I'm 43 years old and my Dr. has recommend that I have a total hip replacement?

Question

I love to ride my bike and backpack for fitness. With a total hip replacement would I have to give up bike riding and backpacking? Also, how much time should I give myself to recover before returning to work? I am also, concider a weight lost program before I have the replacement is this a good idea?

Answer 1

Riding a bike shouldn't be a hassle, you will probably find it will be part of your rehab program.

A lot depends on the type of work you do as to how much time you will need. As a guide you will be up and walking within a couple of days. They don't recommend driving a car for about six weeks.(It is to do with how much you need to bend.) It could well be that getting to work is more of a hassle than doing your job.

Any weight loss program that involves exercise is a good program. I'm a little biased but I prefer the ones involving cycling. Being a low weight bearing exercise you should find it doesn't knock your hips around as much. If you lose a significant amount of weight, you could find that you can defer the operation a while.

You might need to consider lower gearing or shorter cranks. This will depend on terrain and mobility.

The doctors usually know best that is why they "gets the bucks". Listen to the doc and ask questions.

Answer 2

Weight loss is a very good idea. It will take a lot of stress off your bones. You're young, why does your doctor suggest having this done? Most the time people are able to go back to their life before, just have to be more cautious. They do recommend that people with hip replacement don't bend at their waist more than 90 degrees (bending down to tie your shoes without bending your knees). I do know that people with total hip replacements have a reportedly better sex life after the surgery. They are able to do things more comfortably. There are of course positions that you can't try. If you have this surgery, don't be afraid to talk to the doctor or nurse about this. It will greatly benefit you. You're young, lots of sex left to have. I deal with a lot of total knee replacements and EVERYONE that I talk to say they are so glad they did it. They are able to do things they weren't able to do before. I've only seen a couple total hips and they were in their 80's. So, my suggestion to you, talk to you doctor about the pros and cons and activities or limitations that having this surgery will put on you.

Answer 3

"With a total hip replacement would I have to give up bike riding and backpacking?"
No - although you may wish to re-evaluate the weight of your pack. Since you are rather young for a THR, one of your goals may be to extend the life of your implant. That doesn't mean "don't backpack" but it may mean "don't deliberately pack really heavy packs for miles" if you don't have to.

An observation: Young males can be particularly hard on their fake hips because they tend to want to be more active.

Another observation: a new procedure called hip resurfacing is now being performed by some surgeons in the US. You may wish to investigate this procedure before you make your decision about treatment.

"how much time should I give myself to recover before returning to work?"
That would depend on how your recovery goes and the nature of your work. I have had both of my hips replaced (separate surgeries several months apart) and I consider that I could have returned to my job by 6-8 wks. post-op. I was still using a cane at that point. My job was not especially physically taxing but it did permit me to alternate sitting with standing and walking and didn't require a lifting and carrying heavy items. The walking was good for me. I still had trouble bending over and picking things from the floor at that point. The variety of activity was good as it was hard for me to sit for long periods of time that soon post-op. In the final analysis, your surgeon will help you determine when you may go back to work. Another possible factor would be when your surgeon oks driving - typically around 6 weeks but for me it was about 5 weeks post-op.

On the weight loss issue, you don't say how much overweight you are so it's difficult to answer you. If your surgeon has said that losing weight before surgery is a priority, then by all means, try to comply with this. If you were not at your optimum by surgery day, you could continue your diet regimen after you've recovered. One thing to avoid would probably be crash dieting immediately before your surgery. You want to be strong and well-nourished going in. I offer this quote from my own doctor "excess weight is harder on knee replacements than hip replacements" partly because the knee, located as it is on the body, bears a larger % of body weight than a hip would.

Another observation: At your relatively young age, you may want to at least ask about ceramic/ceramic or metal/metal bearings. These two bearing materials generate far fewer debris particles than the conventional metal/poly bearing. The debris particles are one factor in joint failure (usually from aseptic loosening of the prosthesis). More activity=more debris. The hip resurfacing device approved for use in the US (called the Birmingham hip) has a big ball metal/metal bearing surface.

Here's a website that you can go to to find reliable information about all aspects of THR and resurfacing. The site was developed by a Swedish ortho surgeon as a service to joint replacement patients and appears in (slightly fractured) English translation. It is in layperson's language and is easy to understand.
http://totaljoints.info/

Answer 4

How do you cycle if you have a weight issue? I think that weight loss is definately a though and a good idea so you don't damage the other one. Plus do wonders for your cycling pace.