ARP Wave

[jmcmanemin]

I've been considering hip resurfacing for a few years, but just saw the ad for ARP Wave and looked into it a little. It would be nice to avoid surgery of any kind if it works. Has anyone had any experience with ARP wave that they can share with me?
Thanks.

[Pat Walter]

Hi

So far there are no treatments to improve a deteriorated hip.  If there were, this website would not exist.  Steriod shots are often used and some people get arthroscopy depending on their problem.  Most have found that they still needed a hip resurfacing.  They are able to grow cartilage in dogs and horses, but not in human hips yet.  Hopefully, that will happen in the future, but no one is even close yet.

So the answer is that if your hip is deteriorated you can try strengthening muscles around it, try glucosimine and condroiten and even steriod shots - but sooner or later the only way to stop pain and get active is to have a hip replacement.

Pat

[hernanu]

Hi, first I want to praise your ability to be open minded and research all possibilities. It's what got me to consider hip resurfacing instead of the alternative that was pushed to me (THR) in its stead.

I considered and partook of a lot of different possible therapies, from physical therapy to deep tissue massage, to holistic medicines, pain killers, different modes of training my muscles, etc.  I even did a workout boot camp thinking to shock my system into correction. I think you'll find many inventive and inquisitive people here, all of whom did their own research into every avenue, since none of us wanted to have the surgery.

Ultimately, though, I came to realize that this was a structural issue at its most basic. Muscle strength, fitness and health probably kept many of us from succumbing earlier, but eventually, muscle can only do so much to overcome the structural defficiency. I lost the cushion between my leg bone and my hip socket, which provided the protection between the bones. Once that went, friction and the inexorable laws of physics take over, and I had to admit to myself that the only way to fix a stripped joint is to replace it with an artificial. The resurfacing replacements for me (two hips) have been great. I won't tell you it's easy, it requires strength (the mental kind) and perseverance, but in a comparatively quick time, you can get your life back.

Just my 2 cents, but I have been where you are, and I wish you good luck in getting to a decision in your own time.

[ScubaDuck]

Well I did my own strength and stretching routine.  This did help reduce the pain in the hip caused by walking.  It also probably put off the surgery for a little bit.  The ARP Wave appears to be another way to strengthen muscle to do the same thing.

As Hernanu said it doesn't do anything to regenerate the cartilage in the hip.  Stronger muscles reduce the pressure of the bone-on-bone impact but it will only continue to degenerate.

Good luck and best wishes.

Dan