THR Hip but no plan for replacement

JohnWilky

senior
Joined
Jun 25, 2020
Messages
361
Age
70
Location
Stalybridge near Manchester UK
Country
United Kingdom United Kingdom
Gender
Male
Hello everybody , and best of luck and good health to all fellow sufferers.

Please excuse me , new to the forum and first post . I am retired67 male active ( apart from this bloody hip) not seen doc as yet but avoiding during latest crisis , so my post is a shot in the dark.

Have had left hip pain for ? 2 years maybe which has got steadily worse, I,e could run no problem and play sport ( football mainly ) weekly and was pleased I was able to participate, always kept fit far from overweight ( skinny) luckily , but now finding it almost impossible to run after 5 minutes , funnily can run backwards ok , don’t know if that’s any pointer, I try and do suggested stretching but get severe ache afterwards , so my footy which I love has gone out of the window.

I can’t help thinking if I was more supple around the hip ( the other hip is absolutely fine ) I could manage a short run , but lately it’s far too painful.

Questions really , am I kidding myself it ain’t bone problem , should I stop exercising, what is best pain relief ( do RICE post exercise ) any tips on how to stretch pain free.

I can walk with medium pain , walk short distance hardly painful, stairs fine , stepping off high step tricky , sleep fine but with slight ache sometimes .

Please I would appreciate others opinion on their experience.

Cheers everyone and good luck
 
Hello and Welcome to BoneSmart! Thanks for joining us.
I‘m assuming you haven’t scheduled an appointment with an Orthopedic surgeon to consult and have x-rays due to Covid. Understandable, but you probably should make an appointment as soon as you’re comfortable doing so, get a diagnosis and move forward from there. It does sound like a deteriorating hip and if so, exercise won’t help but possibly only exacerbate the problem. The best pain relief until you have a diagnosis is probably rest, ice and OTC pain relievers. I hope you’re able to schedule a consultation soon so you can achieve some relief and move forward without pain. Check out this site, lots of useful info to be found. Please stay in touch. We’re here for support. :)
@JohnWilky
 
See if any of the videos that can be accessed above through the gold and red banner Joint Replacement Awareness Day at the top of the page sound of interest and check them out when you have time -

Tap where it says “Watch 2020 Videos Now”
 
@JohnWilky Welcome to BoneSmart! A fellow UK member here. The good news is orthopaedic areas are just beginning to plan for restarting elective surgery. Unfortunately this may take awhile. New patient pathways to ensure a covid safe journey are being put into place.

The fact that you are fit, healthy and not over weight will be a great benefit. There are all kinds of roadblocks used to try and delay surgery. You should not encounter these.

They may try sending you to physio or suggest steroid injections. If your hip is already at the stage you are suggesting the conservative approach is really a waste of time. Get that hip replaced and get on with living life again!

The key is finding a surgeon you trust and get on their wait list ASAP. You want someone who does over 100 THRs per year. If you need any suggestions please tell me where you are located and what hospitals are near.
 
Your symptoms definitely sound like a hip issue. I also felt better walking backward but even that was not great before surgery. Backward was how I did stairs, it was easier somehow. Increasing pain and decreasing ability to do what we like/love are signals that we need to address this and no amount of ice/rest and exercise will help. By the way though many people find ice helpful pre op, I found a heating pad gave me more comfort so try both. Totally agree with scheduling an appointment with an OS and seeing what your x-rays show and getting on the schedule. With schedules either being limited or very busy you might still have a possibly long wait for surgery and the hip will continue to hurt and more than likely the pain will increase. Best wishes for finding an OS you like and trust.
 
That is brilliant, I have search surfed etc looking for answers, and I have been educated more in an afternoon than in ten years,I know probably like many folk, that my symptoms are common with hip degeneration, - :censored: :censored: hell.

Mrs W always said to me (moaned) as I went out to play football every and I mean every Saturday afternoon to play football don’t expect me to push you around in a wheel chair but for 50 years (yes I still playing, well not since lockdown, but nowhere near as competitive) but it’s stop me from boozing, smoking, encouraging eating the right stuff, punctuality, team spirit everything in moderation and I advise people of that, but most of all some great lifelong mates.

I’ve been able to play with my brothers, sons and nephews at a good standard and I don’t regret one minute, I know we are like an old car and no matter what regular maintenance we do, we still have to change parts.

I would appreciate therefore anymore advice re pain relief, stretching, anything that can get a tune out of an old fiddle.

Many many thanks for your caring and informative advice believe me it is very much appreciated.

Incidentally we live in Stalybridge near Manchester.

Once again many thanks
 
I would appreciate therefore anymore advice re pain relief , stretching , anything that can get a tune out of an old fiddle.
From what you describe, your hip is now bone on bone - no more cushioning cartilage. Unfortunately there are no pain meds that touch this type of pain and stretching only addresses sore muscles, not bone. Paracetamol might take the edge off.

I'll do a bit of research and get back to you on a surgeon in your area.
 
Thank you for the responses. Too be clear I don’t / never had crunching or clicking, but do get bad groin pain and lately some knee pain on same side.

Is it the forums advice that I refrain from an athletic action, because if I rest it for a couple of week the pain is not as bad?

Oh one other pointer I cannot ride a bike or even turn over the pedals over on a stationary gym bike, swimming (not happening now) is ok, but only crawl (legs up & down, paddle) not breast stroke.

Many thanks from desperate old codger.
 
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No Dr. here but have had hip pain almost all of my life. Pretty funny what you say about sports keeping you from boozing and such. I played softball and football for many years and usually in bar leagues.
It sounds like you're experiencing joint pain, there's only so much use and you might have gotten most of it. For me the only thing that really helped with the joint pain was anything that was an anti inflammatory like NSAID's like Ibuprophen or Advil.
Do you have limited range of motion?
 
Yeah, this sounds like really advanced hip arthritis ... I mean, pain varies. But there is no stretching, loosening or any of that that will reduce pain when you've got advanced arthritis. Those kinds of things can--not guaranteed--help when you're in early-stage arthritis.

Since you seem quite athletic, my suggestion is make sure to consult with several surgeons, and find one who is cool with you being highly actively. Surgeons have dramatically changed their view of what people can do after surgery. Lots of surgeons are fine with pretty much any activity these days. Advances in materials and in surgical techniques are bringing good news to highly athletic people in need of the surgery.

Most of us begin the process of investigating surgery with the old cautions in mind. Yes, there are still some cautions that some surgeons place their patients under after surgery, but that's changing. I don't know what things are like in Great Britain, but in the U.S. I noticed few surgeons come out and say, "x activity is fine" after surgery. But when you talk to them in person, they'll tell you what they think.

I say all this in case you're delaying checking out the surgery option out of fear that your active life would be over. Nope.
 
Once again brilliant responses thank you , not sure how likely it is here in UK that you can sift through a list of surgeons who may or may not be preferred , I,m pretty sure you get what you’re given, well I am sure.

This is not private health we have the much mentioned NHS and have always had ( family included superb , top class treatment) not everyone says that though , and I certainly don’t want to knocking about in any hospital with current crisis , many folk saying that if you want Covid get admitted to hospital .
I will take the advice of the forum and stop thinking I,m 21 again ( can hardly remember that age anyway ) that’s another problem , and pointers in that direction with my shaky hand ?

I,m a right demic,
 
not sure how likely it is here in UK that you can sift through a list of surgeons who may or may not be preferred
I chose my surgeon for both hips and my spinal surgery. Are you in the position to pay for a consultation? An ideal route during this pandemic is to see a consultant in their private practice and then get on their NHS waiting list. I did this for both hips.

If you can't spend on a consultation then you can ask your GP to refer you to a specific consultant. Don't let them say they can't. It is your right as a patient to make a choice. Just be firm if they push back. Most surgeries have no experience with patient choice so they may need a bit of guidance.

I did a bit of research. Mr Winston Kim (search for Manchester Hip Surgeons) is about 30 minutes drive from you. He has both a private practice and NHS. He seems very switched on with the latest techniques. Lots of alternatives to surgery. Unfortunately it sounds like your hip is not a candidate for alternative procedures.

Let us know how you get on!
 
My advice, like the others, is don’t delay in getting a consult. It may take a while to get seen and then get scheduled for surgery. In the meantime, the hip is going to keep getting worse as it sounds like from your symptoms, it is already bone on bone, like mine was. I did not have any sounds associated with mine. I was instructed to do stretches and PT. Nothing helped and the pain got worse. Then finally the xrays and then the wait for OS consult and surgery. If it had been any longer, I might have been rolling into the hospital in a wheelchair. I have always been physically fit. I continued to stretch and swim (the only exercise I could do up to surgery) as tolerated just to maintain some sort of conditioning but it could aggravate the already angry joint. I believe my somewhat longer recovery time was due to how much time elapsed from symptoms to surgery. I am happy to report that I am back doing any and all the physical activity I care to. OS said just not a lot of running and jumping (not something I did anyway) but that opinion is not held by all. I wish you the best in your search. There can be a full life without hip pain and you deserve to give yourself that chance.
 
Hi @JohnWilky It sounds to me as if your life would be a lot more comfortable if you have that bad hip replaced. While doing that will mean a fairly long period of recovery, afterwards you should be able to get back to living a life with much less pain.

At the moment, exercise seems to be increasing your pain, so cutting it back would be a good idea.

Have a look at this score chart, to assess how much your bad hip is affecting your quality of life.
Score Chart: How bad is my arthritic hip?

And, just in case you think that having a hip replacement would turn you into an inactive invalid, read some of these stories:
Stories of amazing hip recoveries
 
@JohnWilky I am agreeing with everybody; sounds like my pain and my path. Like Roy Gardiner, the only thing that helped me was ibuprofen in industrial (as in, max allowed dose) amounts. Going off it for a week before each surgery was a special kind of torment. I neither iced nor heated, just plain lazy.

I was at the point, with each hip, that a slow walk of a mile would give me days of paybacks, and didn't feel so good during, either. Get your consult (for some reason this Mr Kim has an optimistic ring to it), get on a waiting list, and keep coming back here!

And BTW, please don't say you're old! :snork: That makes me older......
 
Sorry Z ,certainly don’t feel or act old more like a kid ( says Mrs W )

I am despite the much much appreciated advise from our friends on here, I will be going to have a kick about with my grandchildren ( two boys 10 y olds) my nephews , my two sons and my older brother plus a few others , how can I not !

Such a shame because up to 6 month ago I was still a very good footballer ( esp for my age) and the kids have forgotten already , they shout ‘close Grandad down he is too slow ‘ after 5 mins I can’t run on that side! He hehe ,they are precious moments as you can imagine, Mrs Wilky goes mad , but I’ve managed to ignore her for 40 years ( regarding football ) so .

I know it’s daft , but why change a habit of a lifetime , what will be the worse will be next week when I will definitely have to decline playing in our weekly football get together ( different game and not the kids kick about , bit more serious) suspended due to lockdown , the last week before the virus was the final nail and the 4 / 5 month rest has done no improvement unfortunately shame , plus the pubs open again next week too, still can do that with the lads though.

Thank you very much ( I enjoy the engagement, plus the use of a bracket )and stop shaking your heads lol.
 
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No head shaking here @JohnWilky , I do understand the allure and the absolute need for family camaraderie, especially now. Glad you'll get to go to the pub with the lads! We are not having such good results with that here, and I am still self-ostracizing due to many risk factors and only the one, hard-won, infant grandbaby yet to enjoy. So please hoist one for me!

Have no fear that you will be unable to return to footy if you have a THR. You will play again if you like! (and it's obvious you do like! Getting back into shape is arduous but worth it...) Just, the less damaged your hip is going in, the better chance of an easier recovery you may have. I have yet to hear anyone here say, gee I wish I'd waited in pain a few more years....
 
@zauberflöte you've never read my thread, I waited 50 years. I did get to the point where one OS did tell me if he saw me on the ballfield he'd drag me off.
 

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