Hip Talk at Surface Hippy

Eight years ago, I had my left hip resurfaced and it's been a terrific success. Now my right hip has become problematic, so I went to see if I could have it resurfaced.

Ugh. Just got back from seeing Dr. Brooks (who is awesome) and found out the smaller size devices are no longer being made! At least not the ones FDA-approved in the US. So my only options are to find a clinical trial or go abroad. Or have a total hip replacement. So sad.

Carlos
I never saw such a list of restrictions for people with hip resurfacing.  That is why people choose hip resurfacing - no restrictions after recovery.  Most surgeons let you do what you want at 6 months and many don't want high impact sports like running until one year.  There are many athletes that return to their sports - even professionals like hockey players, tennis, weight lifting, marathon running, etc.  Not sure what you are reading or what surgeon you are talking with, but I would suggest talking and using the very experienced ones who don't restrict your activities after recovery.  Here are athletes stories  https://surfacehippy.info/category/hip-resurfacing-stories/athletes-hip-resurfacing-stories/   and list of the very experienced surgeons   https://surfacehippy.info/hip-resurfacing-doctors-over-1000-hip-resurfacing-surgeries   A couple stories   https://surfacehippy.info/jannes-vercaemst-bilateral-hip-resurfacing-patient-iska-world-champion-2024    https://surfacehippy.info/barts-bilateral-hip-resurfacing-with-dr-de-smet  https://surfacehippy.info/matt-daveys-bilateral-ceramic-on-ceramic-hip-resurfacing-by-prof-piers-yates   I wish you the best.  Pat   

I am so glad you found resurfacing, and I am even more grateful that you shared your journey on this website devoted to the procedure. I studied your story and the stories of all who posted here. Thanks, Pat!

It has been 20 years since I received my left hip BHR from Dr. De Smet.  Back in 2005, I really needed a hip replacement, but just didn't want a THR since I was 61 and very active.  A man I was talking to from our little town told me how he went to California to Dr. Amstutz for a hip resurfacing.  So I started researching Hip Resurfacing.  Wow, am I glad I did.  After talking with others on Discussion Groups, I decided on Dr. De Smet.  He even emailed me several times about my hip and information about hip resurfacing.  He had done around 2000 back then.  I am so glad I chose Hip Resurfacing and Dr. De Smet.  I flew from Ohio to Belgium and stayed 10 days.  It was a wonderful trip and Ghent was beautiful.  I never regretted my decision and my BHR still works great today.  Never had a problem.  Unfortunately, the rest of my 81 year old body has many problems!  I decided back then that there needed to be a website about hip resurfacing so I started the https://surfacehippy.info website. I am glad I did because millions of people have looked at the website and many found it useful.  Close to a million visitors a year visit the website.  I have hundreds of emails from people Thanking me for starting/running the website and how it changed their lives.  I hope to keep it running for many more years.  I wrote a book about my BHR experience and it is a free download  https://surfacehippy.info/ebook/belgium%26mybhr-2018.pdf   Hoping to enjoy my BHR for a few more years!  Patricia Walter

Congratulations Blinky.  Great to hear from you and read your update.  Hope you continue doing well and check back again with an update.  I wish you the very best.  Pat

Who watched Misty Copeland on the Oscars last night?
Did you know she had a hip replacement in December?
Wow!
Watching her made me wonder why more dancers do not choose resurfacing. Could it be the cup size? Or is there not a high consciousness of resurfacing in that profession?
If you need me, I will be off googling this issue.

Okay, I would follow your doctor's orders. If he says to restrict activity for six months, do it. If he says to wait a year, wait that long.
Typically, patients must restrict activities severely for six weeks, moderate some until six months, and are totally off leash at one year.

At ten years out, I can say I do all the things you list. I was not told they were out of the question for me. Now, was I comfortable doing all these things at six months? At a year? No! It took awhile to feel limber again. I remember at six months sitting cross legged first with one leg in front then the other and feeling tight.

Congrats! I did a 10K about a year out, too. I was sore, more than I expected, but then I did another a few months later and bounced back more quickly.

The halfs have been road races. I did a 5K trail run pretty early on, can't remember how early, and was afraid of falling so did not repeat. (The neighborhood park trail I thought would be so easy turned out to have many slippery, flat rocks. Now, I have fallen several times and bounced back up unharmed, but as I age I am more afraid of falling. An old lady thing?)

The first long run of the year, ten miles or more, hurts. Then every subsequent one feels okay. I think the trick would be to stay in condition, to keep doing those ten mile runs once a week year round. When I was doing three halfs in a row, one every four to six weeks, I felt good, and best doing the last one. So why don't I keep doing those ten mile runs? Just stay in shape? I used to pre arthritis. Now I have too many (good) things going on, and it is challenging to stay in the habit.

Is a treadmill better? Softer? Not for me. It is about the same as an asphalt road to me. Flat and well groomed trails with no slippery rocks might be the best. 

Good luck with your recovery and finding your new limits.

Thank you for sharing your anniversary story. I'm one year on from bilateral resurfacing and slowly clawing my way back to running again (tennis next!). I managed a 10K last month, hoping one day to run further but I made the decision to concentrate on trail running rather than a return to the roads. You didn't say if your half marathon events were road races, but if so how are finding training and racing on harder surfaces?

I see the names of the folks who went through resurfacing with me ten years ago. Hey guys!

This is Blinky, now Blinky one as time has had an effect on my memory if not my hips, and I forgot my login credentials.

The short update? I am doing great. I run, I swim, I hike, I dance, I spin, all the things. Ten years of sports and travel adventures. I wear out my kids and my husband. 

The longer version? The first year I focused on recovery. The second year, and, well, every year after, I pushed to see what the hips could do. Could I run a half marathon? Swim a 5k? In that second year, I found many things I could not do because I had fallen out of condition or because my brain and body had stopped communicating. But those could be remedied with hard work. I felt like year two I made some great gains. The gains came more slowly after that, but I was still improving. I settled into running a few half marathons a year in our cool months, swimming, and spinning. My H took a short gig in NYC, and for two years I spent every other weekend there, routinely walking 30k steps a day. Feeling completely recovered and very fit, I signed up for a half Ironman in Galveston for the spring of 2020.

Covid hit. Aargh! No half Ironman for me. I did a slew of virtual races, including the Virtual Race Across TN,  and eventually got back in the pool, in an outdoor pool with all kinds of Covid mitigation rules.

After Covid? Fit but not as fit. My boutique spin gym closed down. And I went back to school to get a masters in history. The degree turned into a new job lecturing at a local university. I am still running 5x a week and swimming probably 4x, but training for long events is more of a challenge with work and travel. I try to run one half marathon and swim one long open water swim a year. I expect (hope) the next big distraction from training will be grandchildren.

It has been a terrific ten years. I look forward to another ten.