Working out after total hip replacement

NinjaMom

NinjaMom

Cathlete
Any Catheletes out there still working out at an advanced level after a total hip replacement? I was diagnosed 5 years ago with OA in my right hip and was told a replacement would be in my future. I have been managing it over the years by giving up running, doing PT, wearing orthotics and resting more during flare ups. A recent X-ray revealed that I'm now bone on bone and the pain is getting much worse. I had hoped to push it off longer as I'm only 56 and concerned that the life span of an artificial hip may not last with my level of activity. My orthopedic surgeon advised that I can do pretty much anything after a THR except running. When I mentioned I like to do kickboxing, step, plyos, box jumps tuck jumps etc., he said most should be fine as long as it is not sustained repetitive movement as in running. I do not want to give these things up!! So, I was hoping to get out of my pity party by hearing from others who have (or know someone who has) successfully returned to fitness after THR. Thanks!
 
Hi Judi
I did not have a THR but I did have a TKR. The recovery was the worse 3 months of my life but at least now I can work out again and walk my dogs! I no longer do any high impact Cathe. I can do most of Cathe's dvds and Cathe live. I just modify when I need to. I only do low impact. Weight work is fine. I may not be able to go as heavy on the legs as before but I am still doing the exercises. It took me longer to get back to kickboxing but I am doing that now too. Just take your time getting back and modify when you need to!
Good Luck!
Jenn
 
Thanks Jenn! Glad to hear you have recovered well and are working out again. I have read that total knee replacement is more painful to recover from than hips. Did your doctor advise against high impact? I am still able to do most of Cathe's high impact workouts but sometimes the pain hits hours later and can be quite uncomfortable. I would love to workout and remain pain free!! (except for DOMS ;))
 
I had a partial hip replacement (was able to keep my femur) when I was 47. Same with THR, running was not recommended and I couldn't do any jumping for 3 months (I think) but once I got the clear from my doc, when I was ready it was okay for me to get back into HiiT, plyo moves and whatever else I felt I was able to do. I worked very hard on my recovery and 6 months after I had surgery I was teaching a kickboxing class and a bootcamp class. Thankfully for me I was never a fan of running. I was bone on bone and needed to do something. I know at some point down the road I will have to have a THR. I'm glad I had it done. My range of motion is not nearly where it was but I continue to work on it. It's nice to not be in constant pain. I know when I was having mine done I had put a post out here and got some great feedback about others that had HR and heard they were still doing HiiT, Plyo, Tabata. Made me feel much better about the situation. Good Luck to you!!

Brenda
 
I wonder why running is not OK after HR, but plyo/hi impact is?What's the rationale?... (Following because I am looking at a partial knee replacement in not-so-distant future.)
 
I had wondered that as well. My doc had told me it was the constant pounding repetitive motion of running. I'm not a fan of running so it didn't bother me much. :)
 
Yes, my doctor advised no running because of the repetitive high impact motion unlike high impact with HIIT or plyometrics which is usually only sustained for 30-60 seconds then often switched up to a different movement. I was a runner so it was difficult to give it up but my desire to stave off the THR exceeded my desire to run.

Brenda- I didn't know there was such a thing as a partial hip replacement. Did the doctor replace only the ball of your femur without having to pound the long extension into the bone? Did you have the joint capsule removed and replaced with metal or ceramic so the new ball will glide properly? My cartilage is nearly gone and the ball is rubbing on the bone of joint capsule so my doctor didn't give me any other options. So glad to hear you are back to working out & feeling good.
 
NinjaMom said:
Thanks Jenn! Glad to hear you have recovered well and are working out again. I have read that total knee replacement is more painful to recover from than hips. Did your doctor advise against high impact? I am still able to do most of Cathe's high impact workouts but sometimes the pain hits hours later and can be quite uncomfortable. I would love to workout and remain pain free!! (except for DOMS ;))
Click to expand...
Hi again,

Yes my doctor said no high impact! He wasn't thrilled with the kick boxing so i am very careful and slow and I make sure i kick with good form. ( which is a no brainer, but sometimes you can get sloppy if you go to fast)I don't think Cathe has too much kicking anyway. I have discovered my husband's heavy bag and love it!! I Have been doing Cathe's heavy bag and Kelly Coffey Meyer's heavy bag. I know when ever I do higher impact I always hurt later in the day so I rarely will do even jumping jacks. I am trying to avoid/prolong getting my other knee done. You are already ahead of the curve because you are fit. That will help in your recovery!
Best of luck to you!
Jenn
 
NinjaMom said:
Yes, my doctor advised no running because of the repetitive high impact motion unlike high impact with HIIT or plyometrics which is usually only sustained for 30-60 seconds then often switched up to a different movement. I was a runner so it was difficult to give it up but my desire to stave off the THR exceeded my desire to run.

Brenda- I didn't know there was such a thing as a partial hip replacement. Did the doctor replace only the ball of your femur without having to pound the long extension into the bone? Did you have the joint capsule removed and replaced with metal or ceramic so the new ball will glide properly? My cartilage is nearly gone and the ball is rubbing on the bone of joint capsule so my doctor didn't give me any other options. So glad to hear you are back to working out & feeling good.
Click to expand...

Judi - My hip replacement is made out of cobalt & chromium. So I have the capsule (or I call it a cup) and then the ball and it has a stem that went into my femur. In order for me to have the partial my femur had to be a certain size and I had to take a bone density test and that had to come back with good numbers. Thankfully I qualified for a partial hip replacement. When I had went in for my year check-up he told me that doctors can no longer do partial hip replacements on women. It didn't go well for a small percentage and it sounded like they took legal action so now if you want a partial hip replacement done insurance won't cover it or you'd have to go out of the states to have it done. From what I was told many docs didn't do what mine did where he checked my femur size and bone density. If those would have come back bad or not so good, he never would have done the partial.
 
mbmundt said:
Judi - My hip replacement is made out of cobalt & chromium. So I have the capsule (or I call it a cup) and then the ball and it has a stem that went into my femur. In order for me to have the partial my femur had to be a certain size and I had to take a bone density test and that had to come back with good numbers. Thankfully I qualified for a partial hip replacement. When I had went in for my year check-up he told me that doctors can no longer do partial hip replacements on women. It didn't go well for a small percentage and it sounded like they took legal action so now if you want a partial hip replacement done insurance won't cover it or you'd have to go out of the states to have it done. From what I was told many docs didn't do what mine did where he checked my femur size and bone density. If those would have come back bad or not so good, he never would have done the partial.
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Interesting!! Thanks for sharing. I am going to try to manage my situation for as long as possible but when I can no longer handle the pain or I start compensating & causing more issues, I will schedule the surgery. It really comes down to quality of life!
 
NinjaMom said:
Interesting!! Thanks for sharing. I am going to try to manage my situation for as long as possible but when I can no longer handle the pain or I start compensating & causing more issues, I will schedule the surgery. It really comes down to quality of life!
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Yes, it does come down to quality of life. I was in so much pain. I couldn't get comfortable at night, I started having issues with my knee and all the way down the side of my leg. Once I had the surgery all the other pain went away. To me it was worth the surgery. Good Luck to you!!
 
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