well written. As a professional dancer, I had a tendency to overexercise. Now, I'm getting the endorphin rush again from riding my bike around the neighborhood. I also really like using the machines at the gym. Both of these feel like safe substitutions to me.

It really helps to get back to your passions. For me, cooking delicious meals, baking my own bread and desserts, and knitting clothes and blankets for the home satisfies that. This surgery really does help us to once againdo the things we loved to do.

I'm very cautious, though. I just don't want to have to do a revision. I'm very happy with my new hips, but it scares me to do anything like running or dancing at a professional level. (like I did for so many years.)

Glad you are doing so well...