Category: Phil’s Reports

I had my 1 year followup appointment on my hip last week.  It does not seem like it has been that long.  I can still remember the walks around the neighborhood and track with my cane, the PT sessions (I still do some of the stretches and strengthening exercises 3 -4 times a week), the joy of getting rid of the cane, etc.

Anyway, back to the appointment; the x-rays looked good.  The doc told me I probably have another 30 – 40 years left on my “new” hip.  Since I am almost 49, I am OK with that.  I have early signs of OA in the other side, but nothing to be concerned about now.  He said that whatever I had been doing was working and to do what I wanted.  I told him how much I had been running – he replied “Do not stop running”.  I am glad he said that because I do not plan on stopping anytime soon.

As far my running, since my last post I have PR’ed in a couple of races.  The one that I most happy about is a 1:41 half marathon in June.  I have a couple more half marathons scheduled this year and will start planning for a full in 2015.  Any suggestions on a full?

Good luck to all the other hip runners out there.  If I can do this, you can too.… (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)

It has been awhile since I have posted anything.  I have periodically checked the site and read up on the progress of everyone.  It is great to see people having success in returning to their active lifestyle.

Since my last post I have continued to run with no issues.  I am continuing the stretching and strengthening program that my PT developed.  To say that I am satisfied with my decision to have the surgery and my recovery would be a huge understatement.

My original plan was to run a half in March, but I was unable to train adequately due to the winter and being under the weather for a couple of weeks so I decided to wait until April.

I started April with a 5K of 23:38; this beat my pre-surgery PR by over a minute.  A few minutes after that race, I PR’ed the 10K event as well.  I have since beaten that 10K time twice on training runs.  Yesterday, I ran the Country Music Half Marathon in Nashville.  It is a fairly hilly course with about 29K people running the half or full.  I ran a 1:52:32.  This beat my pre-surgery PR for a half by about a minute and a half.  It also was almost 17 minutes faster than I have run in that event previously (the course did change slightly this year – but not that much).  I still smile when I think about it.  I guess my wife was right when she told me I would be faster after the surgery.

My wife and I have another a couple more half marathons and a Ragnar Relay planned for the rest of the year.  We will then decide on our next full marathon.

It feels awesome to type that.  Good luck to everyone in their recovery.  It is possible to continue to be active with this chunk of titanium in our hip.

Phil… (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)

On November 23, I ran my first 5k since my surgery.  My surgery was on July 23; I originally thought that I would start back to running about this time, not running in an event but since my rehab had gone so well I went ahead with it.

It was a local 5k/10k race;  I ran the 10k the previous 2 years.  I can vividly remember the pain from last year and overhearing people commenting about how they could tell I was hurting.

My goals this year were to run the race without hip pain, ensure I took adequate walk breaks as I am still doing interval training and finish in around 30 minutes.  All three were accomplished as I felt absolutely zero pain in my hip; took three walk breaks going uphill and finished in 28:13.  I actually ended up with an age group award.

The next day, the hip felt fine.  My next goal is to get my cardio back; I tried to maintain it as much as possible before surgery. I was only able to use the elliptical and do other low impact stuff back then.   That definitely helped, but for me nothing beats pounding the pavement to increase my cardio.

If my rehab continues as planned, I will be running a half-marathon in the spring.   Considering the fact that I could not walk without pain and a very noticeable limp a little over four months ago, that sounds great to me.… (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)

I haven’t posted in a while but things are going better than I expected.  At about 10 weeks my PT (he has done an awesome job on my rehab) started plyometrics to temper the hip and other joints to prepare for my return to running.  I was a little hesitant at first, but quickly got over that when I realized that was weaker on that side but had no pain.

On October 26, 3 months and 3 days from my surgery I ran on a treadmill for the first time.  It was only 6 minutes, but I will take it. It was a wonderful  feeling to run and not have the constant pain that we all have experienced.

I am now cleared for 6 min run/4 minute walk intervals for up to 4 times per week and increasing the running time by 10 percent a week.  Yesterday, my first mile was a 9:54 pace; the first four minutes of that were walking.  My second mile was a 10:09 also with four minutes of walking included.  I was running and not looking at my pace as I was too amazed by the lack of pain in my hip.  Part of the first mile was at a 7:04 pace.  That was faster than I meant to run; I have no pain in the hip today (or on any other day).

I am feeling so good that I may even run (not race) a local 5k in the next few weeks.  Here’s to pain free running for everyone.

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I had my first follow up appointment one month after surgery.  Everything looked good; advised to wait a couple more months to start running, next follow up in 11 months.

The hip feels GREAT; probably better than it has in the last 6 or 7 years. I can also sleep through the night and not wake up every hour or so.  Sometimes I wish I that would have had the surgery earlier, but I am glad that I spent the time researching the types of surgery available and found the right surgeon for me.  Since I went so long before I had the surgery, I have some issues with lower back tightness and gluteal weakness, but they are being addressed through PT.

This morning I walked 5 miles at a 15:09 pace followed up by 20 minutes on the elliptical.  I never thought I would be happy to see a 15 min pace, but it happened today.

In less than 6 weeks I went from not knowing if I could ever run again to trying to decide if I can be ready for a half next spring or wait until the fall.  I cannot describe how awesome that feels.

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Thanks for having this blog. I am a 47 year old recreational runner that had a direct anterior hip replacement on July 23, 2013.

I had been told many years ago that my left hip would have to be replaced at some point. Over the years I researched hip replacements and the activity levels allowed afterward. I was immediately struck by all the “boo birds” and negativity when it comes to running after a hip replacement.

I eventually decided to have the surgery as the impact on my overall life was too much. I then found a surgeon that, in addition to being highly recommended by medical professionals I trust, was very supportive of me returning to running after a hip replacement. I scheduled the surgery and started to set goals for my recovery (an important point from Alistair’s e-book).

I had the surgery July 23 and came home the following day using a cane with the only restriction of “do not do the splits.” Two days after my surgery I was already walking 20 – 25 minutes around the neighborhood with my cane. Daily walking and PT have helped my recovery continue to progress; being in good condition prior to surgery was also beneficial. I can start light running in three months – I may wait a little longer than that.

I eventually want to get back to the level I was previously (running 3 days a week, cross training 3 days a week and race distances up to a half marathon, maybe another full), My wife thinks I will be faster as my bionic hip will propel me through the course. I am not sure about being faster, but I will not have an arthritic hip joint “barking” at me with most every stride.

The positive reports from people on here have very helpful for me over the last few months. Thank you to all that have shared your experiences; I will gladly do the same.

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