Scfe. Thr left hip 38 male soccer

[Mahaan98]

I am meeting ortho tomorrow to ask for thr. My main question is I will only do it if i can play soccer? Has anyone went back playing impact sports. This is what makes me happy. I have played through pain all my life. Now i want to play with a new hip and pain free.

 

[djklaugh]

@Mahaan98 Welcome to BoneSmart! Yes many of our members go back to strenuous jobs, sports, and other activities after having hip replacement. BUT it will take time to get to the place where you can get back to playing! You must heal first (which can take 3-6 months minimum) before getting back to training for vigorous sports. Also everyone is unique in their journey through this surgery so your journey, too will be unique.

Feel free to read threads here in pre op and over in the recovery area to see how others have managed this life changing surgery. And here are our pre op articles and suggestions:


Hip: pre-surgery considerations

If you are at the stage where you have joint pain but don't know for sure if you are ready to have surgery, these links may help:


Score Chart: How bad is my arthritic hip?
Choosing a surgeon and a prosthesis
BMI Calculator - What to do if your surgeon says you're too heavy for joint replacement surgery
Longevity of implants and revisions: How long will my new joint last?

If you are at the stage where you are planning to have surgery but are looking for information so you can be better prepared for what is to come, take a look at these links:


Recovery Aids: A comprehensive list for hospital and home
Recliner Chairs: Things you need to know if buying one for your recovery
Pre-Op Interviews: What's involved?

And if you want to picture what your life might be like with a replaced hip, take a look at the posts and threads in stories of amazing hip recoveries

 

[Layla]

Hello and Welcome to BoneSmart! I wish you the best with your appointment. Let us know how it goes and whether you scheduled a date for surgery. If you have we will create a signature for you.

Please notice that we have relocated your thread from another area of the forum. So unless you have a different topic you'd like to discuss, which allows you to start additional pre-op threads, we ask that you seek comments or advice on the pre-op side until you are in recovery.
Thanks for joining us, I hope you have a nice week!
@Mahaan98

Here is the thread of a member that returned to soccer post joint replacement, although it was a knee, not a hip -
TKR Recovery from September 1st TKR - 2nd knee.

 

[Mahaan98]

There are not many people my age that went back to playing soccer in this group.

 

[Mahaan98]

I am hesitant, as that is my way out of depression, playing the game.

 

[Layla]

See how your visit with the surgeon goes tomorrow.
Stay in touch...we'll be here.
@Mahaan98

 

[CricketHip]

Try not to get discouraged before you talk to your surgeon and possibly get a couple interviews with different surgeons if your health plan allows for that.
I think a good portion of your ability to return to something you love depends on your drive to do so. I am hoping you would allow your hip to heal fully before jumping back in, though!
If soccer, for some reason, doesn't work out, I am guessing there would be other sports that you could take up.
That may sound horrible right now, but when one door closes......

Wishing you good luck with your upcoming appointment tomorrow.

 

[raylo]

Not to dash your hopes, but running and high impact sports are usually frowned upon after joint replacements by many surgeons. But, having said that, I have a friend who nonetheless plays basketball on his replaced knee. So, possible? Yes. Advisable? That question would be for you personally after considering the risks and rewards.

As an older person who lived to play basketball and ran almost daily back in the day but had to stop due a bad knee from a football injury, I learned to start letting stuff go. I refocused my athletic pursuits to more joint friendly things like cycling and have since ridden maybe 150,000 miles on all sorts of roads and MTB trails. I hope to resume some more of that following my ongoing TKR and THR recoveries but again, I have no illusions of going back to doing 5 or 6 thousand miles per year or bombing the downhill trails. I'll do what my body allows and try not to risk the protheses unnecessarily. The last thing you want is to get to a place where you can't do anything. If you have the surgery you WILL go through a period where you really can't do much of anything. Imagine that status for the rest of your life... oof.

 

[AlanInAZ]

If your willing to risk the downsides of high impact sports after joint replacement then a hip resurfacing could be a better choice. Andy Murray had this operation and resumed playing tennis at a high level. You are young and perhaps your bone structure is healthy enough for this procedure rather than a full joint replacement. The HSS website has a discussion on this procedure.

 

[raylo]

Pro cyclist Floyd Landis, the one who cheated his way to a TdF stage win a while back, also had a hip resurfacing and continued pro racing at least for a while. I was looking into resurfacing online myself about 5 years ago and it is intriguing... but a more involved surgery, harder recovery, and generally not recommended for those over a certain age. So, when mine got bad enough to need work I just went with the standard THR. But Alan is correct, this may be a good option for someone as young as the OP. I wish there were some more threads here on Bonesmart abut resurfacing, but it seems to be a very rare choice.

If your willing to risk the downsides of high impact sports after joint replacement then a hip resurfacing could be a better choice. Andy Murray had this operation and resumed playing tennis at a high level. You are young and perhaps your bone structure is healthy enough for this procedure rather than a full joint replacement. The HSS website has a discussion on this procedure.

 

[Mahaan98]

i will check resurfacing.

 

[Mahaan98]

But not sure if it is possible for this hip, resurfacing option.

 

[djklaugh]

@Mahaan98 There is an article in our library about resurfacing: https://bonesmart.org/hip/what-is-the-difference-between-hip-resurfacing-and-total-hip-replacement/

You should also be aware that recuperation from resurfacing can be just as lengthy and painful as recuperation from hip replacement. Let the surgeon advise you about the most effective plan for you.

 

[Eman85]

Your hip x-ray looks familiar I had SCFE and they pinned my left when I was 14. Can you play soccer? That's probably a tough question to answer. Every person and every hip is different so the outcomes vary. All goes perfect you're just looking at accepting the wear or damage by playing. It's an elective surgery so you have to be willing to accept the risk of the surgery to start with. People can all tell you about someone else and their results but it's all you once you agree to have the surgery. I've had both replaced and I have no plans to play competitive high impact sports. I feel I can do anything I want to do and I do a lot, some that I know I'm taking a risk with.

 

[PolarIce]

I am meeting ortho tomorrow to ask for thr. My main question is I will only do it if i can play soccer? Has anyone went back playing impact sports. This is what makes me happy. I have played through pain all my life. Now i want to play with a new hip and pain free.

I was 37 when I had my left hip replacement done, and I am an equestrian and train horses. You can definitely continue on with what you love.

What I would look into is asking your surgeon about dual mobility joints as they are a great choice for people who are young and very active still. They offer a much larger amount of mobility and have a lower risk of dislocation.

 

[CatchAll]

I have had both hips done now. I just had my left one done three weeks ago. After I have my follow up visit and x-rays in about a month, I don't plan on holding back from anything I want to do. I played some soccer with my son before I had the left hip replaced. The new right hip was fine, but I was only good for about 10 minutes before my arthritic left hip hobbled me every time. It almost became a joke ... "hey dad, do you have 10 minutes for some soccer after dinner."

I had my right hip replaced in 2021. At that time the surgeon said no running or impact sports. He has since retired and I just had my left hip replaced by his protege. Both hips are same make and model, but the new surgeon said I can do whatever I want after I recover. Both surgeons are excellent, only work on hips and knees, and do a bunch of research, writing, lecturing on hips and knees. They know what's up when it comes to joint replacement. The guy who did my right hip was doing 500 joints per year. My new surgeon is doing 800 joints per year. So, why the different advice? The new surgeon said that the old surgeon was a little "old school" with his advice because he was around long enough to have installed some of the earlier generation materials. Back then they hoped to get 20 years out of hip, so the advice was based on a desire to minimize wear of the plastic component. Once the liner wears out the risk of dislocating the hip gets pretty high. I was told that the latest generation of plastic used in the acetabular cup liners shows very little wear and that they are expected to last much longer, but it will take decades for the data to develop. Also, if you are able to wear one out, and assuming the stem and cup are still well seated, an anterior approach revision to replace the plastic liner is supposed to be a "pretty easy" surgery. I also asked if it is possible to somehow loosen the stem or cup through too much physical activity. I was told that based on the xray of my right hip, I would literally have to be hit by a car to break it loose. To summarize, assuming your surgery goes well, you should have no problem playing soccer. There will just be some unknown amount of risk that you accelerate the wear of the plastic liner of your new hip.

I almost went with a resurfacing on my left hip. I didn't know about resurfacing when I had my right hip done. Since I already had one total replacement, I decided that there isn't anything to gain from resurfacing one side. There is a long negative history of resurfacing which appears to be in part because they originally used metal on metal components and the metal particles from wear over time resulted in problems. Another issue with resurfacing is that the femoral head is a weak link in the body. By grinding it down to fit the surface cap, it becomes weaker. If resurfacing is done on someone who does not have a lot of bone to begin with, there is a higher risk that the femoral head will fracture later. Dr. Pritchett in Seattle uses polyethylene liner for his resurfacing and only does it on patients with enough bone mass. He has a very high success rate. I met with him and what I took away was that if the resurfacing doesn't fail in the first five years (femoral head fracture or infection are the most likely issues), it might last forever. From my research it appears that the margin of error for success resurfacing is small, so you must only have it done by a surgeon who has a lot of experience with resurfacing and a high success rate.

After talking with my new surgeon about the expected longevity of modern total hip replacements, I don't regret getting a normal total hip replacement. Additionally resurfacing is generally done with a posterior approach which has a longer recovery time (although I did see a video from a surgeon who said he does his resurfacing using an anterior approach). An anterior approach total hip replacement done by a skilled surgeon on a young active patient can heal up pretty quickly and has a lower dislocation risk.

With that said, I have noticed with my right leg that if I work it really hard I sometimes get a pain midway down my quad; about where the stem of the implant would end. I asked my new surgeon about this and we had a discussion about how bones usually flex, but once you put a titanium implant inside the femur it isn't going to flex anymore. It appears that stress concentrates where the bone is still "hollow" and flexible and can result in some pain. This is something that would be avoided with resurfacing I guess.

 

[Bangeduphip]

This is great information. CatchAll, it sounds like you had great surgeons. I am curious what they recommended for materials to use for the components of the implants. Did they mention anything about dual mobility hip joints?

 

[trailrunner]

I had my right hip replaced in 2021. At that time the surgeon said no running or impact sports. He has since retired and I just had my left hip replaced by his protege. Both hips are same make and model, but the new surgeon said I can do whatever I want after I recover. Both surgeons are excellent, only work on hips and knees, and do a bunch of research, writing, lecturing on hips and knees. They know what's up when it comes to joint replacement. The guy who did my right hip was doing 500 joints per year. My new surgeon is doing 800 joints per year. So, why the different advice? The new surgeon said that the old surgeon was a little "old school" with his advice because he was around long enough to have installed some of the earlier generation materials. Back then they hoped to get 20 years out of hip, so the advice was based on a desire to minimize wear of the plastic component. Once the liner wears out the risk of dislocating the hip gets pretty high. I was told that the latest generation of plastic used in the acetabular cup liners shows very little wear and that they are expected to last much longer, but it will take decades for the data to develop. Also, if you are able to wear one out, and assuming the stem and cup are still well seated, an anterior approach revision to replace the plastic liner is supposed to be a "pretty easy" surgery.

This is very similar to the advice I received. First doctor I saw was very negative on returning to activity after surgery. She actually got mad when I mentioned running. She even cautioned against too much cycling. After talking to her, I came away with the impression that I'd have a glass hip. I decided to see another surgeon. He has done over 6,000 replacements, and publishes papers every year. He works at a major clinic in my area, and he had been referred to me by friends who had hip replacements from him. He said the same thing your doctor said - the modern plastic liners are extremely durable. He said that he has never had to replace one, so I could do anything I wanted, including running. What I liked was that his answer was based on experience, and not some blanket precaution from the early days. He did caution me that they are still collecting long-term data on the latest polyethylene liners. He also said that replacing just the liner (if it came to that) wasn't especially difficult.