Not-so-mighty Bob’s very long road to recovery

Hi All

I had the misfortune of suffering a hip fracture nearly 18 months ago. I was on high doses of steroids at the time (autoimmune condition) and was worried about the state of my bones. Well, all it took to break my hip was a little stumble on the stairs. After that it was all a blur. The surgeon who performed my hip replacement confirmed the diagnosis of osteoporosis and I was in hospital for months learning how to walk all over again. There was a lot of muscle damage and maybe some nerve damage too, which slowed the healing process significantly.

It has taken a lot of hard work, first to stop using crutches, and then to work on my gait so that I no longer walk with a limp. I am proud to say that I am finally walking normally. I also managed to wean off of the oral steroids and my bone density has improved significantly since then. I still need to be careful though. Really don’t want to undo all this good progress.

Back in the day, before my immune system went nuts, I used to run ultras. My personal favourite was ultra distance trail running. My guess is, those days are long gone now, but I would still like to get back to doing the things I enjoy… within reason of course. My confidence is shot to bits, so I am hoping my fellow hipsters on here will help keep it real.

I am also an avid fan of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, hence my username.

Mighty Bob

This topic has 3 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 8 months, 4 weeks ago by Hip Brother Tom.

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- March 4, 2023 at 5:08 pm #20468
  Almighty Bob
  Participant
  Hi All I had the misfortune of suffering a hip fracture nearly 18 months ago. I was on high doses of steroids at the time (autoimmune condition) and w
  [See the full post at: Not-so-mighty Bob’s very long road to recovery]
- March 5, 2023 at 4:01 am #20469
  OB
  Participant
  Good luck Bob. I had my right hip replaced two years ago and subsequently ran 2500 miles on it. I started out slowly doing mobility/strength work and easy spins on the bike and building back swimming…I do triathlons along with running events. I built up my walking endurance and at four months started jogging a few steps while out walking to build my confidence. At six months, I started run/ walks increasing the time running to minutes walking one over the next couple of months until I could go one hour before attempting a no walk run.
  As I type this I am recovering from my left hip replacement two weeks ago. I plan to follow the same routine and be back to pain free running mid to late summer. I have been walking loops in our house…not the best, but we live in a rural area and with winter the roads are super icy. I am up to 8,000 steps per day. I get my staples out in a couple of days and at that point I will attempt some no tension spinning on our peloton bike, maybe for 15 minutes. I will head back to the pool to ease back into swimming once the wound is healed.
  I hope this helps you think out your journey back to running
  Tim
- March 5, 2023 at 3:58 pm #20470
  Dave Whiteside
  Participant
  Bob, sorry to hear about this but happy that it sounds like you’re on the road to a good recovery. I’m hoping that you can return to running ultras again, but whatever just enjoy what life gives you and stay trong. We’re all here supporting you and wishing you the best. Dave.
- March 12, 2023 at 8:08 pm #20494
  Hip Brother Tom
  Keymaster
  Bob! You WILL get back to it. The progress you have made so far is a good indicator that you will get back. Ultras? Maybe not….but also….maybe? 🙂 Stay optimistic!
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