Severe Hip Arthritis - is my running career over??

Get Off Your Butt and Exercise.

Stop whining and making excuses - Get UP Off Your Butt.

Right now you are sitting on your butt. No wonder it hurts!!!

Get Up Off Your Butt!

Eat Healthy. Exercise. Get Up Off Your Butt.

Sore hipped OP :)

Sounds like your hip degeneration has progressed further than mine. I still have good range of motion (at least for a 63 year old). My doctor is pounding on me to get P.T., but I'm wondering whether its worth the expense if I can't run anyway. What's your experience been? Could you do it yourself or has your P.T. been priceless?

Are you doing any deep water running? You can at least have the pleasure of feeling the running stride again without impact. And it should help you with your range of motion. When my hip is really flared up though, I have to shorten the stride. This is one of the few conditions where Deep water running is painful.

I would think an eliptical strider would be good too, if you weren't getting a lot of pain out of the hip.

Good luck friend. I'm rooting for you.

Get off your butt

Since everyone here, but you, is apparently a lard ass loser, why don't you play the trainer. Give us something more than "Get Off Your Butt and Exercise".

I'm out of my chair and dancing as I type. Can you tell me what to do now? Tell us about your typical workout.

Let me guess. A lot of Tai Chi and Yoga? A lot of chanting? No? Tell us what you do to stay fit.

By the way. How old are you and how long have you been such an exercise demon? We'd like to know more about you.

I was diagnosed with arthritis in my hip about 15 years ago, in my 40s. I was a pretty decent runner and had run some marathons.

I was told I needed a hip replacement, but to put it off as long as possible because if done at that early age, I'd have to have a second one done, which is a much more complicated procedure.

Then I learned about the hip resurfacing. It was in early stages here in the states, and did not have FDA approval at the time.

So I waited and kept tracking it. As soon as it got FDA approval, I found a doctor that was trained it in. The promise of the resurfacing is it leaves your entire femur intact, but replaces both surfaces with a metal on metal contact. Lasts longer than the THR, and better for younger active patients.

I had the procedure done about 4 years ago, with hopes of returning to near same level of running. Could not run for one full year after surgery. In the mean time, I did alot of cycling and other cardio.

I was getting back up to some decent mileage, but at some point, it started hurting me again. So I'm not thrilled about the outcome. I do have better range of motion, and no trouble with cycling, but cannot run like I'd like too.

I am doing short triathlons, but even some of those short runs hurt, so I may just give up the running entirely. I know that would be the most intelligent thing to do. I just hate to.

But in summary, I think resurfacing is a much better alternative to THR.

G wrote:

Get off your butt

Since everyone here, but you, is apparently a lard ass loser, why don't you play the trainer. Give us something more than "Get Off Your Butt and Exercise".

I'm out of my chair and dancing as I type. Can you tell me what to do now? Tell us about your typical workout.

Let me guess. A lot of Tai Chi and Yoga? A lot of chanting? No? Tell us what you do to stay fit.

By the way. How old are you and how long have you been such an exercise demon? We'd like to know more about you.

Out of your chair and dancing is good. Anything where you're moving, on your feet, up off your butt is good. Keep moving, living, being. There is plenty of time to rest when you're six feet under. To everyone, Get Up Off Your Butt.

Any kind of exercise is good where you're moving, the more vigorous exercise the better. Running, mountain climbing, hiking, walking, jumping around, dancing, hooping, hopping. I'm old enough to be long retired and hoping to live many more years, we shall see.

Okay. That was vague, but also vaguely inspirational. :)

Scott Tinley (two time Hawaii IM winner for those of you not familiar) had severe hip OA and had the resurfacing procedure. He is extremely pleased with the outcome. Google "Tinley hip resurfacing". He is also very friendly and open to email if you are interested.

xlev2 wrote:

Scott Tinley (two time Hawaii IM winner for those of you not familiar) had severe hip OA and had the resurfacing procedure. He is extremely pleased with the outcome. Google "Tinley hip resurfacing". He is also very friendly and open to email if you are interested.

How much is he running these days?

Thanks hip guy

I'm just starting to get educated on this stuff. I've been going through the shock and mourning stages. My doctor didn't mention the resurfacing procedure and I've just read my first article about it.

The BHR treatment looks far preferable to the traditional joint replacement. Instead of removing the whole joint, and, in the case of the hip, part of the femur, they just cap the ball of the joint. I don't know why they didn't come up with the idea before. It's like crowning a tooth. I'm not yet to the point of needing it, but I'm close and will probably need it in both hips. So, with the bone of the ball and sockets not yet damaged, I'm sure I'll be a good candidate.

If you keep up running hip, I'd suggest you save it for rare occassions on soft forest trails. Pick the wild, windy, wintry days for special effects. Running for us is now a treat that must be rationed. Run for your soul and forget the competition. I know it's hard.

Also, if you are a heel striker, transition forward a bit. Shorten your gait so your foot strike is under or slightly behind your knee.

Your friend in pain and disconsolation :) G

G, that's exactly what I'm doing. I have gone from heel striking to forefoot. I think that helps. Took some getting used to.

And I do limit the amount of my running, mainly to just the running part of sprint triathlons. Spend a lot of time on the bike, and in the pool.

Why the F would anyone get a hip replaced, just because some idiot quack wants a new car or new house.

One thing the barefoot, "duck sock" advocates won't mention is that a forefoot gait may leave you more vulnerable to calf and achilles injuries. Be careful on long uphills.

stupid people wrote:

Why the F would anyone get a hip replaced, just because some idiot quack wants a new car or new house.

go ahead and explain to us what you would prescribe for a hip that has no cartilage between the femoral head and the acetabulum.

hip guy wrote:

stupid people wrote:

Why the F would anyone get a hip replaced, just because some idiot quack wants a new car or new house.

go ahead and explain to us what you would prescribe for a hip that has no cartilage between the femoral head and the acetabulum.

Don't be so stupid! Did you ever think of that? Huh?

What happened to the cartilage? Don't lose the cartilage!

Duh!

Thank you S.P. Here's my additional thoughts on the subject.

People get hip joint replacements, because...

1) It relieves chronic, debilitating (and sometimes intense) pain in the hip, groin, abdomen, back and sometimes down the thigh.

2) It restores mobility and with it an active lifestyle.

3) They don't want to be wheelchair bound and suffer a long, lingering death as they are whittled away by diabetes.

Having said that, I wouldn't want to get a joint replacement until I felt it absolutely necessary.

How not to have a joint degenerate and thus, not need a joint replacement:

1)While in the womb, demand a genetic analysis, and if you don't like the results, cancel your birth.

2) if you are born with the wrong genetics, commit suicide asap.

3) Never run or jump. Avoid walking. Don't climb stairs or ladders. Don't go near a weight room. Have someone do all your lifting from cradle to grave. Bobbing around in a pool is okay, but have someone pull you out.

4) Avoid most physical activity, while remaining physically active, so you don't gain weight.

5) Never age.

6)If you do have a degenerating joint, see #2 above.

Stem cell treatment looks promising...it might be a couple years down the road till it is perfected. But I think it is worth looking into.

http://www.regenexx.com/

G wrote:

Who is trying to poison our body fluids and why are they precious? :)

the russkies. we need them for drinking water because the water system is fluoridated.

Not at all! If you have the patience you can comtinue on with some strengthening exercises for your hip. I'm sure you can google some. I have had the exact same problem for 3 years now. I was told to do these exercises 1-2 times a day and within 24 weeks I would see a great improvement. And I did. It's all about if you do the work. I started to do it a time before and I was just too busy at the time to take 30-an hour do I did not see results until I could. You can lessen the pain greatly.