United KingdomOn 7th September I had my right hip replaced, posterior approach, Smith & Nephew Polar 3, uncemented. I am mid 60s, female, osteoarthritis in hip on top of some earlier trauma. Prior to the pre-surgery decline, I was a regular, if not very good runner, also regular swimmer and user of the gym. Fitness and an active lifestyle is important to me. One of my biggest questions before committing was “will I be able to run again”. The surgeon was hopeful, but in any case I had no real choice about surgery as I could by then barely walk, never mind run.
The surgery itself was straight forward. Spinal anaesthetic and enough sedative to keep me settled whilst remaining conscious. All done and dusted in less than an hour. 2 night stay in hospital and then back home with a pair of elbow crutches. Limited pain meds as I didn’t get on with opioids, so just paracetamol, ibuprofen and the occasional ice pack. Thankfully there was never any real pain.
The first week or so was uncomfortable but not unbearable. The main difficulty was sleeping - being advised to sleep on my back led to a dry mouth and frequent cycles of drinking water and visiting the bathroom. Day by day I would be diligent about doing the physiotherapist’s exercises and walking a little more each day. By about day 10, I could walk half a mile or so in a session, using 2 elbow crutches.
Weeks 3 to 4 saw me extend walking distance to perhaps a mile and a half at a time, reduce down to one crutch and to none around the house. By about 5 weeks the wound was fully healed and I was able to restart swimming and light gym use, at this stage not taking much weight through the hips, and I also started driving again. Just short of 6 weeks I was able to complete a parkrun event (walking), for those not familiar with parkrun, it’s a weekly, timed 5k (3.1 mile) event.
During weeks 7 and 8, I gradually increased the distances I could walk without aids, and spent a lot of time working on strengthening glutes and adductors. By the end of week 8 I was able to put the remaining crutch away for good and increase the range of things done in the gym to include more load bearing and other aerobic activity.
At 8 weeks, I am delighted with my new hip and how it has gone. I feel better than I have done for 18 months or so, and am walking normally and well for as long as I want without any real fatigue. My previous limp has gone and I am still sometimes surprised to find I can just get up from sitting without having to go through a painful stretching process. The movement in the joint is excellent and everything feels normal. There’s still an occasional tightness in my hip adductor after a long walk but I think this is just surgery damage still healing. I haven’t yet returned to running as I feel it would be wise to ensure I am fully healed and strong before doing that, but I have invested in some Nordic walking poles so I can get more aerobic benefit from walking.
So most definitely a success story. I am grateful for the skill and care of my surgeon, and to the fact that I could keep some fitness into the operation through regular swimming. I am grateful my bones were healthy enough to allow an uncemented implant, and that I have a prosthesis designed for active people. I spent some months in denial before seeking treatment but am enormously glad I did get this done. For anyone putting off the inevitable, it’s worth considering the impact of further delay on eventual recovery. This, for me, was probably just at the right time. 8 weeks on I feel back to normal.
The surgery itself was straight forward. Spinal anaesthetic and enough sedative to keep me settled whilst remaining conscious. All done and dusted in less than an hour. 2 night stay in hospital and then back home with a pair of elbow crutches. Limited pain meds as I didn’t get on with opioids, so just paracetamol, ibuprofen and the occasional ice pack. Thankfully there was never any real pain.
The first week or so was uncomfortable but not unbearable. The main difficulty was sleeping - being advised to sleep on my back led to a dry mouth and frequent cycles of drinking water and visiting the bathroom. Day by day I would be diligent about doing the physiotherapist’s exercises and walking a little more each day. By about day 10, I could walk half a mile or so in a session, using 2 elbow crutches.
Weeks 3 to 4 saw me extend walking distance to perhaps a mile and a half at a time, reduce down to one crutch and to none around the house. By about 5 weeks the wound was fully healed and I was able to restart swimming and light gym use, at this stage not taking much weight through the hips, and I also started driving again. Just short of 6 weeks I was able to complete a parkrun event (walking), for those not familiar with parkrun, it’s a weekly, timed 5k (3.1 mile) event.
During weeks 7 and 8, I gradually increased the distances I could walk without aids, and spent a lot of time working on strengthening glutes and adductors. By the end of week 8 I was able to put the remaining crutch away for good and increase the range of things done in the gym to include more load bearing and other aerobic activity.
At 8 weeks, I am delighted with my new hip and how it has gone. I feel better than I have done for 18 months or so, and am walking normally and well for as long as I want without any real fatigue. My previous limp has gone and I am still sometimes surprised to find I can just get up from sitting without having to go through a painful stretching process. The movement in the joint is excellent and everything feels normal. There’s still an occasional tightness in my hip adductor after a long walk but I think this is just surgery damage still healing. I haven’t yet returned to running as I feel it would be wise to ensure I am fully healed and strong before doing that, but I have invested in some Nordic walking poles so I can get more aerobic benefit from walking.
So most definitely a success story. I am grateful for the skill and care of my surgeon, and to the fact that I could keep some fitness into the operation through regular swimming. I am grateful my bones were healthy enough to allow an uncemented implant, and that I have a prosthesis designed for active people. I spent some months in denial before seeking treatment but am enormously glad I did get this done. For anyone putting off the inevitable, it’s worth considering the impact of further delay on eventual recovery. This, for me, was probably just at the right time. 8 weeks on I feel back to normal.
That precaution is just about universal.
