THR December 1 feeling strong.. Prep for running?

jrmurray

Hi my name is J.R.  I am 59 years old and had a THR on December 1,2020.  Prior to surgery my hip pain limited my cardio to 30 minutes on the stair climber, 10 minutes of intervals on the elliptical and 5  three minute rounds on the heavy bag (3x a week)  Up to a month before surgery my resistance training workout consisted of 6 super-sets and 3 individual stations.  Among other things,  I was doing cleans, dead lifts, leg presses step-ups all of which engaged my hips (2x a week)

My surgeon is an excellent technical surgeon who used the anterior -lateral approach.  Unfortunately , he does not support high impact activities like running.  After an agonizing and extremely painful first week I was walking unassisted on day 8 post surgery.  By day 12 I was walking  1/4 mile with ease and no pain.  I am now 29 days post surgery and I easily walked 2 miles and my cardio workout is 7 three minute rounds on the heavy bag and 20 minutes of intervals on the spin bike.

My questions are:  What should I be doing to best prepare to run again?   How long should I wait before I start incorporating  jogging a few steps into my walks?   What warning signs should I be on the look out for that may indicate I am pushing it to far?

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    • December 30, 2020 at 8:10 am #19190
      jrmurray
      Participant

      Hi my name is J.R.  I am 59 years old and had a THR on December 1,2020.  Prior to surgery my hip pain limited my cardio to 30 minutes on the stair cli
      [See the full post at: THR December 1 feeling strong.. Prep for running?]

    • December 31, 2020 at 11:17 am #19195
      WedgeC
      Participant

      Hello JR and I will certainly not speak from my past experience, but will relay what I am learning as I go through this like you as I am now only 10 days post-op.

      From what I have read as a collective opinion from this blog, “somewhere around 90 days“ post-op would be a decent point of reference. Personally, I already see two landmarks before I will think of even jogging for 30 seconds: 1) when I can climb stairs in and “athletic fashion” with zero pain and 2) when I can walk comfortably and briskly with zero pain and no “hitch” in my gait for 30 consecutive minutes. Aside from that, I’m sticking with advice from my experienced PT whom I trust deeply from her own years of athletic and training experience. Right now, when I have green lights on those three, I am going to give it a go! I would love that date to be around March 1 but also have accepted the reality it could be New Year’s Eve 2021!

    • January 3, 2021 at 10:42 am #19197
      WedgeC
      Participant

      Hey JR just getting back to you as I too am “learning as I go“ and had surgery about three weeks after you. The Best exercise prep to return to running in my learning experience thus far seems like faster walking including up hills (to build strength) and down hills (to lengthen the stride) for 20+ min and as long as you want to go! The downside is I can’t get my HR much above 100 so combining walking with stationary cycling, eliptical, Air-Dyne, other is the path I am taking.

    • January 9, 2021 at 8:28 pm #19229
      boiledpeanut
      Participant

      Hey JR,

      15 weeks anterior post-op.

      Since there isn’t a ton of significant data on running and THR I’d default to what WedgeC said….90 days. I’ve seen it several times on different sites.

      My own experience – I’ve started incorporated slow, deliberate running (10min/mile) in my long walks that include big hills. I’m at 1.7 walks w/ hills and 1.3 running. Having patience is tough and the new hip “feels a bit weird” but no discomfort. Flexibility and strength getting better every day.

      Best,
      Jonathan

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