Hey all~
I am very impressed with this site, its mission and the level of activity/viewership!!
I am also extremely happy to have found this resource to educate myself about the pros and cons of running after a Total Hip Replacement, having had one in December, 2011, at age 50. My surgeon was pretty adamant that I should never consider running, or even jogging, as part of a cardio-fitness regimen, because it would shorten the life of the hardware, requiring replacement, or “revision”, as I have heard it called.
I had run for most of my life, sometimes five/six days a week, sometimes only a couple, but I have also been cycling, playing tennis, or inline skating. Now, I just bike a few days a week, tennis a couple and walk my MinPin 75 mins a day. I run short dashes with my dog, Eddy, because he loves running, but has no interest in playing with other dogs or chasing a ball.
Running for 30 yd. bursts feels great, and I never have any pain in my hip when playing tennis with my partner, Beth. Prior to surgery in 2010-2011, she would occasionally have to traction my leg, on the court, because of the bone-on-bone pain I had to deal with.
I would love to be able to run again, for weight control and general psychological well-being. I will read the Hiprunner reports, and start out slow, on grass (mostly) and short-distances…maybe 1/4 mile, walk, 1/4 mile, walk…or something like that. I would appreciate input about that “running will shorten hardware lifespan” thing I mentioned.
Almost forgot to mention, but 3 months post-surgery, just a few days before the target date the doc gave me for riding on the road, I went for a spin around my neighborhood and had no problems. Two days later, I was going to ride to my “gym”, and in getting on the bike and throwing my right leg over the seat, I had a wardrobe malfunction, probably because I had limited mobility on that side (the THR was on the right). Short story, long…slow-mo wipe-out to the right, and I fractured my femur. Big pain, but another surgery, 4 metal zip-ties and an added 8″ to my scar, and I have to think that femur is stronger than the other one.
Thanks for reading and I look forward to getting to know people and helping where I can.
Best,
Steve