Badbone's Resurfacing Story

[LMS]

Just to be a spoke in the wheel regarding hard skiing... they tend to frown on that because if you crash (fall, someone hits you, or you hit something) chances are you will do damage to the hip.


Me personally, I only plan on returning to cross country skiing to get my skiing fix. ;)


But then again, that may mainly apply to THRs... ;D

[Quig]

Go Badbone Go!! It's awesome to see you check in doing so well. It really seems like things are going well for you and you're certainly headed in the right direction.


And, for what it's worth... I'm not a skier but I'd damn sure be planning on (serious!!) skiing with that new hip, that's exactly what you got the thing for! According to Dr. Gross, after a year juuuuuuuuust about anything goes. I see no reason at all to exclude skiing.


Keep up the good work!!

[John C]

Just wanted to add a note about skiing. I have taught and coached high level skiing for 46 years, the past 8 years on my resurfaced hip. Dr Gross encouraged me to ski on it, and I started skiing at six months post surgery. I have heard of people rarely having trouble with THRs when skiing; dislocations, femoral fractures. I have many friends including instructors, ski patrollers, and students who ski with THRs, and they are advised to stay away from moguls. However, I have never heard of a person having problems from skiing with a resurfacing. I am not sure that pounding icy moguls all day would be a great idea, but that will eventually destroy the rest of your body anyway. For myself, I ski hard 8 hours a day, seven days a week all winter. That includes, heli-skiing, blasting through crud, moguls (preferably softer at age 65), hard carving, and gates. No problem. This past year I fell one time, and that was at about 50 mph landing right on my resurfaced hip on bullet proof ice. Bruised the soft tissue like anyone, but no problem with the resurfacing.The reason that we get resurfacings instead of THRs is so that we can push it in sports like skiing. Following Dr Gross's advice, I felt good about starting at 6 months, and then building up to heli-skiing, getting air, and skiing bumps at 9 months to a year. Go for it Bad Bone!

[BozemanHip]

John C.,

Thanks for the words of inspiration about skiing. I ski 3-4 days per week, now exclusively in the backcountry. This year I had to scale things back, because of the hip, but I can't imagine giving up the sport. This season I really struggled in the typical backcountry funky snow conditions and continuously wondered if I'd fair any better with a resurfaced hip.  Sounds like I have something to hope for. I'm scheduled for a Synovo implant with Dr. Pritchett on June 28. Got any pre- and post-op PT suggestions that might help me going into the next ski season?

Thanks,

-TK

[Quig]

Yes! Thanks for checking in John C! I'm sure Badbone will be very happy to hear that. And I know that the rest of us sure appreciate reading the experiences of those who have paved the way with resurfacing. I hope you enjoy MANY more years of serious skiing!


Bozeman, you have a little over a month to get into the best "pre-surgery" shape you can. I asked a friend for advice before my bilateral resurfacing (he had bilateral a year ago...) and his advice was to get into the best shape possible and it would pay off. I took his advice and did everything I could under the circumstances and my recovery is going well. Good luck!!

[RebeccaT]

Ha! I think for all of you extreme skiiers, the resurfacing should be the least of your worries  :)

[John C]

Bozeman; I am sure that any good Montana PT would be on top of hip rehab for skiing, but here are a few ideas that were key for me: 1. Lots of one legged strength and balance work. Once your doctor clears you for it, add in a lot of things that fire all the smaller muscle groups. Gym machines, stationary bikes, two legged squats, etc are great for large muscle groups, but the ones that really need the rehabbing are the smaller muscles involved in balance, stability, and internal and external rotation. 2. Lots of one legged time on a bosu ball; one legged balancing to start, then one legged squats, then one legged squats with hand weights. 3. Cable weights with an ankle strap that allows you to work the hip in all directions. 4. I am a big fan of the Skier's Edge machines, but you might wait until six months before going hard on that one, since there might be a slight amount of impact involved.
The key point here is that skiing involves a lot of lateral and rotational forces, and these are the muscle groups that are most affected by the surgery. Make sure that your prep for skiing does not just focus on quads and hamstrings. That's what was key for me.

[BozemanHip]

John C,

Thanks for the tips.  I posted questions about PT and other things earlier in a thread "Pre-op preparation and Post-op expectations". Maybe we should move our discussion to that thread. I'm sure there are others that would like to hear your words from experience.

I used to nordic ski a lot. Since my hip went to crap, I've noticed significant loss of balance and tone in those smaller muscles related to balance.  Hoping I'll be able get back on those nordic skis this winter.

-TK

[badbone]

4 month update.


Insert huge smile here.
I am truly amazed at my progress and recovery.
I am officially 4 months post op and feeling great.
It's almost as if I never had surgery. My hip has now become one with my body. I forget it's even there.
 
I don't feel any pain any or any clicking or popping, only an occasional clunk but that's very very rare
I have to remind myself every day that I have an implant especially when I'm bending over or taking a knee. 


I still walk 1.5 miles two times a day in addition to going to the gym four times a week. Swimming has been great the frog kick did not feel very good and then I read that it was something not to attempt at this stage of the recovery.




Work has kept me busy and therefore I have not posted in a while.  I'm glad to read that most everyone is having very positive experiences on this forum. Hopefully they feel the way I do.


I hope everyone is having a great summer and I look forward to catching up and reading the latest posts. I think we should start if it's not already a yearly occurrence but I think we should start and annual weekend get together for all the hippies

[blinky]

Never had any doubt you would bounce back easily and well!