Help My Aching Hip!
By Mike Searles

"My hip hurts"

That's how it began for me back in 1998.

I remember the pain. It began as a dull throbbing ache in the centre of the right hip joint.

Sometimes the pain would wake me in the middle of the night.

Within months the pain had progressed to a sharper, almost burning-like pain beginning in the joint and shooting down the middle of my right thigh bone.

After six months I had developed a slight limp. It was time to see the doctor.

At that time, 1998, I was aged forty.

According to Dr. Theodore J. Tomaszewski, a board-certified general orthopaedic surgeon, more than 300,000 Americans receive a complete hip replacement surgery each year due to the long-term effects of deteriorating joints.

"Studies show that 95 percent of hip replacement patients are over the age of 45; typically they’ve developed age-related osteoarthritis" said Dr. Tomaszewski.

My primary care physician referred me to a local orthopaedic specialist.

"Osteoarthritis", the specialist informed me after X-rays.

"You're young but it will get progressively worse. We can manage the pain with medication. But, in about 10 years you will need a hip-replacement."

And so it was.

By the time 2008 rolled around I was hobbling with the aid of a walking-stick. The pain, especially during the night, could feel like an 8 or 9 on a pain-scale of 10 maximum.

After 10 years of pain I'd had enough. I felt fed-up. Put me under the knife!

Just like the doc predicted - to the very year - I had the first of two hip replacement surgeries.

Two hip replacement surgeries?

Yes. The right hip joint in 2008 and the left one four years later in 2012.

Once the post-op recovery had completed (around six weeks or more) I was able to walk totally unaided and without pain in the right hip. Fantastic!

And after the left hip was replaced I was able to strut along the pavement just like I was back in my 20's! No pain. No walking sticks or crutches.

So, how does a relatively young, fit and active person get osteoarthritis? Isn't that an "old people's" disease?

I had played a lot of sport all my life. Up to the point when the hip pain and reduced mobility made it impossible.

My favorite sport was squash. Which meant I had placed a lot of strain on the hip joints over some 20 years with the constant and fast paced start-stop-start movements on the squash court. Knees can also suffer. Fortunately my knees have not been a problem.

In everyday parlance - my hip joints had worn out. Or more specifically - the cartilage between the joints wore out. So, it was bone on bone with no soft, spongy cartilage cushioning the joints.

How are my prosthetic ball and socket hip joints today in 2019 at age sixty?

It's all good. Still without hip pain. I've had zero issues.

If you have persistent hip pain then the best professional to speak to would be your primary care physician.

They may arrange for X-rays or refer you to be checked out by a bone/joint specialist

And if it turns out you need a hip replacement - go for it!

The surgical procedure and techniques have improved since my two operations. The post-op recovery times can be much less. Every patient's circumstances are unique.

Only a professionally trained and qualified doctor of medicine or surgery can advise you based on your specific circumstances.

That said, if anybody asks me today about hip replacement surgery I'm quick to answer, "It's the best two things I ever did!"

 

You can contact freelance writer Mike Searles via hello@mikesearles.com

 

 




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