Bit late to the topic, but, yes, find a good orthopaedic surgeon who specializes in knees and hips, and he/she can tell you if it's time. In my case, osteoarthritis had got me to the bone on bone stage. I had been doing hydrotherapy for a few months beforehand which meant my muscles were well prepared to support me after the op. I had the operation (anterior, not old school posterior surgery) and I was on my feet the next day (on crutches), doing circuits of the ward and minor physio exercises, then home in 3 days, and abandoned the crutches after a week, by which point I was walking around the block every day. Took pain medication for about two weeks. I didn't need any special rehab because the hydro and exercises I'd been doing up to the operating made my recovery a liberal walk in the park. I've never had a moment's problem with the hip since.

My wife had a hip replacement done not quite two years ago. She had the option to spend one night in the hospital but chose to come home.

She was told that until the metal to bone connections knit together, especially the one in the femur, it's important to limit movement to certain ones and avoid certain others. An at home physical therapist came every other day the first week and then every third day for another 10 days to put her through the paces of do this and don't do that. She did another 3 weeks of twice a week outpatient visits. This had nothing to do with her own physical condition, as before and since she does regular speed walking for aerobic exercise and plays singles tennis. Perhaps the physical therapy isn't covered in Australia as a cost saving measure but in our experience it's a very standard thing for weeks following any orthopedic procedure.

She took the pain meds the night of the procedure and the next day and then found she didn't need them.

Ninapearl, I can relate with the groin pain. That's how I first noticed it...it was like I pulled a muscle on the inside of my thigh. When I would sit cross-legged, one leg would work fine, the other wouldn't bend right. Certain yoga postures became very uneven too. Now I'm to the point where I can't do barre or yoga or dancing. Walking with any distance is becoming only more painful and difficult. Only the elliptical seems to not bother my hip so much.

annie, i missed seeing this post. yes, the groin pain was the worst part for me. for months, if i moved a certain way, the acute pain was a hundred times worse and eventually, life just came to a screeching halt. i could still manage to get to and from work but every day, i came home and just went straight to bed. thank God for my understanding husband who took over ALL of the things i had done without giving them a second thought...cooking, cleaning, general household stuff, taking care of dogs and then there was the livestock, making sure the horses, llamas and goats all got fed and cleaned up after and then he'd have to come inside and take care of ME. it was brutal on both of us and he did it all without a single complaint. now that i'm facing knee replacement in the near future, i am alone (widowed) and while i don't have livestock anymore, the thought of recovery from surgery terrifies me.

there are some lifelong restrictions associated with hip replacement, certain movements that are said to be taboo (like bending at the waist) but i've thrown caution to the wind for 23 years now without any problems. my ortho dr. also requires that i premedicate with antibiotics an hour before any sort of dental work although a lot of doctors now poopoo that requirement.

oh and be prepared if you travel by air much. airport security can be a nightmare so allow extra time to explain to the TSA agent that you have titanium body parts and you are not, in fact, packing a pistol! back in the day, the doc's office used to give you a little credit card-like thing that explained you have an artificial joint and in theory, if you flashed that, you were good to go. it never worked for me! 😂

For me the movement restrictions lasted only a few weeks.

Not that I fly regularly, but I have never had any trouble in the US airport security line. My doctor said that they used to give out cards, but that there was a problem with people counterfeiting them. I just tell the officer that I have a hip implant, and I go through a different machine. I did get the trusted traveler thing so that I wouldn't have to worry about bending to take off my shoes. But just last week, at Heathrow, I told the officer at Security that I had a hip implant. He made me go through the metal scanner anyway, and, of course, all the alarms went off. I had to take off the shoes, get patted down for at least ten minutes and wanded. The woman who was doing this was extremely polite to me, but as she kept having the siren go off when she was near the hip, clearly was at a loss. Either nobody in London has a hip replacement, or maybe I used the wrong term to describe it? If it wasn't so embarassing for an old lady, it would have been comical. Home safe and sound, but of course, my daughter and I came home with a lot of tea and COVID. Wore that mask EVERYWHERE.

'' Perhaps the physical therapy isn't covered in Australia as a cost saving measure but in our experience it's a very standard thing for weeks following any orthopedic procedure. "

I'm not going to get into a pointless debate about the merits or otherwise of our respective health systems since that isn't relevant to the general point I was making.

To be clear, when I knew I was going to need a replacement sooner rather than later, I had my physiotherapist draw up both a hydrotherapy program and a home exercise program specifically aimed at preparing me for the operation. I followed those programs for a few months, and because I'd done the work in advance, I needed very little specialist physio treatment afterwards. It was available; I just didn't need it. There were four of us who had our hips done on the same day: the other three all had to go to outpatient rehab at the hospital for the next few weeks, but the hospital physio said I didn't need it, and simply gave me a home exercise program (which I scrupulously followed). Cost savings had nothing to do with the issue; the advance training of specific muscles did. That's why I mentioned the value of pre-op preparation to expedite recovery

Incidentally, I knew there were some restrictions on movement post-op with the posterior replacement procedure, but the anterior procedure seems much more "user friendly" and less prone to issues.

" I'm not going to get into a....... debate "

Good choice.

My wife's procedure was done by a doc who was trained by the doc who developed the anterior procedure. You can read all about it here:

Dr Sah anterior procedure

He's in association with another orthopedic surgeon. The two of them are the best known and recommended hip and knee replacement docs in the SF Bay Area. Even people who haven't had a procedure themself are likely to have heard of "the two orthopedic surgeons in Fremont". Yes, it's an unlikely place as far as locations go. The two of them have their own exclusive wing of a community hospital for their procedures, hospital rooms, and offices/clinics.

As he explained it (I was at the pre-op appointment), the purpose of the physical therapy is to repair the unavoidable trauma done to muscles when they're moved out of the way for the procedure. Also, the range of motion limitations and muscle movements have nothing at all to do with muscles and everything to do with bones and the seating of the hardware.

Did you do exercises for your bones? ;-)

Elmer, that was super cool to watch.

PS Isn't the point of exercise in this case protectiong the joints by providing stability?

I'm not sure, I just know that Sah explained that while it was important for each hardware/bone connection to carry some load several times a day during the healing period to help set properly, his concern is that they not be jiggled in place, if I can say it that way.

Before considering Sah's time constraints from being such a prominent and busy guy, he could not have been more caring and compassionate. And available 24x7. It was almost shocking.

The other doc he's in association with (separate practices but shared facilities) is Dr. Dearborn. We have a family orthopedist (if I can call him that), a sports medicine specialist nearly retired who has treated every member of our family for sports injuries over the years (my wife and I included), recommended the two of them. This guy we've known 30 years spent many years as a team doc for Stanford football and the 49ers. His practice is/was called SOAR, it's mostly disbanded now but for some physiatry by one of the founders, Dr. Saal. You may have heard of him too.

"Did you do exercises for your bones? ;-) "

Nope. I don't exercise my bones to lift weights or stand up from a sitting position or maintain balance either. I do exercise my muscles for all three, though, because without muscle strength, those weights aren't getting lifted, I'd need something to hold onto to pull myself up from a chair, and that balance becomes problematic. Working on balance is a pretty important part of post op rehab, by the way. It helps to have a head start.

Muscular leg strength and flexibility tend to decline rather rapidly if you're hobbling around before the operation, which most hip replacement people are. Without some form of exercise the leg muscles shorten and tighten up. So being able to exercise in water, with the support it provides, is a good and relatively painless way to keep those muscles toned. Plus, a directed physio/hydro program "trains" the muscles for what is coming. Which, as I will say one last time, is the reason I was able to recover quite quickly.

There is actual literature on the value of "prehabilitation" for hip replacement surgery, btw, so don't just take my word for it.

"Studies show that knee and hip replacement surgery patients who had participated in water- and land-based strengthtraining, aerobic and flexibility exercises for six weeks prior to surgery reduced their odds of needing inpatient rehabilitation by up to 73%.

Pre-hab stabilizes your pain levels before surgery and gets you back on your feet faster after surgery. "

The information is out there and anyone looking at a hip replacement should be considering prep work before the operation.

As I mentioned I had hip replacement surgry earlier this year. I only had restrictions for 6 weeks post-op, then they were all lifted. I have flown several times since. I just tell the officer before I go through the scanner and when it beeps, I just point to my hip. I have never been detaine4de because of it.

Yikes...it still looks brutal. I mean when they start hammering on you, that's got to hurt for some time to come!

As responses here have shown, and what you'll hear in the real world, for such a dramatic procedure, MOST experiences tend to be positive experiences. Not much pain, remarkable recoveries. People who are grateful to recover mobility and lose discomfort.

But some can be quite negative, like the woman my wife knows who now has two legs of different lengths. Thanks to Kaiser Permanente. They blame her, said she did her rehab wrong! It doesn't fix the problem.

As before, find a doc who does a dozen or more each week. Good luck.

Elmer, Kaiser has no responsibility to revise the operation? 😱

She asked for permission to use a non-Kaiser doc and it was refused. Not wanting to risk having another Kaiser adventure, I think she decided to live with it as is.

As I've mentioned before (probably ad nauseum for some), living my lifetime in Kaiser country, I've heard more horror stories about Kaiser botch-ups than from other sources. It's recurring and consistent. Happy stories, not so much.

There's the one about another of my wife's friends a few years ago, when the first C virus vaccines were being released. You'll recall there was some panic and concern among folks wanting to get it as soon as possible. Friend got an email from Kaiser saying basically "No worries, we've got you covered, we hope to be able to start offering appointments for the vaccine in about 4 weeks". Friend checked around, found she could get it at CVS the next day. And did that. Thanks Kaiser.

Annie, DH was in a lot of pain due to his arthritic hip. Had trouble sleeping comfortably too. After the surgery he was basically pain-free immediately. He had very little discomfort the day after, and I don’t recall him taking a pain pill except maybe the night we got home.

As for an anterior vs posterior procedure, the surgeon will make that decision. It is based on several factors, one being the size and bone structure of the person, another being the complexity of the procedure and size of the actual implanted hip joint. It is actually easier for the surgeon to work on the hip from the posterior position, which is why many are still performed that way.

A lot of these seem to be done because the joint is bone on bone. My cartilage is still largely intact but the ball of the joint is no longer round. I would hope that wouldn't change the calculus in terms of deciding to go forward.

Annie, I just hope you don’t wait too long and suffer needlessly, whatever the reason for your pain. You’ve received a lot of great suggestions here as to post-surgery help, etc. ’Knowing’ you and your strengths, you and your DH should be well-prepared with make-ahead meals and will get by just fine.

Calculus?

Are you diagnosing and prescribing the best course of action yourself or are you relying on an expert?

Let someone else drive the bus, there's only one steering wheel. Sit back and enjoy the ride.

the first time i went through airport security, i was searched and wanded by a half dozen people who still wouldn't let me pass through. i finally asked to be taken to a room where i could drop my jogging pants and show them my 13" scar (less than 1 year old and still very noticeable). that finally convinced them.

this is a photo of the ball from my first hip. the "craters" are where the bone was worn from being bone on bone.

I think it comes down to quality of life. Yes, usually bone on bone is a deciding factor, but not always.

Can you still do everything you want and are able to work through the pain?

Or, is the pain stopping you from doing everything you want?

eld, I have had to give up yoga, barre, dancing, and my walking distance has been sharply curtailed. I also find swimming very painful for my back. But to see me doing everyday activities, you'd never know there was an issue (unless it's all the moaning and groaning I do when I get up, especially off the floor!)

Elmer, I appreciate your comments, but we've had this discussion before. You are willing to turn your health and well being over to someone whose pay depends on how many patients he can see or procedures he can get done in an hour. Good for you.

I am not. No doctor, no matter his skills and education can feel my pain or walk in my shoes for a day or even an hour. He may be doing the surgery, but it's on *my* hip. I will have to live with the results for the rest of my life, not him.

IMO, the ideal is a partnership where he brings his skills, medical knowledge and surgical experience while I bring my body and what it's experiencing, knowledge of my medical and health history, tolerance for pain and scarring, emotional resilience, and lifestyle. Each of us have a tolerance for risk which is widely acknowledged in the financial field, but seems to get short shrift in medicine even though the consequences in the latter can literally be fatal. This makes no sense to me. A doctor can never know my risk tolerance or what I consider to be critical factors in quality of my life. The benefits must clearly outweigh the risks *for me* before giving consent....that is mine to assess, not his. When I was having my neck surgery, the neurosurgeon said that the "success" of the surgery, regardless of how well executed it was, had everything to do with me...how much pain was I in before and how much after. No doctor can assess that...only I can.

So yes, with *every* medical decision, I factor in the advice of experts as well as that of other patients and their experiences, do my research, and am proactive in my own healthcare.

As I said, we've had this discussion before, but I can only assume you've been fortunate enough to never have been in the position of making life-affecting decisions for yourself or others where medicine has no answers but only educated guesses, probabilities, and side effects that can be as bad or worse than the disease they are trying to treat; and that you've miraculously avoided medical mistakes, ineptitude, poor outcomes and negligence. I hope it is never otherwise for you.

Annie, I think you need to start researching doctors. That is no way to live. What stregthening exercises can you do?

Maybe see about being cared for in Boston?

" Either nobody in London has a hip replacement, or maybe I used the wrong term to describe it? " Neither is the case. Plenty of hip replacements here, and that's what we call them. No idea why you were held up so long at Heathrow.

I don't have any metal in my body and always remove all jewellery but I frequently seem to set off scanners at UK airports, including Heathrow. Weirdly, I've never set off an alarm at a foreign airport.

" Elmer, I appreciate your comments, but we've had this discussion before. You are willing to turn your health and well being over to someone ......."

I don't remember a prior discussion, fine with me if there was one. It's rational to want to be a cooperative but informed service/product customer or patient. To think that you have any basis to know more or understand better, or can knowledgeably second guess an expert's opinion for what applies to you is your right but is foolhardy nonsense.

I can only guess that you've had the back luck to have encounters with providers on the lower end of the bell curve. That's too bad but sometimes happens. Don't condemn the whole world or justify acting irrationally because of it. Doing a better job of screening your providers might help.

No one works for free - if you had a career, did you? Did you decline raises or promotions? Your blanket accusation of out-of-control money grubbing among any or all docs is specious.

Yes, I turn my health over to well trained and well regarded physicians. You should too. Doing otherwise is imprudent.

Good luck.

Floral, I was just joking! After coming home (from my favourite place on earth--London), I figured out that they must have heightened security at the airport because of the Gaza situation. I hope nobody takes offense.

No offence taken. I knew you were joking.

@Annie Deighnaugh did you have the replacment? I have a date of 8/7 and am pretty nervous.

clt3, No I never did. My surgeon gave me a book he wrote about hip replacement, and in it it said, once you get your hip replaced, you can't bend any more than 90-100 degrees or you risk dislocating the joint. Seeing as I can more than touch my toes and bend over *all the time* to weed, clean kitty boxes, etc. I've become more reluctant to go down that path. Especially since doing that toe touch stretch is one of the few things I can do to alleviate my back/down the leg pain.

I'm heading back to PT by the end of the month.

But *everyone* I've talked to who had it done all said that they only wish they'd done it sooner. So if you know it's the right thing to do for you, then don't be nervous. You'll be fine.

clt3, don't be nervous. Hip replacement has almost become a walk in the park compared to when I had my own done in 2002. I was 48 when told I needed the surgery and I did everything else I could think of for the next 4 years - acupuncture, PT, vitamin supplements, pain meds etc....

Mine may have been a family thing. I have two cousins (one male, one female) who have some scoliosis and a bad left hip that have been replaced at the same age as me.

My SIL (68 years) had hers done last year. Outpatient! Unheard of when my own was replaced, I was in the hospital 4 nights. They did have me doing some light PT in their hospital swimming pool before releasing me that Saturday.

My SILs outpatient went beautifully. She came home and was comfortable from that first night on using mostly a circulating ice machine and taking very little in the way of pain meds. She used a walker for a handful of days then a cane for a short while and went regularly to PT. She's as busy and active as ever not quite 12 months later. She mows their large yard, they have a boat they overnight on, there really is very little she can't do. Singles tennis and downhill skiing still discouraged but I do know people who have had hip replacements who have done both successfully.

The procedure has become much more simple in these last years. Don't be frightened. Just have some easy to prep foods on hand for a few days, buy some Thank You notes for the flowers you will receive, line up someone to change that fitted sheet on your bed with the first weeks laundry....😊

Weird about not bending after hip replacement. Plenty of people in my yoga and exercise classes have had new hips and continue to happily touch their toes. Are you sure you weren't reading the instructions just for the recovery weeks?

Hmm...pretty unbelievable about the 'no bending', Annie. I think floaraluk2 is on the right track. 'No Bending' is only true until you're healed -- a matter of weeks/months. I got two new hips two years apart nearly twenty years ago. I can only wonder that it's been made even easier than that was. I can still touch my toes without cheating.

I’m shocked to read the ’no bending’ thing too. DH does many ’younger man’ chores around our farm (he just turned 78), many of which include bending, hauling things and such. No issues since his surgery in 2017, or with his total shoulder replacement around 6 months after the hip.

A younger friend who had both hips replaced went skiing with us afterward, and I recall her surgeon said there were 3 positions to avoid. I don’t recall exactly what they were but they were over-torque type positions out of the normal hip movement range if that makes sense.

Well I have a 2 hour joint replacement class in a month. I guess I will find out. I think while this has been brewing for awhile, I’ve only been in real pain since November. Hurts even in bed. I’m nervous because I don’t like procedures or needles. I’ve only had carpal tunnel surgery and the pain meds they prescribed made me throw up all day.

I had my right hip done in June 2020, and it was fine. I had the posterior approach, and I had to be careful about crossing my legs for about 2 weeks, but that was it. Same thing with sleeping with a pillow between my legs, just until I went back for my post-op visit. I had a walker for a few days, and a jazzy purple cane for about a week. Thank you Amazon! I don't even think about it anymore, and I do anything I want. When we were in Italy in March, DD1 and I were averaging 35,000 steps a day.

I think the most important thing is having a surgeon who has had a lot of experience. Mine was the dad of a nursery school classmate of DD2, and he was doing hip replacements back then--33 years ago. Good luck and don't be afraid.

Because I questioned that no bending ever rule that annie mentioned, and I stretch and bend all the time without harm to my leg or hip…

From the web:

“Most doctors recommend that patients avoid bending more than 60-90 degrees for the first 6-12 weeks after their procedure. You may eventually be cleared for this action, but avoid bending over to tie your shoes or pick something off the ground until you get clearance from the doctor.”

and

”When Can You Bend Past 90 Degrees After Hip Replacement?

You should not bend your hip beyond 60 to 90 degrees for the first six to 12 weeks after surgery. Do not cross your legs or ankles, either. It’s best to avoid bending to pick things up during this period.”

Whistle mentioned posterior approach. Based on my anecdotal observations, if I were to undergo hip replacement I’d be looking for a doctor who was experienced with anterior. The recovery differences seem to be significant, again just my observation. While some patients may not be good candidates for anterior, I’d want that to be the deciding factor, not the doctor’s expertise. Long term however, I’m not sure if there’s a clear winner.

Mine will be robotic assisted anterior by a Cleveland Clinic doctor, so I am confident in his abilities and experience.

And my mom’s doctor is a Harvard educated, board certified, well-regarded surgeon affiliated with several area hospitals including HSS, and he did posterior approach. Anterior is a newer, more complicated surgery. If a doctor does not do it, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re inexperienced or poor doctors, it may just mean they don’t have the specific training for this approach. Now there may have been another reason he chose posterior for my mom, but unfortunately I didn’t know enough to ask at the time. I only learned about it when my FIL, who had total replacement at the same time, had an astonishingly faster recovery. There could have been other factors of course, not the least of which being their age difference. If you don’t care to ask the question that’s fine of course, but maybe another reader will appreciate having heard about this. I wish I had known beforehand.

Adding - Just asked my friend who had two total replacements in his early 50's, at HSS. Both were posterior. And he claims to have full range of motion. He's a biker, jogger, snowboarder, and jetskier and couldn't be happier with his hips.

My DIL had one a few weeks ago and she was riding her bike 17 miles 15 days later.

Hey-hey! Congratulations! Thanks for the update. Glad you're on the mend. It is going to have been SO worth it.

Sorry you can't tolerate the pain-blockers. Are there any that do the job without making you sick? IDK what I'd be prescribed for my deteriorating spine if I couldn't tolerate Tylenol-4.

Im doing ok pain wise, I think it might be the sedation medication that made me nauseous. Even sleeping all right.

You will be better every day!

congrats on your successful surgery! the "tightness" feeling will subside after a while and you'll be good as new. :)

Congratulations on your new hip! I hope the two of you have many long comfortable and productive years together.

Please don't forget that ice can be your friend just now.

When I had a hernia repaired the surgeon sent me home with pain meds and an anti nausea medication. I'm never sick from a pain med, didn't ask for them, didn't take them. Have you tried tylenol if needed? Not many side effects from tylenol.

They have me on a regimen of oxy, meloxicam, and tylenol. I've already tapered off the oxy to 3 times a day. They said to taper and not stop suddenly. None of those seem to be upsetting my stomach. Even went for a haircut yesterday - my chauffer took me!

I'm a bit surprised about the oxy. When I had my hip done, they gave me a package of 30 oxy tablets. I still have 29 of the pills. I was on a superstrength voltaren for 2 weeks, and that was about it.